Bethel Temple Community Bible Church: Holistic Youth Ministry Bethel Temple Fællesskabet Bibelen Kirke: Holistisk Ungdom ministeriet

Bethel Temple Community Bible Church: Holistic Youth Ministry Bethel Temple Fællesskabet Bibelen Kirke: Holistisk Ungdom ministeriet

Rev. Lou Centeno, director of Proclaimers of Hope Ministries of Bethel Temple Community Bible Church, grew up in the so-called "Badlands" of Philadelphia. Rev Lou Centeno, direktør for Proclaimers Håbets ministerier for Bethel Temple Fællesskabet Bibelen Kirke, voksede op i den såkaldte "Badlands" i Philadelphia. "Worse than the violence and the alcohol and the drugs and the trash," he recalls, "was the hopelessness." "Værre end vold og alkohol og narkotika-og papirkurven," han minder om, "var den håbløshed." A pervasive sense of despair drove him, and many young men like him, to crime and gangs. Et gennemgående følelse af håbløshed kørte ham, og mange unge mænd som ham, at kriminalitet og bander. "People are angry in our city," Rev. Centeno observes. "Folk er vrede i vores by," Rev Centeno bemærket. "They're angry because they feel that nobody cares - nobody cares about me, nobody cares about what's happening to my neighborhood, nobody cares about what's happening to the city, nobody cares about what's happening to the world. They end up becoming a part of the problem." "De er vrede, fordi de føler, at ingen bekymrer sig - ingen bekymrer sig om mig, ingen bekymrer sig om, hvad der sker i mit kvarter, ingen bekymrer sig om, hvad der sker i byen, ingen bekymrer sig om, hvad der sker i verden. De ender med at blive en del af problemet. " The result is "a cycle of deterioration and disconnectedness, ... rising despair and violence and crime and anger." Resultatet er "en ond cirkel af forringelse og disconnectedness, ... stigende fortvivlelse og vold og kriminalitet og vrede."

This is why the third arm of Bethel Temple's mission statement, following discipling our members and evangelizing our community, is revitalizing our neighborhood in the name of Jesus Christ. Derfor er den tredje gren af Bethel Temple's mission statement, således discipling vores medlemmer og evangelizing vores samfund, er at puste nyt liv vores nabolag i navnet Jesus Kristus. Ministries of revitalization give community residents hope: "Somebody cares, and I can be part of the solution." Ministerier for revitalisering give EF-valutaindlændinge håb: "Nogen cares, og jeg kan være en del af løsningen." By pouring love, time, skills and resources into the community, ministry staff at Bethel Temple not only meet pressing needs but give people a new vision for their future, breaking the cycle of despair. Ved at hælde kærlighed, tid, færdigheder og ressourcer ind i Fællesskabet, ministerium personale på Bethel Temple ikke kun opfylde presserende behov, men give folk en ny vision for deres fremtid, at bryde den onde cirkel af fortvivlelse.

One important way that Bethel seeks to stop the cycle is through extensive youth outreach. En vigtig måde at Bethel søger at standse cyklen er gennem omfattende ungdom opsøgende. "We're not an entertainment ministry," says Rev. Van Dyke. "Vi er ikke et underholdnings-ministerium," siger Rev Van Dyke. "We've gotta be about something different." "Vi har må være om noget anderledes." The difference at Bethel is that youth are challenged on many levels, based on a solid foundation of mentoring relationships with caring adults. Forskellen på Bethel er, at ungdommen er udfordret på mange niveauer, der bygger på et solidt fundament af mentorordninger forbindelser med omsorgsfulde voksne. Rev. Van Dyke talks about the various forms that this takes: Rev Van Dyke taler om de forskellige former, som denne finder:

They're expected to talk to their friends and to introduce them to the Lord. De er forventet at tale med deres venner og introducere dem til Herren. That's not our job; we train them to do it, but they have to be the ones to do it. Det er ikke vores opgave, vi tog dem til at gøre det, men de skal være dem til at gøre det. They're challenged when they get an idea for some kind of ministry. De er udfordret, når de får en idé til en slags ministerium. I used to come up with all the ideas myself, and I've realized why no one really got excited about it. Jeg plejede at komme frem med alle de idéer jeg selv, og jeg har indset, hvorfor ikke en rigtig kommet glade ved det. If they come up with them themselves, then they're much more invested. Hvis de kommer op med sig selv, da de er meget mere investeres. In missions projects, they're challenged to do things that are way beyond what anyone would say [is possible] - Peru last year for a missions trip, before that, Mexico. I missioner projekter, de er blevet udfordret til at gøre ting, som er langt ud over, hvad nogen ville sige [er muligt] - Peru sidste år for et missioner tur, før denne, Mexico. ... And the whole area of holding them accountable-sexual choices, getting in their faces about what kind of choices they're making-that's a challenge; no one else is doing that in their lives. Og hele området for at holde dem ansvarlige over-seksuelle valg, fik i deres ansigter, hvad slags valg, de er gør-det er en udfordring; ingen andre gør, at der i deres liv. So all those things are what the world's not doing. Så alle disse ting er, hvad verden ikke gør. We are one place in the community that's doing it, and that challenges them to live above mediocrity, which is what the world's offering them. Vi er ét sted i Fællesskabet, som gør det, og at udfordringerne for dem at leve over middelmådighed, hvilket er, hvad verden har at tilbyde dem.

It would be easy for Bethel to lower their expectations because of the significant needs of their youth. Det ville være let for Bethel til at sænke deres forventninger på grund af de betydelige behov i deres ungdom. Most come from poor and broken families. De fleste kommer fra fattige og brudte familier. Many have academic difficulties and behavioral problems. Mange har akademiske vanskeligheder og adfærdsmæssige problemer. Some have a background of drug sales and substance abuse. Nogle har en baggrund af narkotika salg og stofmisbrug.

Hector was one of these young people headed down a dangerous path. Hector var en af disse unge ledes ned en farlig vej. Friends in high school told him he should try Bethel's youth group, and there he learned about Jesus Christ. Venner i gymnasiet fortalte ham, han skal forsøge Bethel ungdom gruppe, og der han hørte om Jesus Kristus. Now Hector volunteers on youth nights, leading a room full of squirming young children in games and Bible stories. Nu Hector volontører om ungdom nætter, der fører et rum fyldt med squirming småbørn i spil og Bibelen historier. "Three years ago, I wouldn't have even thought that I would be at this point, working with the youth ministry," he reflects. "For tre år siden, ville jeg ikke have selv troede, at jeg ville være på dette punkt, der arbejder med de unge ministerium," han afspejler. "It's great to be able to teach the kids what I've learned." "Det er dejligt at være i stand til at undervise børnene, hvad jeg har lært." At Bethel the focus is not just on youths' needs but on helping them become part of the solution. På Bethel fokus er ikke kun den unge 'behov, men på at hjælpe dem med at blive en del af løsningen.

With monthly Youth Sundays and a Servant Leadership Team that supports church outreach ministries, the church seeks to incorporate youth at every level. Med månedlige Ungdom søndage og en ansat ledergruppe, der understøtter kirke opsøgende ministerier, kirken søger at indarbejde unge på alle niveauer. "There are a tremendous amount of options for them to get ownership in the life of the church," says Rev. Van Dyke. "Der er en enorm mængde af muligheder for dem at få ejerskab i livet i kirken," siger Rev Van Dyke. "They're not the church of tomorrow; they're the living, breathing church in the reality of today." "De er ikke kirken i morgen, det er den levende, vejrtrækning kirke i virkeligheden i dag." Because the youth know that "what they say really matters" to the adults of the church, the youth take what the adults say more seriously. Fordi de unge ved, at "hvad de siger virkelig gælder," at de voksne i den kirke, de unge tager hvad de voksne siger mere alvorligt. Giving youth responsibilities in church outside of youth group also allows them to learn first-hand from adults who model discipleship and service. At give unge ansvar i kirken uden for unge gruppe også gør det muligt for dem at lære første hånd fra voksne, der model discipleship og service.

Over its history Bethel Temple has found various ways to cultivate a relationship with the junior high school kids across the street - for example, by connecting with kids informally during their lunch hour, and by training kids in the church's Arts and Media Center. I løbet af sin historie Bethel Temple har fundet forskellige måder at dyrke et forhold med junior high school kids på tværs af gaden - for eksempel ved at forbinde med børnene uformelt i deres frokostpause, og ved at uddanne børnene i kirken's Arts and Media Center. "Obviously that would not be a time for proselytizing, but that's not our style anyway," says the associate pastor, Joel Van Dyke. "Selvfølgelig, som ikke ville være en tid til proselytizing, men det er ikke vores stil alligevel," siger de associerede præst, Joel Van Dyke. "It's much more relational evangelism." "Det er meget mere relationelle forkynder evangeliet." Bethel's Director of Economic and Community Development concurs. Bethel's direktør for Økonomi og udvikling enig. "You get to meet kids and form relationships with kids long term ... I think kids need to know that you care about them and that you're willing to go where they are." "Du får at møde børnene og indgå samarbejdsaftaler med børnene på lang sigt ... Jeg tror, børnene har brug for at vide, at du interesserer dig for dem, og at du er villig til at gå, hvor de er." The relationships formed at the school lead to opportunities outside the classroom for giving a personal testimony and addressing youths' spiritual questions. De forbindelser dannet på skolen føre til muligheder uden for klasseværelset for at give et personligt vidnesbyrd og tackle unge 'åndelige spørgsmål.

A passionate evangelistic and discipleship focus does not mean that the youth ministry neglects "this-worldly" needs. En lidenskabelig evangelistic og discipleship fokus betyder ikke, at de unge ministerium forsømmer "this-jordiske" behov. Staff give their time and the church's resources to help youth with practical concerns. Personale giver deres tid og kirken's ressourcer til at hjælpe unge med praktiske bekymringer. When Rev. Van Dyke made a follow-up visit to a girl who had recently accepted Christ, for example, he d iscovered that the family had just been evicted from their apartment. Når Rev Van Dyke foretaget en opfølgende besøg hos en pige der for nylig havde accepteret Kristus, for eksempel, han d iscovered, at familien netop var blevet sat ud af deres lejlighed. He brought them food, and invited the family to stay in a church-owned building that was unused at the time. Han bragte dem mad, og opfordrede familien til at opholde sig i en kirke-ejede bygningen, der blev ubrugt på det tidspunkt. The whole family joined the church. Hele familien kom med i kirke.

[chap. 8, pp. 8, pp. 176-177, plus new material] 176-177, plus nyt materiale]

Note: Bethel Temple now has a new senior pastor, Rev. Fred Estrada. Bemærk: Bethel Temple nu har en ny ledende præst, Rev Fred Estrada. Following the time of our study, both Lou Centeno and Joel Van Dyke felt called to take positions as missionaries. Efter tidspunktet for vores undersøgelse, både Lou Centeno og Joel Van Dyke følte kaldet til at tage stilling som missionærer.