For Him and Them by Dean Cowles, YPN President

A monthly message from YouthPartnersNET President Dean Cowles.

For Him and Them by Dean Cowles

January 2008

Left Behind

Thanks for your gift this month. I hope you don't mind but I'm going to use it to buy blank DVD's. Why? Well, to put it simply, God told me to. If you have a few minutes, let me explain in the tragic yet moving story below.

On December 16, Pastor Steve gave us three challenges for Christmas:

spend less  |  give relationally  |  go beyond

So we took him at his word. Instead of buying a lot of stuff, we took a family trip instead. We found someone in need and helped them out "relationally". It was that third challenge to "go beyond" that stumped me. That is until about five minutes into his message.

This Sunday was different because something or, more accurately, someone was missing. This past week, Warehouse 180, a skate ministry hosted by our church, had one less volunteer.

The YWAM girl that was shot and killed here in our hometown of Arvada on December 9, Tiff Johnson, was a weekly volunteer at Warehouse 180 - "Skate Church" as the kids call it. She had a big heart for these skater kids. In church they read her last support newsletter. In it she described the very kind of youth she was reaching out to and it was a disturbed kid like those she ministered to who ironically and tragically killed her and three others.

Tiffany's last words while a friend was holding her head waiting for the paramedics was

"Is it serious? Well then, that's what it's all about isn't it?
It's all about Jesus."

As I was sitting there reflecting and hearing God's voice, I thought "What can I, a near-50 middle-age white guy, offer tattooed teenage skaters? A counter-culture I don't understand and in many ways dislike?" In fact now that I think about it, the only time I really got involved in Skate Church was while waiting for my boys, when they went through their skater phase and attended weekly.

So there I was sitting in the service and I began to pray. I asked God, "What on earth do I have to offer this culture I just don't understand?" I think someone named Jonah had the same struggle and I don't like whale guts either.

Then in a flash God gave me a unique vision. I saw it all at once. I do have something to offer. I have a video camera, a Mac computer, and iDVD. I enjoy taking pictures and recording memories. I thought, "I could shoot video of these guys and gals doing their "nose grab, 360, heal toe back flip, grind . . . whatever".

Then I thought I could download the video clips right there and show them on my 17 inch Mac. Better yet, I can take the highlights of the night (tricks, candids, worship, speaker), take it back to my "home studio" and edit it into a custom DVD for each kid that he can have as our gift to take home the next week. What a great way to get them to come back. One thing I have learned about skaters, after taking hours of video of my sons and their friends doing daring spins and tricks, is that they love to see themselves on video.

Then reality and doubt set in again. "Great idea Dean but that means giving up a whole night each week. Besides, you give yourself to ministry for at-risk kids across America all week long. Aren't you the founder and President of YouthPartnersNET? Your time is better spent raising money for ministries and training leaders. That's your gift, not trying to act cool and be "one of them". Your skating days are long gone. Stick to what you know best, PowerPoints and proposals". Yet the Lord kept speaking - "You need to get your hands dirty again. Remember how much joy you had when you were hands-on in ministry?"

So I sat on that vision and just prayed for two days. Finally I got up the courage to share this with my wife and she started to tear up. If you know anything about Cheryl, when she starts to tear up it's as if Jesus is in the room.

Then I shared this with Isaac, our reformed skater son. His eyes lit up and he started dreaming with me. He said, "Dad, you don't know how to videotape. Just look at the soccer tape you made last week, most of it is just grass or sky." He had a point. "Why don't I do the video", he said. "Plus I know the right angles. Then I can bring the memory card to you to download the clips and begin editing while I insert another card and shoot some more."

This makes sense I thought. We came up with lots of other ideas and ways to make this work. So I shared this idea with the leaders and they were very excited. So with your help, we're going to reach out in a practical and personal way to some at-risk kids. And we just might send you a highlight DVD too.

As my favorite hero Buzz Lightyear says in Toy Story, "To infinity and beyond" as he proclaims grand visions stuck there in his plastic suit. But what are we all but "broken clay pots".

Blessings and may you also "go beyond" in 2008,

Dean Cowles

LIVE COMPASSION! Your Donations at Work...

Life Development Institute serves the Westwood neighborhood in Southwest Denver which is considered one of the most impoverished communities in Colorado with staggering statistics of low academic scores, high drop out rates and incidents of crime. LDI recently joined our network of ministry partners and we are very excited to provide a grant for their occupational skill training program, SPARC Media Group. This after-school program provides advanced education to 200 youth ages 14-21 in graphic design, audio production, video production, web development, entrepreneurial training, leadership development and one-on-one mentoring.

Sadie Gallegos is what Life Development Institute classifies as an "extreme" case. Her parents were not in the picture, she was raised in unstable living conditions by her grandmother and spent most of her life taking care of her siblings. She had suffered physical and emotional abuse from the few she could trust and her life was crumbling. Then two years ago she found the Life Development Institute and the staff provided her with the support and love she needed, the message of Christ, mentoring and training. She realized her passion was to work with other abused young women and LDI hooked her up with the opportunity to work as a counselor at a youth camp in Estes Park last summer. That experience changed the course of her life and she is now attending college and is moving in the direction that God placed on her heart - ministering to battered young women.

Please pray this month for the ministry of Life Development Institute, their staff and the children and youth they serve. And especially keep Sadie in your prayers, for God to continue working in her life, especially her family life, and continue to encourage her with her kingdom passion.

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