"At first I didn't see why we had to do the team building exercises, but now that I did the ministry, it totally makes sense!"
Madi, a camper at summer camp in California, had a hard time seeing why the campers were doing team building activities. John, the YMI staff member in charge of the activities, insisted that the leadership skills they learned would come in handy on their ministry service day. Madi remained skeptical; they were just going to clear brush at a nearby camp, how hard could that be?
What, after all, does moving an unweighted bowling pin on a pin using only strings have to do with serving on a work team? Or how does building a tower with gumdrops and spaghetti relate to sharing Jesus in a park? Madi had a choice: choose to participate in the activities or give up because they were too “ridiculous”.
Madi chose to stay involved, and that made all the difference. Moving a board and empty pin with just strings requires close focus, constant communication, and awareness of your team and surroundings. Building a tower with dots and spaghetti requires a clear plan, firm foundation, and someone to guide you when you can't see what's happening.
Madi’s work team was able to move logs weighing hundreds of pounds up and down hills and clear tons of brush to make sure the camp was safe from fire danger and more campers could continue hearing about Jesus.
At YMI, we train for a purpose. Whether it’s hands-on leadership development activities or practical guidelines on raising support for a mission, our training meets participants where they’re at and helps them take the next step to be effective leaders in authentic ministry.