Toque

Got a youth group of 15 or less?
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Introducing this year's speakers ...

Ruth Mills - Junior High Speaker

In the words of Ruth:

After living as a missionary in Brazil, I felt called to share some of my own lessons with youth and was given the opportunity to speak at a city-wide youth gathering.  Since that gathering in 2003, I never looked back!  I have spoken at a number of city-wide events such as Cutting Edge Praise in Barrie and Plunge Worship in Thunder Bay.  I have also been invited to speak at special events in Guelph, Unionville, and most recently as a guest at Camp IAWAH.  I have served a number of Student Ministries in Barrie, Thunder Bay, Guelph, and Waterloo.  

 

Currently I work as a Camp Director in Haliburton and firmly believe in the transformative power of playing outside.  As such, I get outside to play as much as I can!  My favourite ways to play are ice climbing in the winter, and canoeing the rest of year.

 

 

Ben Mills - Senior High Speaker

 

In the words of Ben:

I grew up attending church and youth group and was great at giving the "right" answers.  I could drink the nastiest concoctions anyone came up with and was a pro at "Steal the Bacon", "Shuffle Your Buns" and "Bump."  I attended every Wednesday night, even during exams, I took part in every event from snow camps to progressive dinners.  This pretty much defines my years in  youth.  I remember friends, places, and events.  What I struggle to remember is encountering God.  We studied the Bible and sang songs and prayed, but I never had that feeling that I was really connecting with God.  It wasn't until my last year in high school and first year at college that I really felt like I was encountering God.

 

Four years at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago really helped me to understand what it is to truly follow Christ.  To be willing each day to deny myself, take up my cross and follow him.  It was no longer about crazy games, the "right" answer, or the big event.  It was about looking beyond myself to see the world as God sees it.

 

Because of that, my focus as a youth pastor is to find ways to place students in situations where they can encounter God.  Traditionally, we think of this in reading the Bible and praying.  While those are both ways to encounter God, there needs to be times in every youth's life where they come to the point of having to rely fully on what they say they believe.  It's about getting them outside of their comfort zone to see the world in a new light.

 

What I share with youth is not just theoretical ideas.  I encourage them with what they can do the next day at home, in school, or wherever they will be so that it's not just their heart that changes, but each heart they come into contact with.