Serving With A “Both/And” Mindset

I’ve always appreciated the fall at YouthWorks; we celebrate, take a deep breath and dive head first into what God’s calling us to next year. It’s a season of evaluation, setting goals and turning our eyes to a new season of ministry.

Our team of Site Development Associates has crisscrossed the country during the past two months, visiting with our partners in small-town cafés, well-worn fellowship halls and tiny cluttered offices. Together, we have praised God for successful ministry in 2017 and envisioned what could be in 2018.

And as I’ve traveled, I keep bumping into examples of how God has used our relationships with people in communities to further the kingdom:

• I sat down in Denver with the Pastor of Denver Metro Ministries and recounted how many thousands of pounds of food they distributed at the mobile food pantry because YouthWorks provides the hands to do so each summer.
• I ran into the principal of a new Christian school in Logan, W.Va. and learned about how YouthWorks volunteers renovated an old Sears building into a new set of classrooms in time for the fall semester.
• I was reminded of the families in Mingo County, W.Va. who can get in and out of their home because we showed up, power tools in hand, ready to build a wheelchair ramp this summer.

photo credit: @jennanana28

Each of these stories encourages us to ask, “how can we keep learning from and serving alongside our partners well?”

This fall, we’ve been challenged to ask this question through a new lens as we respond to national disasters such as Hurricanes Harvey and Maria that have deeply impacted our friends in Houston and Puerto Rico.

We’ve listened to our community friends and have heard clearly the need for help. That’s why we opened two sites in the Houston Area, and we’re adding a new site in Puerto Rico in addition to our existing location in the town of Arecibo.

But as we’ve accrued our frequent flyer miles, we’re also reminded that our ability to serve respectfully in communities is through the consistency of our relationships. Returning year after year makes partners, friends and far-off communities homes-away-from-home for us.

photo credit: @angierines

We know that we serve in a world of “both/and”. We want to respond to the immediate needs we see nationally and the daily work of weeding community gardens in Atlanta. We want to come alongside the suffering in Houston and provide a space for kids in Marvell during the summer. We want to jump into action to help those still without power in Puerto Rico and listen and learn from our partners in Chicago.

So, as you set the course for your churches and ministries in 2018, we invite you into the tension of “both/and”. It’s natural—and good—to respond to the immediate needs of disaster; we are doing this! But we know that the immediate needs in Puerto Rico, Houston and everywhere affected by tragedy coexists along with the daily needs of the homeless in Daytona Beach, the underhoused in Greenville and the overworked social worker in Atlanta.

So, for you, what does this mean? Will you:

• Serve on a mission trip to Houston or Puerto Rico in 2019 after most of the volunteers and funding has subsided?
• Serve on a trip to a community that is doing the hard work of development each day?
• Take two trips to respond to the immediate needs involved in relief work and ongoing needs of development?
• Stay aware of needs in your local area by taking a mission trip to your own community?
• Creatively give or serve in a different way altogether?

We want to invite you into the story of how God is working through YouthWorks in Harrisburg, Rapid City, Cairo, Dallas and all our other homes-away-from-home. Would you step into the tension of “both/and” with us and consider serving in one of our 66 communities? 

Find a YouthWorks mission trip for your group.