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Fresno, Calif.
Youth experience cross-cultural teamwork through short-term mission


This past summer, 230 teenagers from the United States and Canada overcame racial and language barriers to serve through short-term mission.

Seventeen churches combined for Youth Mission International’s (YMI) three SOAR programs: SOAR North Carolina, SOAR Midwest in Reynosa, Mexico and SOAR Pacific in Tijuana and Ensenada, Mexico; each had a variety of assignments.

A report from Daniel de Leon, leader of the Youth Alliance in Reynosa, Mexico, best describes the experience. “It was amazing singing praises in two different languages, working together and sharing the gospel . . . this is something I will never forget: Three different countries, two different languages, one God. Hasta Pronto!”

In North Carolina the objective was construction and community outreach to the poor in North Carolina hill country. Midwest participants served alongside five churches in Reynosa. Evening ministry evangelistic rallies were held in public centres in Reynosa and surrounding communities. The Pacific program worked with World Impact in Los Angeles and churches in Tijuana and Ensenada, Mexico.

The teams spent time worshipping, teaching, eating, playing games and ministering together to build a unified body. “Working with the local churches went really well,” said Philip Serez, SOAR Director. “It was good to receive from local pastors as they taught us and led us in altar calls. God is planting deep seed among the youth. I foresee much growth in the months to come. One youth returned from his SOAR experience not being able to handle the status quo at home. He spent four hours in quiet time, then marched over to his pastor and ‘demanded’ that he put him to work.”

Worship leader Gareth Goossen wrote that God was working powerfully in breaking down prejudices and racism that most participants didn’t even know they had. A youth pastor from the Midwest said that even though he did not understand a word of Spanish, the worship times touched him deeply, especially during the Spanish songs.

An American student commented on the footwashing service where a Mexican student washed his feet and then prayed for him. “I didn’t understand a word he prayed, but I was weeping because my heart somehow knew what he was saying.”

Serez reports that part of the teams’ ministry was learning how to work together as God revealed his purpose for them in their culturally mixed teams. “There were anti-Mexican attitudes as much as anti-American. There were cultural differences between the conservative and liberal, in dress, in worship and approaches in ministry. We were able to hash these things out and bring them all to Christ.”

Plans are underway for SOAR programs in 2003. “The SOAR Tijuana trip will take a different approach next year,” said Serez. “Instead of partnering with Tijuana churches for the entire program, we will start there for three days, continue in Los Angeles, and wrap up ministry in California’s Central Valley. It will be a ministry exposure trip designed for youth to discover what God is doing in cross-cultural, urban and rural settings. Youth will be challenged to see their lives as a place to partner with the ever expanding and diverse kingdom of God.”

In addition to reaching out to people with the Gospel, SOAR plants seeds and helps to test the ministry call of young people. In the past eight years, over 2500 teens and young adults, (4000 in the last 12 years), have come through the SOAR program’s training, assignment and debrief phase. Many of the high school age participants are now in their college years, further testing their ministry call. Others are serving across North America and abroad as worship leaders and pastors, youth pastors, senior pastors and children’s pastors.

SOAR is a program of Youth Mission International, a ministry of MBMS International, the global mission agency of Mennonite Brethren churches in Canada and the United States. If you or your church are interested in participating in 2003 SOAR programs, contact Philip Serez at YMI–SOAR (559) 456-4600 or e-mail soar@youthmission.org. More information is also available on the YMI web site at www.youthmission.org.

 – Lisa Alvey, MBMSI

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Last modified November 30, 2002.

© 2002 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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