From Louisville: Why a Youth Pastor and Dad is Giving Thanks

By Brian and Ruby Kramer

Brian is the Pastor of Student Ministries at Emmanuel Community Church in Fort Wayne, IN and recently took a group on a YouthWorks trip to Louisville, KY.

 


 
This was my fourth YouthWorks trip with our middle school group, and our second in the city of Louisville. During the first two days my service crew participated in the first ever Kids Club in Louisville. Morgan, the Kids Club Coordinator, did a fantastic job getting us prepped for the day, then we were sent out to spread the word about the Club in the neighborhoods surrounding the church where it was being held. It started small the first day, but by the end of the week we had six times as many neighborhood children in attendance. I look forward to hearing how the ministry continues to expand over the rest of the summer.
 

On the second two service days our group split our time between cleaning at a community center, weeding at a home for abused and neglected children, and clearing out a drainage area for an organization that provides education and job training for local young people. This is one of the main reasons I like partnering with YouthWorks for our mission projects: I know that we’re working alongside agencies and ministries that have been doing their work before we arrived, and will continue to do so after we leave. We just become a part of the team God has in place to reveal his kingdom to a specific community.


 
I thought that this year’s theme, First Love, was extremely strong. The devotions and evening meetings were well-designed to help our students dive into the topic. When on a mission trip, it’s easy to slip into idealistic “doing for God” mode, and lose the sense of real connection with Christ. The First Love theme helped root us in our relationship with Christ and his love for us. It also makes for a great reminder as we return home. 

 

This year was the first time my youngest daughter (12 years old), Ruby, was able to attend a YouthWorks trip with our middle school group. Here’s what she had to say…

I thought that the Youth Works trip was amazing. They were very nice and taught me more about God! We served the community of Louisville at different service sites. My favorite service site was working at Kids Club. The kids were very energetic and loved learning about God. It was so fun sharing the good news with the kids. It was also so amazing making history there and helping establish the new kids club.

When we were on that trip I also made many friends in my serving groups, my own church, and friends from the other church from Georgia. When a group of us slept in the Sanctuary us girls “The sanctuary ladies” (as we called ourselves) had fun doing the dance “The Fork in the Garbage disposal”

Overall, the mission trip to Louisville was a great faith building and unique experience to have had. I will definitely go on more Youth Works trips in the future.

 

CLICK HERE for more information on serving with YouthWorks!

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