Tag Archives: Missions

Teen Mania in the media

Posted on 16. Nov, 2011 by .

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Apparently Teen Mania Ministries was in the media last week. MSNBC aired a special called Mind over Mania. I missed it but I did catch up on all the commotion around the special. Below is the promo from MSNBC’s site.

In caes you are unfamiliar, Teen Mania is the parent company to Acquire the Fire, Global Expeditions and a handful of over ministry initiatives involving ministry to teens and preteens. I searched all over the web for a rebroadcast of the MSNBC special, but I couldn’t find it anywhere… but I feel I read enough summaries to speak my opinions and thoughts.

I went on my first Teen Mania trip to Venezuela when I was 16 back in 1993. I spent another two months in India in 1994 and did the one year Internship (now called the Honor Academy) and ventured to both Morocco and Russia while I was an intern. Unfortunately, I’ve not been involved with Teen Mania since my internship because of my involvement in kidmin. Almost 15 years have passed since then, but I’ve sent many teenagers and preteens on summer trips and almost every time, the results are the same. Lives are changed.

I am who I am today because of Teen Mania and the one year internship. I’ve started the things I’ve started and have lead at the capacity that I do because of the things I learned as an intern. I raised nearly $10,000 to be an intern for them where I was housed, fed, given a job to do and was invested in significantly for 12 months. Oh, part of that money sent me halfway around the world… twice. I can’t imagine a better investment into my life. I held two roles as an intern. One was in leadership development where they put significant trust in me as a 19 year-old to set up a tour to college campuses where we recruited leaders for summer mission trips. I’m still amazed at the opportunity they gave us. My second role was as a call center rep for their Acquire the Fire events. I built relationships with student pastors to help them get thousands of teenagers to an event in Virginia. One of the greatest moments of my life was to be at that event and see the thousands in attendance because of my hard work. Those are incredibly rewarding experiences for a teenager.

Lastly, the organization pushed me out of my comfort zone through incredibly creative retreats and experiences. 15 years later, I still marvel at what I learned. I was never forced to do anything and the men and women in leadership were some of the godliest people I knew… who invested in me, helping me to become the leader that I am today in the world of Kidmin.

So, if you saw the trash MSNBC developed or read negative articles other places, know that there are always two sides to every story. Sure, some people have bad experiences. Mistakes are sometimes made and at times, people fall through cracks. But Teen Mania taught me an awful lot about character and virtue and I learned these things from the same people being accused of “mind control” and other garbage. I don’t think so.

I still firmly believe that if you want to sent a high school graduate on course for excellence in life (and their relationship with Jesus), the honor academy is one of the best decisions you could make.

Check out the Honor Academy here.

Here is an article on the MSNBC Special.

Here is another one.

 

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Why take kids on a mission trip?

Posted on 01. Apr, 2011 by .

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On our mission trip to Belize last week, we took 7 kids age 6 to 14.  Until a few years ago I would have never envisioned this being a reality.  David and Karen Rhodes, our partner missionaries, expressed that they have gotten lots of negative feedback about envisioning such experiences for young kids.  Here is a summary of our experience.

Read the entire post here.

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Global Missions – Aim lower!

Posted on 31. Mar, 2011 by .

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Below is a somewhat tongue in cheek  but very informative video about this idea of reaching the world’s most unreached by focusing on the kids. Enjoy!

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Where the unreached live: 10-40 Window

Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by .

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There’s a good chance you’ve actually heard of the 10-40 window. I know that I first heard about the 10-40 window when I was preparing to go on one of my first mission trips when I was 15 years-old. That seems like a really long time ago. In case you’ve heard about the 10-40 window and didn’t know what it was, here’s your missions primer.

The 10-40 window is a rectangular area between 10 degrees north latitude and 40 degrees north latitude spanning from North Africa to covering most of Asia. It is in this region that the worlds poorest live, it’s where the the three largest non-christian are most highly concentrated (Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and non-religious) and it’s where practically all of the worlds most unreached live. It’s also called the resistance belt because many of the people groups in this area are very difficult to reach with the gospel.

Remember, less than 2% of all missionaries are being sent to this part of the world. Less than 1% of all giving to missions goes to this region of the world. Hopefully this gives you a visual picture of where greater emphasis needs to go. When considering giving to world missions, I’d encourage you to pick a work being done in the 10-40 window. I’m not encouraging you to stop giving to other mission projects or to no longer give to missionaries in “reached” regions, but when looking to give more (which we should), make it a priority to give to the unreached.

Do you ever teach your kids about missions? You should. It is biblical you know. I’d encourage you to consider teaching the kids about the unreached who live in this part of the world… the 10-40 window. What if the next generation of kids raised up in the church had a heart of completing the Great Commission by focusing on these unreached peoples? That probably won’t happen unless someone teaches them what they need to know about God’s heart for the lost and  forgotten.

Here is a great resource about the 10-40 window and the people who live there.

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Unchurched vs. Unreached

Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by .

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On Monday I wrote a post about why I’m a missions snob. I think that the post is fairly informative and points to a real problem when it comes to world missions. Our efforts are grossly unbalanced. Since I’m continuing my “Missions Week” series, I thought that I’d explore the focus of my snobbery a little more.

In my post, I talked a lot about the unreached peoples. I wanted to bring some clarity to this term. Very often I will hear someone interchange unreached with unchurched in reference to missions. These words are not interchangeable and do not refer to the same people. Let me clarify.

The word unchurch is basically defined as “those not belonging or participating with a church.” This has become a pervasive term in the modern day church. Where I live in Austin, it is estimated that more than 80% of the population does not attend church. These people are unchurched. Although there are many unchurched who have never once attended a church, many stats reveal that most of the unchurched have attended church at one time in their life… many even more often than that.

The word unreached is quite a bit different. According to the website “Joshua Project” the term Unreached “is a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group.” The criteria is usually when less than 2% of the population are evangelical Christians and less than 5% are Christian adherents, the people group are considered unreached.

Although less than 10% of Austin regularly attends church, Austin is far from unreached. Well over 2% of the population are evangelical Christians and I’d imagine that the majority of this city would classify themselves as Christian adherents (it doesn’t mean they’re following strong convictions). It is totally feasible to live in an “evangelized” location like Austin and still not Christ. It’s even possible to not have ever attended a church… but it doesn’t make an area unreached. A Christian witness is close by and the opportunities to come to faith are available. Unreached is a totally different animal though. Access to the gospel message is grossly inadequate and most people in an unreached people group will live their entire lives without a clear presentation of the gospel.

So, where are the unreached? More on that in my next post, but here’s a listing of the countries where the 100 most unreached people live (click here for a site that illustrates this):

  • Afghanistan
  • Algeria
  • India
  • Iraq
  • Morocco
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Syria
  • Tunisia
  • Pakistan
  • Iran
  • Azerbaijan
  • Myanmar
  • Nigeria
  • China
  • Taiwan
  • Niger
  • Japan
  • Indonesia
  • Kazakhstan
  • Cambodia
  • North Korea
  • Turkey
  • Malaysia
  • Bangladesh
  • Somalia
  • Thailand
  • Uzbekistan
  • Yemen

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Why I’m a missions snob

Posted on 28. Mar, 2011 by .

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I am what I am and I’m not ashamed. If you ask me, “So Kenny, what do you think about missions,” be prepared for some very strong opinions. You’ll certainly get more than you bargained for. Yes, I’m very idealistic. True. However, I think that my opinions aren’t totally grounded in my idealism. I’m a very logical person and when I see something that makes a lot of sense and other people just don’t see the whole picture, I can get very passionate about these ideas. This is the reason for my snobbery.

Here’s the deal. The needs in our world are great. I’m not denying that. There are needs on every corner of the globe. Kids are starving, people are being enslaved and hospitals need to be built. The needs are great. However, if you only have a certain amount of time and a certain amount of resources, wouldn’t you want that to go where the need is greatest? Do you just give to the need that is loudest or easiest, or do you give to the need that is most helpless? Logic would tell me that at times, there is a need to prioritize. Sure, the local single mom’s clinic needs money (and is a worthy need), but there are scores of individuals and organizations that are available to help… but there are needs out there that have little access to any resources or any help. That’s where I want to meet a need.

I am a factual person. Let me share with you some facts:

Currently there are about :

  • 2 billion people in the world who claim Christianity as their faith and have access to a Christian witness.
  • 2.4 billion people in the world who are not Christians but do have access to a Christian witness.
  • 1.6 billion people in the world who are neither Christians nor do they have any access to a Christian witness.

These 1.6 billion people are considered the worlds most unreached peoples.

Here’s what makes me sick:

Out of the 400-500 thousand missionareis in the world:

  • 73% work primarily among the 2 billion who claim Christianity and have access to a Christian witness
  • 25%  work primarily with the 2.4 billion non-Christians who have access to a Christian witness
  • 2% work among the 1.6 billion most unreached people

That’s a shame people. How unbalanced is this?

When it comes to giving to missions:

  • 87% goes toward work among the 2 billion who are reached
  • 12% goes toward the 2.4 billion evangelized non-christians
  • 1% goes toward the 1.6 billion unreached

Here’s a quote about this injustice from Global Frontier Missions:

There is a lot of talk in the Christian world today about fighting injustice (human trafficking, slavery, AIDS, poverty, etc.) and we believe that those are issues that are near to God’s heart. But we also think that it is a huge injustice that 2000 after Jesus said to go and make disciples of all nations that only 2.4% of our missionaries are going to the 1.6 billion people who have never had the chance to hear the good news of the kingdom!

This is why I’m so focused on the unreached. A few years ago when I took 20 4th and 5th graders to Mexico, we spent a lot of time praying for the unreached. I considered this trip to Mexico as training ground. It was a time to sow seeds in the hearts of these kids. The trip to Mexico wasn’t “THE MISSION” but a means to the end. Yes, Mexico needs missionaries, but I could list off 20 nations that need more.

My wife and I tithe to our church first and formost. After this, we give toward those who are working among the unreached. We also give to kids and teenagers going on trips as we see it as an investment and missional seeds sown into their hearts. I don’t hate orphans. I don’t hate medical projects in Jamaica. I don’t hate missionaries in France. There are lost people and needs all over the world. I’m going to give to the need that is greatest and it happens to be the 1.6 billion unreached. If I’m ever going to jump on a bandwagon and rally support behind a missional cause, it is almost always going to be related to the 1.6 billion unreached. That is why I’m a missions snob.

“Harvest rots in the field no one is there to harvest it.”


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CMO:GO – Mission resources for kidmin

Posted on 28. Mar, 2011 by .

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Over the years I have written quite a few posts about missions in general, missional resources for kidmin and practical ideas for getting kids excited and passionate about international missions. You can always use the handy search bar on the right to find such posts, but when writing the “Kids on Mission” article for K, I decided to gather all the posts I’ve written about missions and put them in one place where things are easier to find. That places is CMO:GO which is simply childrensministryonline.com/go. This site has always been about resourcing kidmin leaders and if content is too hard to find, then I’m not serving kidmin well. So, if you’re looking for ideas on missions, check out childrensministryonline.com/go.

A word of caution though. CMO:GO isn’t comprehensive. There are probably 30-50 posts categorized by local missions, foreign missions and other resources. Over time, I’ll be adding content here as well as inviting others to add content too. I expect that in a few years, this little portion of chidlrensministryonline.com will be a great resource for kidmin inspired missions. Let me know what you think!

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Josh Kornberg and Give a Kid a Christmas 2008

Posted on 17. Dec, 2008 by .

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Okay, this post is really about a simple video you’ve gotta see. It’s a powerful audio and visual demonstration of lives being changed in Africa. So, take five minutes and watch the video, you’ll be glad you did.

Now this video is a little of my “worlds colliding.” You’ve seen me post quite a few times about my friends Joel and Heidi who serve as missionaries in Burkina Faso, West Africa. Well, this summer my intern, Josh Kornberg (you an call him Korndog) met Joel and Heidi and decided to go to Africa to participate in Give a Kid a Christmas. You may have seen me write about Josh, or more notable, Karl Bastion, as he made a HUGE deal out of the Korndog at Kidology U as described in this post. Yeah, that’s a lot of connected people. But, what’s really important is the video. Good stuff is happening in West Africa!

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Things I didn’t know about the Great Commission (Part 1)

Posted on 29. May, 2008 by .

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At staff meeting a few weeks ago, we spent a little bit of time talking about the Great Commission. Yes! This is my verse. As someone who is very committed to the cause of reaching the unreached, the Great Commission is my motto. But I learned something that kind of shook my understanding of this verse.

Don’t worry. My new found revelation has not changed my feelings or passion for world missions. But I do look at this verse a little differently now.

“Go Ye Therefore!” I’ve listened to countless sermons where this was the thrust of the message. The last thing Jesus said to his disciples was to “GO!” This verse has been the catalyst for pushing people out of their comfortable lives a out in the world making a difference.

Then I learned something very interesting. In staff meeting someone asked, “What are the verbs in this command?” Easy. Go, make (disciples), baptize and teaching. Then someone asked, “What is the “main” verb in this command?” Duh. Everyone knows that. Go!

Wrong.

Go is not the main verb. Make disciples is the main verb.

Go, baptize and teach are participles modifying the imperative verb “make disciples.” A better way to say this verse would be “As you go” or “In your going” make disciples. It is thought that as Jesus gave this command, the “Go” was assumed. In the three years Jesus walked with his disciples, they were always on the go. He often spoke about “all nations.” The point that he was making here was that we are to “make disciples.”

Here’s some more information on the context and language of this verse: Site 1 Site 2 Site 3

Here’s where the rubber meets the road. For me I’ve “GONE” many times. I’ve been obedient to “The Great Commission.” I’ve spread the gospel.

However, how many disciples have I made? (Awkward silence)

Sure, I’ve been a part of helping kids grow in their faith over a period off years. I’m very proud of that. However, when I step out of my role as “Kenny Conley: Children’s Pastor,” and become “Kenny Conley: Average Guy” or “Kenny Conley: Next Door Neighbor,” how many disciples have I made?

Rhetorical question: How well have I obeyed “The Great Commission?” How well have you?

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Mission details (Surge Part 3)

Posted on 13. Mar, 2008 by .

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Blueprints-975x1005 Putting together this mission trip was a lot of work, but not nearly as much as it was putting together Venture Quest (our VBS type program) or summer camp. Actually the most frustrating thing was tracking down donations (we had some issues that were beyond our control). I would have anticipated that a 2008 trip to Mexico would have taken significantly less time because I had so much of the ground work done. So, if you’re thinking about doing a mission trip, feel free to borrow as much of this as you need to maximize your time!

Informational meeting

I made sure I had my ducks in a row for this meeting. Although people would come to this meeting very curious and very excited, it is also the first opportunity they have to hear about you taking their child outside of the country. Attention to detail is important here. Below are the forms I had. In addition to these, I had all adults planning to go to Mexico fill out a standard volunteer application and background check.

At this initial meeting I had the room set up with round tables where we served drinks and fresh chips and salsa from a local tex-mex resturant. I verbally shared my vision for what we were doing, my experience in attending and leading mission trip to various locations all over the world. I described what it would be like and what the kids were likely to get out of it. I reviewed all the printed information and then took questions. It took 45 minutes or so at the max. I stayed after for another 30 minutes or so to talk to parents individually. Everyone did sign in and left emails so that I could stay connected over the next several weeks.

Additional meetings

I had this meeting on April 22. Everyone who planned on going needed to submit all their paperwork and the deposit by May 18th. I ended up contacting everyone earlier than this though to get a better estimate so I could go ahead and reserve travel (I’ll discuss this more below and tomorrow). We held 3 meetings over the next 8 weeks. The first one we did at the church one Sunday. It was highly relational as we got to know each other better. We spent the majority of the time introducing ourselves and playing some games that helped break the ice. We closed with a few details and a time of prayer. Our second meeting was in someone’s home for lunch and a pool party. Again we had plenty of time to have fun and get to know each other. We did come back together for the better part of an hour to talk about the trip and start preparing ourselves for what to expect and what we would be doing. Our last meeting was in a home again, but this time no swimming. We broke into assigned groups, got tent and van assignments and schedules of the trip. I let the groups spend more time together to start building unity. Afterwards we talked about what to pack, what to bring and other last details. Finally, we had our commissioning service two days before we left. I had one of the worship leaders, our campus pastor and our senior pastor come for this. All the participants came with their families and any significant people who helped support them. We had a short time of worship followed by our key leaders/pastors speaking to the group and praying over us. Before leaving, everyone got their Surge T-Shirts and the very last details.

Important documents

I spent a lot of time figuring out what documents needed to take kids out of the country. At the time of this trip, it was not necessary to have a passport to cross the border, but this summer it should be. However, I required every child to have a passport, certified copy of a birth certificate and a notarized and singed permission slip. If you’re taking kids out of the country, you MUST have these three… I’ll explain why.

Passport- Well, you can’t come back home without it, so it’s a necessity. I required it because it is an official picture ID for a child. So, with a passport, you can verify the identity of a child.

Birth Certificate – You used to be able to cross the Mexican border with just a birth certificate. I required it in addition to the passport. Why, because the birth certificate officially links the child with his/her parents. This is very important when you look at my last required document.

Permission slip – The permission slip, which is notarized actually gave me authority to take the child across the border. So, essentially, it was this document that linked the passport and birth certificate all together. So, essentially the parents (proved to be parents of the child by the birth certificate) gave me permission to take their child (proved to be their child by the passport and the birth certificate) across the border.

So you see, it is essential to have all of these on every child.

What if a child has a parent attending as well? Good question. Actually, I don’t care if the child’s parent is attending. I don’t care if the child is my child and I’m attending. Why? What happens if there is an emergency and I have to get the kids out of the country immediately. What if the parent was injured or worse? I’m covering all the bases and prepared for the absolute worst case scenario, even though it’s unlikely anything will come to that.

Here’s an example of my permission slip.

Also, get more information on passport for kids here.

Oh, last but not least. I required every parent to sign a release… you know, the standard form for any activity. Here is the one I used.

Transportation

Depending on where you are coming from, you may need transportation in and out of Mexico. We rented 15 passenger vans out of Los Angeles. Remember that you are going to need Mexican auto insurance (this is not covered under your insurance or the insurance that you can typically get with a rental). Obviously Mexico has auto theft issues, so you need the insurance. I think there is a rule… like if you are within 40 miles of the border, you might not need the Mexican insurance. So depending on where you go, you may be okay. Just do your homework. We paid about $15 a day per vehicle.

Now, for the big one. Airline tickets. This was the thing that concerned me the most. Typically the cheapest way to fly was through Southwest Airlines, but I was really uncertain on what to do. I figured that I’d be lucky to get tickets for $200. However, how do I book the tickets far enough in advance to get good prices yet late enough that I’ve gotten money from the participants to cover my expense. Well, I got lucky and I’m passing on this great nugget of information on to you. Go here! If you are taking more than 10 people, book through group travel. We used American Airlines. We were able to make reservations as far out as we needed and it only cost me $50 per person, and I didn’t have to submit any names. If I remember correctly, you are even allowed to drop 10% of your reservation when it comes time to buy the tickets. Thirty days before the trip is when you have to pay for all the tickets and give the names of those going on the trip. That gives all the participants enough time to raise the money they need. Two weeks after the trip, you’ll get refunded the deposit you paid to make the reservation. This method allows for you to book your tickets early and get a great price while managing cash flow as money slowly comes in. I think I also got a free ticket for taking more than 30 people. It’s a no-brainer!

Raising Money

Part of every mission trip is raising necessary funds to go. In all the mission trip I participated in, I had to raise almost all of my funds. For me, it was always a testimony of God’s faithfulness and provision. I firmly believe that when we invite people to support you in a mission trip, you are inviting them to invest in “kingdom” work. I’m never shy about asking people for money for missions because I do believe it is me giving them an “opportunity.”

So, I encouraged all of the kids to send out support letters. I knew that many of the kids came from families that either could or were planning on just writing a check. I certainly didn’t make an issue of it, but I still encouraged the kids to send letters to raise prayer support and awareness. It’s a great opportunity and others need to join in support.

Here is a sample support letter that kids could take and make their own.

Publicity

As much as possible, we tried to get the word out about what we were doing. This is a huge win for the children’s ministry. It’s the kind of excitement that draws both the community into your church as well as volunteers into your ministry. We issues a press release which a local paper responded with interviews and an article in their paper.

Miscellaneous

Packing List – Here is what we asked everyone to bring. Technically, everyone is allowed to check 2 bags and take one carryon. Since it was a short trip (and a mission trip for goodness sake) I required everyone to only check one bag. That gave me one bag per person for supplies. I bought several of those heavy-duty totes from Wal-Mart. They’re the black ones, with grey lids that come off completely. The red handles lock the lid on. I like them because they’re really heavy duty. I can use zip ties to hold them together for the flight and I can actually put padlocks on them if I need to use one for medications or such. As it turns out, I only needed 5-6 totes for supplies and a few bags for tents.

*** Huge hint! Before leaving, go to home depot and buy a couple spools of neon flagging tape. It’s the stretch plastic ribbon that people usually tie around lumber that may be hanging out of the back of their truck so people see it. I gave every participant 2-4 each. They would tie them to the handles of their luggage. That way when we’re getting luggage at the airport, anyone on our team will recognize “our” bags. So I could send 10 people to retrieve the 60 or so bags instead of everyone having to be involved. Its just a trick that really works.

Schedule – Here is the schedule we followed while for our trip. I was very impressed as we actually followed it pretty closely. Usually mission trips are exercises in flexibility.

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