Youth Crews Answers Call for Youth Ministry Support

Q: What has 18 legs, 9 heads and enough energy to light up a room?   A: The Northwestern College Youth Crew!   Take nine energetic college students and mix them together with a junior high or high school youth group, and you’ve got a recipe for an action-packed evening of youth ministry.   The Youth Crew does it all! Games, skits, worship, prayer and teaching on how to apply the Bible to real life. Add a big heart for youth and a listening ear and it’s clear to see why youth pastors throughout the region call and say, “Please come to our church.”   The Youth Crew is a ministry of the Office of Church Relations and is an extension of Northwestern’s service to the local church. From September through April the crew provides a complete evening of youth programming or supplementing activities planned by the youth pastor.   AND NOW, A FEW WORDS FROM THE CREW... Mark Strom '15 It is a blessing working with such great people. The biggest challenge for me is coming to a different church each week, with all new kids, and only a few hours to make a connection. We adapt  by being flexible and letting God do what He wants, and just letting Him lead us through the night.   Allyssa Christensen '12 I love just being able to serve the local church. We are able to be in contact with hundreds of Twin Cities youth each year, sharing the truth of Jesus Christ. That just blows me away! Not only are we serving the students, though, we are also serving their youth leaders. The heart of our ministry is to serve the local church. Ashley Neitzke '11 The biggest reward for serving on Youth Crew happens when a youth pulls you aside and begins to open up about their struggles, whether or not it is related to the topic we are addressing. We then are able to pray for them and it's such a blessing to be able to do that.   Hannah Gerry '11, Youth Crew Director The biggest reward of serving and leading the Youth Crew team is interacting with all the students at the different youth groups and seeing how God is working in their lives and being able to let them know how special and important they are! Josh Hayden '12 We get to step into kids' lives for one night, ask them how life is, share Jesus with them and love them. It's not every day you get an opportunity to encourage future generations to love Jesus and encourage them in their faith.   Tim Elrod, Church Relations Director Youth pastors say it's such a huge blessing to have Youth Crew at their church. One day a youth pastor called us together and said his wife had gone to the ER that morning. He said, "Several times I thought, 'I've got to do something for youth tonight,' then I remembered that you were coming. God had it all planned out!"