2021
A Year of Resurgence and Expansion
Here at Youth Ministry International we are always talking about our purpose and vision of Training the Trainers of national youth leaders. We are continually challenging those we train to take the training that they have received from us and then train others (II Timothy 2:2). It doesn’t end with just the national youth leader. Their challenge is to then train others. And they do.
William Abadoo (circled in above photo), a Youth Ministry MA graduate in Nigeria wrote:
Last year I gave a seminar on youth ministry at the quarterly meeting of our Association’s ministers conference. When I attended the January meeting this year (2020), it was amazing how many people greeted me and said they started implementing information from my seminar last year and that there have been changes in their churches. The leadership had started putting the lecture into practice even before I left! This is my testimony of what God is doing with us through our training with YMI.
Last year at this time we asked you to help us make 2020 our best ministry year ever. With Covid-19 making its impact around the world it has been a difficult and challenging year to say the least. However, despite all the lockdowns, restrictions and concerns of the pandemic, our ministry to youth has continued.
How we do it has changed, but in the midst of all this year’s challenges, we are still training the trainers of youth leaders who continue to reach youth for Christ. More than 30,000 youth have come to Christ so far this year!
As we look back on how lives have been impacted with the Gospel through YMI, we recognized that it follows a “simple” mathematic principle – 1×1=10,000. The math is correct because we are looking at “exponential multiplication”. It’s not just one person reaching another person for Christ – it’s both of those believers reaching and discipling others, and these new believers then reaching even more … and on and on.
As we look ahead to 2021, we are excited about implementing our Saturation Multiplication Training (SMT) initiative. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to give every youth in the world an opportunity to hear the gospel in a culturally acceptable way, respond with a personal acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior, and effectively disciple these youth to spiritually maturity, empowering them to lead other youth through this same process (Ephesians 4:11-14).
An ambitious initiative? Yes! A bold step? Yes! Impossible to fulfill? NO!!
Jesus Christ gave his followers the command to go into all the world, preaching the gospel and making disciples. He would not have given a command that was impossible to fulfill. It can be done! But it has to be done together.
This is where you come in. You can continue to have a crucial role in helping YMI reach the goal set before us through SMT. Your prayer for our ministry is essential. And your financial support during our end of year fundraising outreach helps make everything we do possible.
As you pray for YMI, we ask you to consider a one-time end-of-year gift that will make a continuing difference as youth around the world are inspired to reach their peers with the gospel.
Your gift will make a difference in places like Romania. Radu Cimpean, a national YMI trainer, recently taught youth webinars during Covid to almost 300 youth leaders. He wrote:
I was very much encouraged by the participants’ engagement through their questions and interactions. There is a vision to start a networked youth leader coalition that would provide help and support for all of us in Romania interested in working with youth. This new coalition is working strategically to help the youth leaders of Romania in several fields: apologetics, counseling, sociological research, and media. The need for this coalition network is huge and we pray that God will provide strong passionate leaders who will be devoted to carrying out this vision. I see that God has provided tremendous opportunities for Christian youth leaders in Romania through YMI, and because of that, we are blessed to be able to say, THANKS FOR BEING OUR PARTNERS!
This is just one example of the impact YMI’s training is having, and we are excited about how this program will continue to expand. Already we have five new locations which have asked for YMI youth ministry training in 2021!
Our goal by December 31 is to raise $40,000 to provide the funding we need as we move into 2021. We are delighted to report that special friends of YMI have made available a matching gift of $15,000! This means that your gift, separate from donations to individual trainers, will be doubled!
Through my exposure to YMI I found it helpful to know that we have counterparts all over the world who have the same heart for young people. I praise God for Youth Ministry International’s contribution to my ministry and pray that it will extend to the entire world of youth! – YMI Trainer serving in Asia