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Student Stories

 

Called to Youth Ministry

“During my senior year of college, finishing my bachelors degree in Commercial Art: Graphic Design, more strongly than ever before, God was calling me into ministry. I was scared at the thought because I didn’t exactly know where God was leading me. Deep in my heart I knew that I had a strong love and passion for youth, but didn’t know at what capacity God was calling me. As doors continued to open for me in that direction it was like God, Creator of the Universe, was holding down a bright neon sign that said CYMT. It’s kind of crazy how it all fell into place for me. CYMT has been a perfect fit to the puzzle that I had been searching for.

“What I find to be so great about CYMT is that they placed me in a church that truly fits me best. Also, CYMT students are a community of people who support each other and can relate to the struggles and the celebrations of working in the church with youth. Being assigned a coach has truly helped me in so many aspects. My coach is there for me at any time of the day with encouragement, listening ears, support, wisdom, and of course unconditional love and grace.  The clincher for me in deciding to apply to CYMT was the retreat style format and the fact that it would be through MTS. Being born into the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination, and strangely enough, with my father’s interest in genealogy, I have found out that one of my ancestors was one of the founders of the Cumberland Presbyterian denomination, Samuel King and his son-in-law McGee. The CYMT program being connected to MTS only seemed too perfect for me to be a part of it.” Joanna Bellis, Youth Director at Brenthaven CPC

New CYMT Student Likes the Challenge

Emma Loane likes a challenge. She has faced a few in following God’s plan for her life. Emma is a new student in the CMYT program. She had known that God was calling her to mission and ministry for awhile, and felt that America had to be a stop for her as she was learning and following in God’s plan. Emma wasn’t sure how to incorporate a trip to the States until she found the CYMT program during her final year of university in St. Andrews, Scotland. The thing that drew her to CYMT was the three-fold emphasis of the program that provided a graduate level training experience, practical and focused youth ministry training, and on-the-job experience at a local church working as the sole youth director, along with a weekly check-in with an experienced youth minister. So she accepted the challenge to move to America.

After moving here, Emma faced her second challenge—starting a youth and children’s ministry from scratch. Emma serves at Trinity Church in Spring Hill,a church plant of Brentwood UMC. She finds this an exhilarating and fulfilling experience. The ministry there is young but growing very quickly and increasing weekly. Emma loves the flexibility and rapidly evolving process of reaching new people and establishing a new community of faith.

Once she figured out her responsibilities at her church, she was given the challenge to meet the kids in the area and figure out their interests and needs, all while being from another culture. Emma immediately saw the commonalities between the youth in America and Northern Ireland with the social pressures that adolescents face. But then she saw the obvious differences. In Northern Ireland, there is the extra dimension of sectarianism and religious and political division in schools and communities that is rooted deep down in the psyche of teenagers and adds to the social pressures. She also noticed that the aspirations of children and youth in Brentwood and Spring Hill differ from the ambitions of the youth in Ireland. Many kids that Emma worked with in Northern Ireland would not go to college, out of choice or convention; she hasn’t found this the case so far in Tennessee.

Drawing from her experience in leadership positions in churches and Christian organizations and her studies in social and cultural geography, Emma finds it is essential for a youth pastor to know the culture that the youth are in. She says God is teaching her here in the States that the differences and similarities, when it comes to ministry, cannot and should not be presumed. Every situation is unique when working with youth. 

Emma’s challenge at present is a visa-related obstacle—which is only applicable to future international students. This obstacle is still not completely sorted out and has involved a lot of busy people and copious amounts of paperwork. She also continues to face hardship being away from home and family, but has had a lot of prayer and support here to help her through tough times. 

When asked to share a story about something exciting that has happened since her arrival, Emma shared this:  “I have been visiting a Middle School in Spring Hill over the past few months, eating lunch with a couple of groups of 6th and 7th graders. It’s a time that I really look forward to most weeks, although it’s a little scary as well. I haven’t been completely sure whether my presence there or the time spent chatting and messing around in the dining hall did much good. However, a couple of weeks ago, before Christmas break, one of the girls I met at school arrived at church with her mom and younger sister. The only place she would have heard of or had a connection with my church is during the brief 30-40 minutes I spend with them talking about teachers, classes, boys, sport and school lunches. This is wonderful confirmation that it is God at work in these places. This was a special moment for me.”

Emma hopes when she completes the CYMT program she will be a better minister to youth and families and have grown in wisdom and trust as she works within a different cultural setting from which she grew up. She also hopes that over these 2 years she will grow in her faith. As Emma’s coach says about her, “God will change the world through Emma... starting here in the states and then to Ireland, then...then who knows? I have not stopped being impressed with her passion for ministry or her intelligence. She has, as of yet, not stopped trying to be better than she was the day before.”

Reflections from Graduates of CYMT

"There are several words that come to mind when I think of my first few years of youth ministry (pre-CYMT).  Good words like POWERFUL, EXCITING, and INSPIRING.  There, however, were also words like FRUSTRATING, EXHAUSTING, and BURNED OUT.  I loved what I was doing, but the way I was doing it was wearing me down.  I often felt alone and that I was spinning my wheels - that my ministry had no traction or direction. Two years later as I am finishing the Center for Youth Ministry Training a lot has changed.  I still have days that are frustrating. I still feel exhausted at times, but these feeling are no longer overwhelming.  CYMT has given me the skills and strengths needed to survive in the world of youth ministry.  Through their help, my ministry at Calvary UMC has now developed a vision and is implementing and working on our goals to accomplish that vision.  We now have a direction.  When I do struggle, CYMT has also given me a peer group to lean on when I need support.  These relationships will continue to grow even after our classes together have ended. I look forward to seeing my ministry continue to improve and get stronger.  The Center for Youth Ministry Training has developed in me more CONFIDENCE and taught me to TRUST that all things are possible through the LORD."

Kris Lott

"CYMT is a program that finally understands the importance of training and equipping youth ministers before throwing them into the church without any direction. In fact, it is more than a program. It is a place where I am mentored and cared about as a God's Child. 
Thanks to CYMT, I feel I am learning skills in this two year program what takes most youth pastors 5-10 years of experience to learn.
The community at CYMT is incredible. I hang out with the other interns a couple times a week. We go bowling, play football, and other games all the time. I've all made some close friends and it's amazing to always have a close group you can depend on and pray with. 
I wanted to be a youth pastor but I didn't want to jump into the job and be left on my own to figure out how to do it. I feel this happens often for many youth pastors. I wanted an internship, but often with internships you don't get to do any real youth ministry work and you don't get paid. That's when I found CYMT. It's the best of both worlds. You are in the shoes of the youth pastor for your selected church, but you are getting trained while you are on the job."

Samantha Tidball
Class of 2010

An Interview with CYMT student, Steph Dodge

Tell us about your experience with CYMT so far: 
I joined the Center for Youth Ministry Training because I wanted to work in youth ministry, but had little experience actually running a youth program.  I really enjoy the support of the other students in the program and the fellowship that happens when we have lunch between classes or stay up late studying for exams.  The things I have learned ... have given me a strong foundation for teaching biblical lessons to my youth.

So what’s happening at your church since you arrived?:
At Loretto United Methodist Church,  I have been learning small town youth ministry from the ground up.  When I came in August 2007, the church essentially had no youth program, and it has been a challenge to get the few parents and youth at the church to commit to the youth program.  Despite low numbers, we have had a number of successful events.  In January we converted one of the Sunday School classrooms into a youth room, complete with futons, coffee tables, and a Nintendo Wii.  We did a lock-in at the church in January and had 8 youth from the community.  We also had a video game night with 14 youth in attendance.  In late March in conjunction with the local Fellowship of Christian Athletes we hosted a movie night at the church.

Tell us about something you’re proud of at Loretto UMC:
In March I started a ministry at the high school called Breakfast Club.  We meet every Tuesday morning before school for donuts and juice and have a short devotion.  We have consistently had an average of 7 youth, even after moving to a classroom because the administration said we could not give away donuts in the cafeteria.   Breakfast Club has been a great way for me to get more involved in the lives of the softball girls that I coach at the local high school, and it has also been an opportunity for me to meet some of the youth at the high school who do not attend our church. 

Any parting thoughts?:
Doing youth ministry in Loretto has been full of challenges, but it has also given me a lot of opportunities to learn and to grow.  I may never have 100 youth, or 50, or even 20, but I am learning what it means to be present in the lives of youth and my youth are learning that Mountain Dew is “pop not Coke”, and hopefully they are learning to become more like Christ too.