Serving
Young People Around the World
.
a report by Servants
of the Word brothers
The
Servants of
the Word
is an
international
ecumenical
brotherhood of
men living
single for the
Lord. This
coming
September will
mark their
45th
anniversary as
a missionary
brotherhood in
the Sword of
the Spirit.
They serve in
several
locations
around the
world -
including the
Philippines,
Northern
Ireland, Great
Britain,
Lebanon,
Mexico, Costa
Rica, and
North America.
From its
beginnings,
the Servants
of the Word
have dedicated
themselves to
"evangelize
and disciple
young people"
to help them
grow in
Christian
maturity and
fruitful
service and
mission.
The following
articles from
the recent
Servants of
the Word
Newsletter
highlight two
particular
areas of
mission -
Youth Link in
London and
Youth
Initiatives in
Northern
Ireland. If
you would like
to subscribe
to their free
Newsletter, signup
online here.
An Expression of Our
Mission to
Young People
by
Ken Noecker,
presiding
elder of
Servants of
the Word
According
to a 2012 U.S.
Census, there
were
41,844,000
young people
age 10-19 in
the United
States – 14%
of the
population. In
other
countries
where we work,
the statistics
are even
higher for
similar young
age groups: in
Mexico, 45% of
its population
is younger
than 25 and
for the
Philippines
this number is
53%.
If you look at
the Servants
of the Word
across the
world you
would see that
the greatest
part of our
mission
efforts is
expended among
young people.
We believe
that the young
people of our
world hold the
great
potential for
good but are
also in grave
danger of not
actually
moving into
adult maturity
where they can
make a
positive
difference in
their
families,
neighborhoods
and countries.
One of our key
objectives as
a brotherhood,
therefore, is
to work with
young people.
In our
brotherhood
ideal, our
mission
statement if
you will,
says, “With
great hope and
confidence in
the God who
called us, and
recognizing
the challenges
of our times,
we aim to
preach the
gospel of
Jesus Christ
and foster
spiritual
maturity,
especially
among young
people”. We
feel that work
among young
people is one
of the primary
contributions
we can make to
the church. We
therefore
desire
(quoting again
from our
ideal) “to
evangelize and
disciple young
people and to
bring those
who are called
into a full
integration
with our life
and mission.”
In this
edition of our
newsletter you
will read
about two
important
expressions of
our mission
among
youth—Youth
Initiatives in
Northern
Ireland and
Youth:link in
London.
In Matthew’s
Gospel Jesus
turns to his
disciples and
says, “The
harvest is
plentiful, but
the laborers
are few;
therefore pray
earnestly to
the Lord of
the harvest to
send out
laborers into
his harvest.”
Please join
with us in
praying for
effectiveness
in this
wonderful work
the Lord has
called us to.
Pray as well
that other
more laborers
will be called
into the
harvest!
 Ken
Noecker is a
lifelong
committed
brother in The Servants of the Word,
currently
serving as the
Presiding
Elder. He
spent 25 years
(1986 to 2011)
as a member of
the Asian
Region of The
Servants of
the Word based
in Manila,
Philippines.
Ken was born
and raised in
Nebraska. He
completed his
university
studies in
Minnesota and
his graduate
studies in the
Philippines.
In addition to
his role in
The Servants
of the Word,
Ken is also
involved
extensively in
community
building
efforts in
Asia as a
missionary
coordinator of
The Sword of
the Spirit.
Andy
Pettman (front center) with young men in
Antioch Community
.
Helping Teenagers Grow in Personal Faith
by Martin
Steinbereithner
As long as most of us in Servants of the Word
remember, Andy Pettman has been involved in youth
work: in his church, during his Gap year in
Honduras many years ago, and in Antioch - his
local Sword of the Spirit community in London,
England. Two things have always motivated him:
sharing the good news with those who have not come
to personal faith yet, and helping those who
believe make that faith real by reaching out to
their friends. He had also seen how especially
some “community kids,” young people who have grown
up in intentional community, can fi nd it hard to
step up and get excited about their faith: some
suppose they have seen it all their life and at
times have learned to walk the path of least
resistance.
In 1998 Andy started a meeting for the oldest
youth of two Anglican Sunday school groups in West
London. The group grew and started to incorporate
teenagers from Antioch, the local Sword of the
Spirit community, and today anywhere from 40 to 60
youth meet every other Friday for a time of
worship, spiritual input and fun together. The
mixture of church youth, community kids, and their
friends of has been deeply dynamic, each group
bringing their own strengths and calling each
other on. Youth:link,
as it is now called, has also added another event
for the off-weeks – for the younger and newer
participants.
Andy
passed on the
leadership a
number of years
ago, but he is
still closely
involved in
supervising the
work. Over the
years many of
the younger
Servants of the
Word in the
London household
have been
serving on
Youth:link’s
staff. “Their
life as brothers
is different and
radical enough
that it calls
the youth on to
live more
wholeheartedly
as disciples,”
Andy says. In
turn serving
with teenagers
often provides a
more visible
impact than
university
mission. “It is
very rewarding
to pass on
skills to an age
group which is
very eager to
learn and
constantly
asking for
input.”
Of course the
service is not
without its
challenges:
London is a busy
place and many
of the youth
live full lives.
Some spend two
hours a day
commuting to and
from school, and
most of them are
involved in
extra-curricular
activities, so
time is at a
premium. Most of
the staff are
volunteers, so
they also juggle
many different
responsibilities,
and sometimes it
is not easy to
accommodate the
various
expectations of
parents. But on
the whole it is
not hard to
recruit staff
for Youth:link.
Dr. Martin
Steinbereithner is a
lifelong brother of the Servants
of the Word.
He is the director of
Communications and
Development for the
Servants of the Word.
Previously he worked
for twenty years in
campus ministry in
North America, Lebanon
and England and for
over the last ten
years with Christian
communities in the
Middle East, Poland,
Russia, Belgium,
Germany, Austria,
France, the UK and
Africa.
The
Servants of the Word Newsletter
is issued three times a year. If
you would like to subscribe to
the free Newsletter, signup
online here.
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