Street to Street by Fred Lynch

A monthly message from Fred Lynch.

Street to Street by Fred Lynch

Introducing Tha (new) Man!

February 2006

I'd venture to say that every major movement has had a man or woman behind the scenes who served as the visionary, cheerleader, promoter, and janitor. The truth is, it takes many men and women to make any movement major but there's always someone whom you can put your finger on that embodies the passion of the movement. Think of campus ministry and you have to refer to Bill Bright. Equipping youth workers and assuring them that they're not (that) crazy...Mike Yaconelli! What about teaching Apologetics to adolescents...my man Josh McDowell. Non-violent demonstrations that shut down a city and strike directly into the heart of a racists system to challenge it and speak the truth to power...Dr. King (I had to get a shout out to the Doc)!

I'm sure you're feeling me on this point; but if you'd take a look at it from a different angle you will have to conclude that if a movement doesn't have a man or woman to carry it the movement will never see its full potential of making an impact on the masses. This definitely rings true for the national networking of urban youth workers. When I began UrbNet back in 1998, it was an answer to a need that so many people were feeling across the country. Imagine an accessible ministry resource that was 'owned' by no one, but 'utilized by all'. We wanted to become the 'Google' of urban youth ministry! Since its inception UrbNet has been a place where urban youth workers can come together, pray and encourage one another, discuss culture and develop ideas and strategies to reach teens.

We have come some way in our journey. We have heroes to celebrate like Darrell Williams who has volunteered to work on the UrbNet site and has done a tremendous job. However, we always lacked a person who 'woke up in the morning' thinking, "How can I bring more urban youth workers together today?" Of course the major roadblock has been finances. To bring on the type of person we need would take some funding. Well the good news is that in 2006 we've found someone who's stepped up to the plate and asked to take the helm of UrbNet and make it work. I want to introduce you to this young man, many of you know him and I'm sure that you will hear from him in the future. His name is Chris Brooks and he lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chris has worked for years in his local network (Urban Reclaim) and has a heart for networking urban youth workers who are serious about reaching this generation. I am so excited about this brother because he is the real deal! Cut him and he bleeds networking! In fact, I want to give you a chance to do it (not cut him, contact him!). Although Chris is busy working on initiatives set forth by the urban youth workers board he would love to hear a shout-out from you! You can get @ him by e-mail at: chris@urbanreclaim.com. Soon we will post this information up on the UrbNet site at: www.urbnet.org. In the meantime go online really quick and give the brother some love and let him know that you're cheering him on. Come on family, that's what we do...and that's what makes our Father smile. Hey I'll see you next month!

Freddie Freebie: I have a great little e-book that I'd like to help distribute. It's called the Customer Evangelist and it's a secular view of the concept of evangelism. Not spiritual evangelism, they're talking about the evangelism of goods and products. I'd encourage you to check it out and as you read it, compare the customer evangelist to the average church member 'evangelist' and I bet you'll have a fiery message to help your disciples go out and make disciples! You can find it on my website (www.GodStyle.com) and visit the download page for many other goodies.

Sharing the gospel from 'Street to Street',

Fred Lynch III
GodStyle Productions

Fred Lynch is the founder of GodStyle Productions, a ministry committed to changing youth culture. For more information on Fred, visit his website or check out his latest project, The Epic (the gospel of John translated into rap).

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