One of the main objectives for our trip to Haiti last month was to meet with local pastors, build connections and explore the possibility of coordinating an effort for American churches to partner with them. (My pictures of one such meeting here, here and here.) Thankfully, that objective is now coming to fruition due to Adventures In Missions’s leadership in Haiti.

There’s a couple reasons why I’m very excited about the opportunity for American churches to partner with churches in Haiti.

• Compassion International, World Vision, and many other organizations have already proven that these kinds of partnerships can be mutually edifying for the body of Christ, both for churches in America and in other countries.
• Relief efforts could go to a lot of different organizations in Haiti, but this is an opportunity for relief to go through the body of Christ in Haiti, directly to the people from people who are already known and trusted in their communities.
• Every single pastor I met in Haiti is a rock-solid spiritual leader. In fact, this man is probably the wisest pastor I’ve ever met. Just sitting near him, listening to him speak and pray left all of us on the team with a sense of awe. These men are tremendous spiritual leaders who are well respected.
• Through Adventures In Missions, you can visit your Haitian partnership church, both in the short-term and in the future.
• The need is so great in Haiti right now, especially as the rainy season is upon them with very few shelters. Our support can help the Haitian churches rise up and be both a spiritual and physical shelter in their communities.
• The average Haitian lives on an average of $400/year, so small amounts of money can make a very significant impact. That means American churches of any size, of any financial status, can make a huge difference.

Here’s a video from our trip about the Haiti Church to Church Partnership.

MORE INFO: If you’re interested in learning more about partnering with a church in Haiti, read more about the Haiti Church to Church partnership on Adventures In Missions’ website. An AIM representative will be happy to contact you personally about the partnership opportunities and talk through it with you, as well. Just use the contact form on their site.

Then come back here and post in the comments below if make a commitment to a Haitian church. I’d love to hear about it!

Today was a unique show. Instead of the normal round-table discussion we usually have, a couple members from the Youth Ministry Advance Team: Haiti joined me to talk about our upcoming missions trip to Haiti.

In the discussion was myself, Adam McLane, Jeremy Zach, Anne Jackson, and Jeff Goins.

You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook throughout the trip!

Some of the things we talked about:

• Why we’re each agreed to go to Haiti
• What we’re expecting on the trip
• What we’ll be doing there and why it will make a difference
• How other groups can help Haiti both financially and by visiting
• And a whole lot more…

You can listen to the whole conversation below or grab it in iTunes.

Play this episode

Subscribe to LIVE YM Conversations in iTunes

Next Monday’s discussion

No Talk on February 15: I’ll be in Haiti, so there will be no LIVE YM Talk next week. However, the week after that, February 22, Tic Long will join us to talk about The future of Youth Specialties and Q&A. See our LIVE YM Talk page for details.

Join our next LIVE Youth Ministry Conversation!

[ Catch up with previous posts about my trip to Haiti ]

Wow. I leave for Haiti in only one and a half weeks! And I’m starting to freak out a bit!

As the time continues to draw closer, my mind has almost become totally consumed with the trip:

• What will I see? How will I feel when I see it?
• Will I be able to handle my emotions or will I default to “tough guy” mode? Will I be the only one on the team who will struggle with that?
• Why does the government put an expiration date on my passport that’s dated for 6 months after when it really expires?
• How will my worldview be shattered? How will that impact my theology? My ministry?
• I’ve never felt called nor prompted to adopt, but what if that changes once I’m there? Will I come back with some Haitian children? Is that even possible?
• Will I really be able to make a difference there in only one week?
• Will I feel called to return to Haiti on a regular basis, taking others with me to serve the people there?
• How will I respond if I pull a body from the rubble or see dead people laying around?
• Do I have all of the equipment I’ll need?
• What if I say or do something stupid that offends their culture? What if I make matters worse?
• Will the Haitians perceive me to be just another tourist or as someone who truly wants to help make things better?

Compared to the amount of pressure I feel when taking a group of teenagers overseas, this is about 10x more than that. Seriously. And I’m not even in charge of the trip! For once I’m able to just go along and let someone else take care of the details, yet I’m still freakin’ out a bit.

The organization

Thankfully, the organization I’m going with, Adventures In Missions, has been amazing so far. They don’t know it, but their detailed reporting about the plans and environment for the trip have done a lot to ease my tensions. They are so thorough, so considerate, and so obviously experienced. Despite my breif relationship with them so far, I honestly trust them so much and am confident that our time in Haiti will be maximized to its fullest potential.

The team

Another thing that contributes to my sense of security is the rock-solid team of people I’ll be with. Not only will Seth Barnes be traveling with us, the founder of Adventures In Missions, but so will a few other people:

• Anne Jackson: blog | twitter | facebook
• Tim Schmoyer: blog | twitter | facebook | youtube
• Adam McLane: blog | twitter | facebook
• Mark Oestreicher: blog
• Seth Barnes: blog | twitter
• Jeremy Zach: blog | twitter
• Lars Rood: blog | twitter
• Ian Robertson: video guy
• Rhett Smith: blog | twitter
• Clint Bokelman: blog

We’ll all be using our social media accounts to share what’s happening on the trip, so be sure to check them all out if you want to hear all sides of the stories. I, too, will be blogging during the trip, as well as using my Twitter account, Facebook page, and YouTube channel to post updates, pictures, and videos while we’re there, so be sure to subscribe to each of them.

Official team Twitter list
Perhaps the easiest way to follow the “Youth Ministry Advance Team: Haiti” on Twitter is to subscribe to the YMATH Twitter List.

Officially on Facebook and Twitter
In addition to using our own social media channels, Adam McLane set up a unique twitter account and Facebook page specificly for this trip. The big highlights of the trip, including videos, pictures, blog post links, and updates will be posted at those places throughout the trip.

Donate and win a $50 gift certificate to C28.com

In my last blog post about Haiti I mentioned I have several big expenses to cover, about $660 worth of shots, passport renewal, and equipment. Several of you responded with generous donations. Thank you!

C28 Christian Shirts stepped up, as well, and donated a $50 gift certificate for me to give away to a random donor, which is amazing! It doesn’t matter how much you give, whether it’s $1 or $100, use the ChipIn widget to donate securely via PayPal. Any funds that are donated beyond my needs for the trip will be donated to Adventures In Missions and their Haiti relief efforts.

Next Tuesday, February 9, I’ll randomly select a donor to receive the $50 gift certificate for C28 Christian Shirts. In the meantime, check out their website because they have some of the most unique and non-cheesy Christian appearal I’ve seen in a long time.

[ Donate here ]

How 30 seconds could drastically change your life

Adventures In Missions put together a great video about the relief work that’s needed in Haiti. I’m so honored I get to be part of a team that actually goes to serve. February 11 to 17, baby! (Yikes!)

Just a quick reminder that that Online Missions Trip starts this Sunday! Greg Stier reminded us about it this morning, too.

If you’re not familiar with the Online Missions Trip, it’s a 2-week campaign to encourage students to engage in spiritual conversations with their unsaved/unchurched friends through mediums where they’re already communicating, like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Xbox Live, World of Warcraft, etc.

To learn more about this trip, visit OnlineMissionsTrip.com. There are many ideas, free resources and tools, a 24/7 Prayer Room, and more. It also has a video of me explaining the trip in more detail. This blog post summarizes it, as well.

And while you’re there, become a fan of the Online Missions Trip on Facebook and meet some of the other teens and youth leaders who will be attending this missions trip starting on Sunday.

Also, you have to see this video about this video, which underscores why this outreach campaign comes at such a key moment in history.

[ Visit OnlineMissionsTrip.com ]

[ Read more recent posts about my trip to Haiti ]

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or are a fan of the Life In Student Ministry Facebook Page already know this because I announced it last Friday with this post on my personal blog at timschmoyer.me.

To hear the story of this opportunity, I strongly encourage you to go read that post first. It tells the story of how I responded initially to the opportunity, how the Lord convicted me about my self-centeredness, and changed my response.

The short version is this: Early last week I was asked if I was interested in a trip to Haiti. Since it was during time I had already scheduled to be in Texas on a family vacation, my wife and I mostly declined, but as I thought about it throughout the rest of the week I felt very convicted. “Tim, how can you go kick-back in Texas and relax when there’s so many people in Haiti who are literally suffering! And you have an opportunity to help!” Matthew 25:40 and James 4:17 kept kicking my butt all week long until I got the email, “Tim, the trip is officially on. Are you in or out?” Apparently my wife had a change of heart, too, because when I approached her about it again, she said I needed to go even before I said I was actually thinking about doing it.

So, here I go! I’m scared, nervous, excited, and unqualified, all at the same time. I’m going with the expectation that God will just wreck me, that He’ll shatter my perspective of the world and of life. It will be hard, I’m sure… harder than I can imagine. I’m so comfortable in my tiny, self-centered, narrowly-focused, perfect American world.

There’s more about that in my original post, so let me use the rest of this post to fill in some details that are missing from it and answer some common questions I’ve received so far.

Common questions about the trip

First of all, this is definitely, absolutely, 100% a serving trip. I am not going just to be a tourist and see the sights. If that were the case, I would much rather go somewhere cleaner and safer than Haiti. I’m going to serve water and food in a community where currently no other relief is present except a small team from the organization I’ll be joining. The cool thing about this team is that they are serving along-side of Haitians instead of just taking over and doing it on their own. They’re partnering with local churches, drenching the ministry in prayer, and have a lot of experience in relief efforts, including Katrina.

I know people are being told not to come to Haiti unless you’re an expert, like a doctor or a dentist or something, but they’re mostly speaking to people without a plan, who just show up at the airport without a ride or a place to go. I am traveling to Haiti invited by people who are already there, who have a plan for me and our ministry time together. Reports from the people they’ve helped on the ground are, “Please come help us! We’ve been left homeless and without anything, and we are desperate.” Advance teams from this organization are being met with great gratitude. Furthermore, it doesn’t take an expert to clean up debris, hand out food and water, or just be present to give hope to people by showing them, “Hey, you’re not alone! We’re here for you.”

Follow my trip in Haiti

Depending on wifi availability, you can be sure I’ll do my best to keep you all in the loop with what’s happening while I’m there, including pictures, videos, tweets, and blog posts. I’m not sure what the Internet access will be like, nor do I know a lot of other details yet, but hopefully by next week I can update you all again with how everything is coming together. In the meantime, make sure you subscribe to my following channels for my videos, pictures, and updates from Haiti:

• My Twitter account
• Subscribe to my YouTube videos
• Become a fan of Life In Student Ministry on Facebook
• Subscribe to LISM in iTunes
• Subscribe to this blog either by RSS or by email

I need some financial help

It’s no secret that a missions trip costs a lot of money. Fortunately, most of it will be paid for by a very generous donor! (Thank you!!) There are some expenses I have to cover myself, however, most notably are the necessary immunizations and some gear, like decent hiking shoes and mosquito netting. I don’t have final prices on all the shots and immunizations yet, but it sounds like they’ll easily add up to several hundred dollars.

If you feel compelled to partner with me financially to help cover some of these expenses, I would greatly appreciate it. Any funds that come in above and beyond my necessary expenses I will donate to the Haiti relief work of the organization I’ll be joining. The dates for the trip are February 11 to 17. Please use this chip-in widget to donate money to my PayPal account. Thank you!

This past September I announced the dates for the 2010 Online Missions Trip, along with some detailed information about what it is, how it works, and how your youth group can join my groups and thousands of other teens around the world in sharing Christ through social media online.

If you’re not familiar with the Online Missions Trip, here’s what it’s all about:

The Internet has never made it so easy to share Christ with those all over the world! Teenagers spend a crazy amount of hours talking with friends on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, World of Warcraft and other such social hangouts online. As youth workers, let’s train them to share their faith and encourage them to do it online. The Online Missions Trip is a 2-week campaign to empower them to use social media to share Christ with their friends who don’t yet know Him.

The structure looks like this:

January 10-30, 2010

Pre-trip training. Use youth group meetings to train kids how to share their faith, think through the Online Missions Trip concept, and start praying for unsaved friends.

January 31 to February 13, 2010

Online Missions Trip! During these two weeks teens and youth leaders are engaging in spiritual conversations with unsaved friends online. They’re uploading videos, photos, posting links, using status updates to share what God’s doing in their lives, writing notes, sending messages, posting on blogs, creating event invites to youth group, and anything else that will bring God up in a conversation that starts online and hopefully spreads to a face-to-face discussion.

February 14, 2010

Outreach event/series and new-believer follow-up starts. Follow-up on this missions trip with a series that helps the new teens in your ministry either investigate Christianity a bit closer or start growing in their new faith. Be sure to follow-up one-on-one with new converts, as well.

To learn more about this trip, visit OnlineMissionsTrip.com. There are many ideas, free resources and tools, a 24/7 Prayer Room that will open in 2010, and more. It also has a video of me explaining the trip in more detail.

While you’re there, become a fan of The OnlineMissionsTrip.com Facebook Page and meet some of the other teens and youth leaders who will be attending this missions trip with you next year as part of fulfilling THE Cause.

[ Visit OnlineMissionsTrip.com ]

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How can I make Life In Student Ministry more valuable for you in 2010? Here is a survey that could give me some valuable insights into you, your ministry, your needs, and thoughts about this site. It should only take about 3-4 minutes to complete. Thanks!

Time Out (by Jerry Schmoyer)

(The following was written for the people in the church my father pastors, but applies to youth workers as well. As you read this, he is currently in India training hundreds of pastors.)

I was great fan of cowboy westerns when I was growing up. I would listen to them on the radio and watch them on TV. I had a stack of comic books about cowboys. I loved how the good guy always won the day and made everything right. Sometimes he handled the situation alone, other times he had some who helped him – but he always succeeded to do what he set out to do.

One of my favorite scenarios involved a young child or fair maiden who wandered away from safety and fell over a cliff. Part way down the cliff they managed to hang onto a ledge or small bush while waiting for help to come and rescue them.

The only way to get to them was by going over the side of the cliff. Of course it was the hero who went down. He couldn’t do it alone, though. He would take his rope off his saddle and tie one end around his waist. The other end would be secured to his horse or held by a group of people who had arrived to lend assistance. They slowly let him down and then gently pulled him and the person rescued back up to the top. If he failed they died – but I never saw that happen.

While the hero got the credit, it was those who let him down and pulled him up that had as important a part as he did, maybe even more important. They were the unsung heroes but they were absolutely crucial to the success of the mission.

So what does this have to do with my imminent departure for a month in India? I feel like I am going over a cliff and I need you to hold the rope! If you don’t hold the rope firmly I’ll never accomplish what God wants me to accomplish.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m certainly not saying I’m some kind of hero for going over the cliff. I didn’t volunteer for this. God made it very clear I was to do this. There was no alternative. If there had been I’m sure I would have taken it. It’s purely a matter of obedience on my part. It has nothing to do with courage, “spirituality,” or any desire to be a hero. I know how miserable it is to disobey God – I’ve gone that route too often already. Inner peace and fellowship with God disappear. It’s much better to obey and do what He asks. So there’s no hero here today, just me trying to do God’s will.

And this is no glamorous adventure of trying to save the heathen and become well known. It’s a rescue attempt, short and simple. There are people lost in darkness about to go over the edge into eternity. If God can use me to bring them to safety in Him I’ll go own down. There are pastors and church leaders in seemingly impossible situations. If I can encourage them and help them find stable footing then they in turn can rescue others. Rescue attempts are hard, difficult and not always successful. But the attempt must be made.

However this isn’t about me. It’s about you holding the rope for me as I go down. If you don’t I won’t succeed. What does it mean to hold the rope? It means to pray. And then pray. Then pray some more. It means to keep the situation and need before the throne of God, asking for His guidance and blessing, His protection and provision.

So I beg you – hold the rope!! Hold it firmly, strongly, consistently. Put all your strength into it. Don’t be distracted or discouraged. Don’t give up. Pray, pray, pray and pray. Pray without ceasing. Keep on praying. Remember, I’m on the other end of the rope. Don’t let go! Keep praying until I get back up on familiar ground again. And by the way, THANKS!!!!!

Reflect

• Who is holding your rope as you venture out in service for God? Who are those who regularly and faithfully pray for you? Take some time tot hank them today. Let them know specifically where you need prayer.
• Whose rope are you holding? Whose should you be holding? Your mate, co-workers, senior pastor, etc. Make a list and commit to supporting them in prayer every day

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Jerry Schmoyer has been a minister in Pennsylvania for over 25 years and has worked with teenagers for 14 years, ever since I became one myself. He authors the weekly Time Out series here at Life in Student Ministry in hopes to spiritually refresh your soul as you continually pour so much of yourself into students. God bless!

The Online Missions Trip went amazingly well last year! Around 3,000 youth leaders and teenagers from every continent except Antarctica intentionally used social media online to share Christ with unsaved friends. Many teenagers trusted in Christ for salvation as a result and many youth group teens were challenged to take God into yet another part of their world: the Internet.

Although this idea started originally for my own youth group out of my discontentment with outreach events, it’s a great experience when we can all connect together online through this “outreach campaign.”

The Internet has never made it so easy to share Christ with those all over the world! Teenagers spend a crazy amount of hours talking with friends on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, World of Warcraft and other such social hangouts online, as youth workers, let’s train them to share their faith and encourage them to do it online. The Online Missions Trip is a 2-week campaign to empower them to use social media to share Christ with their friends who don’t yet know Him.

The structure looks like this:

January 10-30, 2010

Pre-trip training. Use youth group meetings to train kids how to share their faith, think through the Online Missions Trip concept, and start praying for unsaved friends.

January 31 to February 13, 2010

Online Missions Trip! During these two weeks teens and youth leaders are engaging in spiritual conversations with unsaved friends online. They’re uploading videos, photos, posting links, using status updates to share what God’s doing in their lives, writing notes, sending messages, posting on blogs, creating event invites to youth group, and anything else that will bring God up in a conversation that starts online and hopefully spreads to a face-to-face discussion.

February 14, 2010

Outreach event/series and new-believer follow-up starts. Follow-up on this missions trip with a series that helps the new teens in your ministry either investigate Christianity a bit closer or start growing in their new faith. Be sure to follow-up one-on-one with new converts, as well.

To learn more about this trip, visit OnlineMissionsTrip.com. There are many ideas, free resources and tools, a 24/7 Prayer Room that will open in 2010, and more. It also has a video of me explaining the trip in more detail.

Also, you have to see this video about the social media revolution, which underscores why this outreach campaign comes at such a key moment in history.

While you’re there, become a fan of The OnlineMissionsTrip.com Facebook Page and meet some of the other teens and youth leaders who will be attending this missions trip with you next year.

[ Visit OnlineMissionsTrip.com ]

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Only 2 day left to apply for the FREE Youth Ministry Mentorship! Please help support the mentorship, the Online Missions Trip, and MinistryQuestions.com by subscribing to YouthWorker Journal. Get your FREE no-risk trial issue of YouthWorker Journal today, the best in youth ministry resources!

Our friends at Cadre Ministries are giving away 3 resources to help you prepare for your short term missions trip this summer, and also to help you while you’re there.

1. Ten Short Mission Trip Land Mines Your Team Must Avoid. This one includes a FREE 13-page training session for your team for you to use before you leave.

2. Service Projects That Make Middle Schoolers Shine. Mission trips don’t have to be far away and they also don’t have to be only for older kids. Here’s why you should do service projects with jr. highers and how to make the experience leave a lasting impression.

3. Making The Most Of Mission Trips. Six things your groups needs to start doing now before you leave. Share it with your team as soon as possible.

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Join us at 2:00 PM EST this afternoon in our LIVE YM Talk. There’s no featured guest, set topic or agenda except to have an open discussion. Ask questions, seek advice, share prayer concerns, vent, whatever you want. See the LIVE YM Talk page for details on how to join the call and/or the live chat.