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youth worker, youth ministry, unity

Unity Leads to Action

By Doug Franklin July 7, 2010

One of my staff members Dan just got back into the office today after leading mission trips in Kentucky for the last three weeks, so we took some time to sit with him this morning and ask a lot of questions about the trips. It was great to hear how God was moving in and through the teams he was working with and how the relationships the teams built with the people in Kentucky were impacting them.

One of the stories he told us was how on the last trip, all the students got together near the end of the trip to talk about how they wanted to take what they had learned home with them. Throughout the week they had focused on how they, even as teenagers, could come together and change their world for the better. They, as a united team, could create change in their communities if they would only reach for it. So as they gathered together in conversation to talk about what they wanted to do when they got home, they quickly decided that they would all volunteer for their upcoming church VBS (having just completed a VBS in Kentucky they were pretty excited about working with kids). But one student took it a little further. She suggested that on top of working at the VBS in the afternoons, they should all get together in the mornings and find work projects in their community so they could continue serving people  just as they had done on their mission trip. The team loved the idea. Whether it was painting or yard work, they all committed to giving another week of their summer to serving others around them for the sake of Christ.

Unity leads to action. Pretty cool stuff. Even more so when it comes directly from the hearts of unified students.

About the Author

Doug Franklin

Doug Franklin is the president of LeaderTreks, an innovative leadership development organization focusing on students and youth workers. Doug and his wife, Angie, live in West Chicago, Illinois. They don’t have any kids, but they have 2 dogs that think they are children. Diesel and Penelope are Weimaraners  who never leave their side. Doug grew up in…  Read More