BREAKING NEWS: YMI is Moving.

ymibrian — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 18:26:43 +0000

Over the past few months YMI has been preparing to move. We wanted to wait until everything was in place to make the big announcement. As of January 1st, our Main Office will be in a new location.

These past five years have seen YMI continue to grow and expand. We began in the Pacific Northwest and now have worked with churches all over the United States. Our staff has grown from an all-volunteer one to several full-time and part-time workers. In my last blog I discussed our vision for the U.S. We are now hiring representatives of our ministry – Mission Mobilizers – to continue to expand our reach in our country.

With all of this growing, we have once again come to a place where the current YMI Main Office simply is not large enough to hold the amount of staff we have or the amount we will have this next summer as interns join us. We needed an office that would be spacious enough and centrally located enough that YMI would be positioned to continue to grow over the next three years. Fortunately, as has been the case previously, God provided a wonderful new location for YMI’s Main Office: We are moving to the office suite next door!

Our new office doubles the space we have for our expanding needs. We will have a room for meetings and training (which, if you have been to our current office you know we desperately need), more room for storing office material, and a dedicated area for multiple interns to work. It is a very open space, which will allow for our Main Office staff to freely share ideas as we work toward making YMI even more efficient and effective at training churches and young people to share the gospel in real and relevant ways. The best part of the whole thing is this: we will have twice the space and we do not have to change our address! We praise God for opening this office to us. We will be moving our office equipment and furniture next week so please, if you remember, pray that our move goes well so that we can start the new year right!

Mission Mobilizers: YMI’s Vision for the U.S.

ymibrian — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 18:08:22 +0000

Over the past four-and-a-half years I have had the extreme privilege of seeing God take YMI and grow it more quickly than I could have ever envisioned. The ministry that literally could be moved from the room of one house to another in a garbage sack (yes, this was the totality of YMI’s office equipment and supplies in the summer of 2007) now has a full-time office staff of six in Tacoma, WA and sister organizations in Brazil and Peru. More countries are to come, with some in the works already. All this has been accomplished in four short years.

Our international growth does not seem to be stopping any time soon. With that part of our ministry moving forward, we now gaze back upon the United States. YMI in the US has worked in 14 different states. Our goal is to be working in all 50. Right now, with our office staff and volunteer base in the Pacific Northwest, YMI must take the extra time and finances to travel to other locations in the U.S. to train churches, universities, and individuals. This is becoming more difficult to manage as more churches choose to use us for mission training and for trips.

This is where our new position, the Mission Mobilizer comes in. Rather than running everything out of Tacoma, YMI will position well-trained people in eight areas up and down the West Coast to do the work of our ministry. A Mission Mobilizer will function as a U.S.-based missionary, working to mobilize the Church for mission work at home and in locations around the world. Mobilizers will be involved in building relationships with churches, gathering volunteers to the ministry, recruiting people for mission work, planning and running mission training, and the sending and receiving of YMI Teams (our teams of individuals) from their area. On occasion, our Mission Mobilizers will have the opportunity to also go on international trips to do mission work. In essence, a Mission Mobilizer will be an extension of our staff in Tacoma, yet located in an area where they can be a local resource for the Church.

This is only the beginning. While we are starting with the West Coast in 2012, there will be more Mission Mobilizers to come. Our goal is to eventually have Mobilizers across the United States, assisting the Church in challenging junior high, high school, and college students to share the good news of Jesus Christ in real and relevant ways with people in their community or in the international community. Please pray for us as we are currently looking over applicants and conducting interviews.

To learn more about this new position, please go to YMI’s jobs page here: http://www.ymimissions.org/page/jobs

Thanks.

ymibrian — Wed, 11 May 2011 16:57:34 +0000

As I stood before the 126 people who came to the YMI Banquet last Saturday night, I continually was in awe with where God has brought this ministry in just four short years.

See what God has done by watching this:

This left me with an overwhelming sense of gratitude, so to that end I would like to say…

Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Thank you for caring enough about empowering young Christ-followers to share the good news of Jesus with others. Students, thank you for choosing to make living by faith a priority in your life. Thank you for not compromising. Parents, thank you for trusting God enough that you would let YMI send your children thousands of miles away for a season, so that God’s work would be done. Churches, thank you for letting us work with your youth and youth leaders as we help them do mission work. Missionaries, thank you for your unwavering friendship and ministry partnership.

Thank you. For all those of you who haven’t gone on a YMI mission trip or training, but have prayed – and continue to pray. Thank you for those who have chosen to sacrifice their time or money to make this ministry possible. Thank you for those who have literally sacrificed career opportunities to join YMI – and a thank you to spouses who have let them. Thank you for all of you who have made sacrifices above and beyond the call of duty, but obediently to the call God has laid on your hearts. You inspire me and to you I will ever be grateful.

Most of all, thank you Lord. Thank you for the four most exhilarating years of my life. Thank you for the good times. Thank you for the tough times – the hard times – the times when my faith has been tested. Thank you for the growth I have experienced as a result of your testing me. Most of all, thank you for showing me how awesome you are – how you are capable of far more than I can ever hope for or imagine. You are the God of the possible; the God who chooses to use us in spite of our feeble-mindedness to accomplish your purposes. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of what you are doing. Thank you.

YMI Peru!

ymibrian — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 15:00:06 +0000

YMI’s vision is to replicate our ministry in other nations around the world. We’re proud to announce that as of March, we have taken another step in that direction. On March 8th, YMI Peru was born.

Headed by Julio Serrano, the national director, YMI Peru aims to train young people in Lima and in the amazon region of Peru to share the Gospel. This is only the beginning, as YMI Peru intends to not only reach its whole nation, training young people to reach out in their communities, but also begin to influence surrounding countries to join the movement.

Why You Need a Travel Agent

ymibrian — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 18:34:54 +0000

Today it’s easy to log on to the internet and go to a website like Expedia or Priceline and find the best flights for your travel needs. For those who are extra cheap, you can log on to Side Step or (my favorite name) Cheapoair. You’ll find what you think is the cheapest ticket, and you can pick everything yourself. As I learned this past year, sometimes websites are simply not the way to go. That’s where a good travel agent comes in handy.

Sure, travel agents do charge a fee for using their services. Considering the amount you are already paying for a ticket, however, this extra cost is sure worth the possible savings you will receive. Here are some reasons you should consider using a travel agent for your next trip:

#1 You can avoid paying more at the check-in counter.

Too often we forget that although we may find a great price online, there are hidden airline fees we will not find out about until we get to the airport. A travel agent already knows about the fees up front. So, they may elect to book you on a ticket that may have a higher base fair, but will save you money overall because the airline they put you on does not have as many fees as others.

#2 There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to web fares.

If fees don’t bother you – or if you want to spend the extra time researching them to try to not pay a travel agent, you still may be missing out if you go it alone. No matter what websites advertise, they only have access to published fares the airline chooses to release to them. A travel agent, on the other hand, deals through ticket wholesalers, who have access to all the fares on any given flight, including unpublished fares – and here is where you may find significant savings. Even if you end up paying the same for a ticket booked through a travel agent as you would have online, you actually paid the airline less than you would have for your seats plus you hired a travel agent who will make sure your trip runs smoothly. This brings me to my next and most important reason to consider using a travel agent – especially for international trips…

#3 You have someone who will relentlessly work for you in unforseen circumstances.

As President of an organization that is consistently sending people around the world, year-round, we make sure we use a travel agent for this very reason. Most of our trips go very smoothly. However, this past year has presented us with some travel nightmares. First, we had booked a flight from the US to Ireland in April so that we could set up a mission trip. Unfortunately, our flight was cancelled at the last minute due to the Eyjafjallajökull Volcano explosion in Iceland. Instead of me having to be on the phone, competing with travelers from North America and Europe for time with the airline, then needing to re-book, we let our travel agent do the work for us. Time saved. Money saved in the re-booking. Piece of mind. Within 48 hours we were re-booked on another airline only a month later for the same price – and we had a full refund coming our way from our first booking.

A second incident that occurred was just a week ago, when we sent a church group from Nevada to Newark/Philadelphia for a mission trip. They had chosen to do a trip from December 27 to January 7. Unfortunately, the East Coast Blizzard of December 26-27 hit, and the team got stuck in Salt Lake City because their destination airport – Newark – was closed! They were stranded with thousands of other holiday travelers. One phone call to our travel agent sprung him into action. Within a few hours the problem had been solved and the team was rerouted to Baltimore – all arriving there at the same time – even though air travel was in total chaos. All 12 were able to reach their destination together – a church in the Philadelphia area – in 48 hours, rather than waiting that long to catch a flight from Salt Lake. Why did this happen? Because our travel agent worked directly with the airline to make it happen. All I and the leaders of the group had to do was sit back, relax, and allow him to work the system on our behalf. Time saved. Ministry saved. Piece of mind. Oh, the air fare, with our travel agent’s fee was no different than if the group would have booked online.

I could go on and on here, but I won’t. I hope you see my point: using a travel agent is well worth any fee they charge. In this era, when airlines are looking to nickel and dime you any way they can; when they don’t care about you and provide you with no assistance when something goes wrong, you need someone who can be your advocate. It makes traveling that much more enjoyable. So next time you are online, ready to book your airfare and hotel on one of those cut-rate websites, take a moment to pause and consider using a travel agent. Sometimes it may cost just a little more, but the little extra you pay up front may bring you big savings on the backside.

Culture Clash

ymibrian — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:38:44 +0000

Sunday, our final day of training, I had the privilege of teaching a Sunday School class full of people interested in going on a mission trip from Atibaia to Belém, Brasil (By the way, the official spelling for their country is with an “s”, not a “z”). I taught a training session on cultural differences, which has been taught many times in the U.S. This class compares and contrasts U.S. culture to others around the world. Normally, the one teaching the class compares U.S. culture to other cultures around the world. Since I was in Brasil, this gave me a rare opportunity to try something different.

While we were planning the training, Juca Cerpe (YMI Brasil National Director) and I decided to make the session more interactive. So, yesterday I first told the class how U.S. culture functions in certain areas of life and then had them how Brasil functions in that same area. What I found was this:

There is a big difference in how our two cultures view time. In the United States the clock is king. For the most part we try to ensure we are on time. If we are going to be more than 15 minutes late we call ahead. Everything is run by the clock. In Brasil the clock matters at times, but being relational is most important. A perfect example of this came during our training. We (the YMI US staff) had made a schedule for the training. Whenever we have had a training, this schedule has been the thing to return to in order to make sure we are on track to complete all the elements of the training. While here in Brasil we accomplished most everything on the schedule, but we never really followed the times. It became more of a “to do” list. In Brasil, it’s all about being relational – taking time to interact with people over accomplishing tasks. We were not always on time for my many appointments on this trip, but this did not matter. What mattered was the time we spent with people.
Transparency is highly valued in the U.S., but not as much in Brasil. Many times our short-term mission teams will return from Brasil, with participants believing that they have a whole lot of new best friends from their time there. Why do they think this? Because Brasilians love to connect with people by making jokes and generally being very friendly with them. In the U.S., when someone takes time to connect with us, especially when making jokes and being very warm and friendly, this is a signal that they truly want a deeper relationship. In Brasil, this is simply the way they make a first impression. While two people from the U.S. who have never met each other may give the colloquial handshake and discuss a variety of topics, jokes and a warm smile are usually reserved for later. When you place two Brasilians together who have never met, their interaction seems to us like they have known each other for 20 years, cracking jokes, laughing, and even putting an arm over another person’s shoulders. So, while we may think we have made a truly life-long connection with someone in Brasil after 5 minutes, the truth is we have only made an acquaintance. The fact of the matter is this: only after repeated trips to Brasil and much time with my friends there have I really come to know what they think and who they are. While people from the U.S. are willing to discuss their problems and their fears up front, people in Brasil will never show these to you unless they are sure they can trust you with them.
When it comes to gaining status in society, we are the same. Of course, we are not exactly alike, but both societies value achievement. The “self-made man” and phrases like “from rags to riches” sum up what we value as a society in the U.S. If we see a person who is highly successful and came from a disadvantaged position in life, we place a high value on them – more than on one who is handed everything. This is the same in Brasil. While in some societies status is based on age or some attachment to a segment of the population, in our two countries we value hard work and achieving our goals. I knew this before I taught the class on Sunday because every time I go to Brasil I am always asked this question: “How many times has Brasil won the World Cup?” They ask this to me in order to demonstrate their society’s superiority over mine in the world’s most popular sport.

The mission training was a great experiment – highly successful. While I was able to offer the churches in the area something, I also learned much. Of course, we have much to learn from other societies, especially one like Brasil. A great example of this is soccer, a sport the U.S. has yet to win a major competition in when it comes to our men’s team. Which, coincidentally, is why my Brasilian friends remind me of their dominance in this realm. If you’re wondering, the answer to the World Cup question is five times. If we have much to learn from Brasil in this arena, what else do they have for us to learn?

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A Case For Short-Term Mission Trips

ymibrian — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 01:27:20 +0000

Last Sunday morning I arrived in Sao Paulo, Brasil. The purpose of my visit has been to witness first-hand what YMI Brasil is doing here and to help run a training for local church leaders and a mission team. While I figured that this would be rewarding in and of itself, I saw something last night I will never forget.

I had the privilege to attend a youth outreach event here in the Atibaia area at PIBAI (First Baptist Church of Atibaia Imperial). When I arrived I saw friends and ministry partners – people who have worked with teams YMI has sent here since 2008. This was a great experience for me. There was a time of praise, a testimony, and finally a message. At the end of the message there was an invitation. As a result of this invitation two young people received Christ.

Of course this was a great thing. However, there was something extra special about this moment for me. The two were asked to come up front as we sang another song. As one of them went forward, Juca Cerpe (the National Director for YMI Brasil) leaned over and told me that this young man began going to the church because of the sports ministry our YMI Team helped begin in 2008. His salvation was a continuation of the impact our team had made for Christ in that church and the surrounding community.

Our team was only in Brasil for 10 days in August of 2008, working alongside Juca, running a sports clinic at this church. As a result many new neighborhood kids came to the church to play. When they came they heard about Jesus. After the team left, the church began a weekly sports ministry, continuing what the team helped begin. Eventually this ministry grew so much that the church had to hire a youth and sports pastor to run the program. He was there last night, helping run the outreach event.

So, our mission team from 2008 is still making an impact. Are the members of the team in Brasil today? No, but the ministry they helped begin is and nobody can question the fruit of this ministry! So often I hear about how short-term teams are detrimental to long-term ministry. In some cases this may be so, but not all. No, there are times when a short-term team is exactly what the church needs to catch a vision and start a ministry that God will use to transform lives. Short-term teams, in this sense, are a wonderful tool – extremely valuable to God’s Kingdom. There can be no doubt about this. Just ask the pastor of this church – PIBAI – in Atibaia, Brasil.

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The Time Has Come.

ymibrian — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 03:31:08 +0000

The time has come. Finally, after three-and-a-half years it is here. The road has been long and full of challenges, but it has also been rewarding. Tomorrow I begin a trip that will begin the realization of a vision YMI has had from the beginning.

Tomorrow I go to Brasil. Usually, the night before I leave is filled with a bunch of tasks that need to get done at the last minute. This time is no exception. In fact, as I write this blog my bag is only half-packed, a store run still needs to happen, and I also need to grab all the documentation needed for travel. Still, there is a different feel to this trip than to the six I have made previously to this country. This time, instead of focusing on planning, the main point to this trip is hands-on ministry.

Next weekend, November 19-21, myself, Juca Cerpe (National Director for YMI Brasil), Rose Velasquez (YMI USA’s Latin American Mission Specialist), and Julio Serrano (a partner missionary from Peru), will be leading a mission training for a church in Atibaia, a city near Sao Paulo. That’s right: YMI will train its first church in another country to go on a mission trip!

In addition to training a team from PIBAI (First Baptist Church of Atibaia Imperial), we will also be hosting a conference for church leaders who are interested in doing local evangelism with young people or perhaps doing mission work in another region of the country. This represents the official “next step” for YMI!

During our trip, Rose and I will be sending updates via Facebook and Twitter. To follow me on Twitter, simply click here: @BrianYMI. If you can, please remember to pray for our trip, the preparation for the training conference, and that the Lord would touch those at the training in a way that would inspire them to tell others in their community about Jesus.

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Leaving the U.S. to Leave the U.S.?

ymibrian — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 15:38:26 +0000

It’s been a while since you all received my latest blog. Why? Because I have been busy launching YMI Teams to five different locations on four continents (South America, Europe, Africa and Asia). In one case, we could not launch a YMI Team from the U.S. That’s right – we actually had to leave our own country in order to send a team to another country!

What happened? Well, it’s pretty simple. By the time the Amsterdam Team was able to purchase their airfare, prices out of Seattle (where the team launched from) had soared. It was obvious we could not send the team from there. So, I began thinking about where this team could depart from when suddenly the thought occurred to me that we could launch the team from Canada! Vancouver, B.C. was only three hours away by car and it is a major airport for that country. Once I searched I found an agreeable airfare for a direct flight from Vancouver to Amsterdam. We booked it!

Last Friday we drove the team from Seattle up through the Canada-U.S. border (an experience, I can promise you, as the three cars we were in were questioned rigorously) to the Vancouver International Airport. It actually wasn’t that hard and we may consider doing this again in the future! Looking back on it, though, it does seem crazy that to send an international team we had to leave the country first!

It’s sunny, very warm, and I am near snow…where am I?

ymibrian — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 02:08:33 +0000

I am at West Coast Honor Camp, held near the base of Lassen Peak, which is still covered in snow. This is my fourth visit to the camp and with each journey it seems more and more like I am part of the group. Upon arrival I have been warmly greeted by the adult leaders and students who have participated in YMI trips and trainings in Sacramento. I also have the privilege of bringing Juca Cerpe, the YMI Brasil National Director, with me to talk about our ministry and to see which youth want to go on a trip in 2011! He knows some people here as well and has been received warmly.

Over the past two years, this camp has sent (and will send) youth on three YMI Teams from the Sacramento area to the Philippines, South Korea, and Costa Rica. This summer, prayerfully, more teams will train in Sacramento at First Baptist of Fair Oaks and even more young people will have the opportunity to serve God internationally. As I am here Tuesday – Thursday this week, if you remember, please pray that God would touch the hearts of the youth and adult leaders of this camp so that they would be motivated to share the message of Christ both here in the U.S. and around the world.