News: Meet the Winner of the SYMC Conference Give-A-Way
VolunteerYouthMinistry.com gave a flight and admission to the SYM Conference to a volunteer youth worker (click here to see the details). Here’s an interview with the winning youth worker.
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And the winner is: Justin Dougan |
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While Justin serves as a volunteer, he is the lead youth worker at West Haysville Baptist Church.
How long have you been doing youth ministry?
I have been working with students since 2006, though I have only been in a leadership role since last summer.
Why did you get started?
To be truthful, because of a girl. In high school, I knew God had called me to minister to students, but several bad decisions and years of rebellion led me down a road far from that initial calling. Then along came the most striking girl I had ever seen. I started volunteering in her church’s student ministry, as she was a volunteer. I had no idea that God’s brilliant game plan to get me plugged into the ministry was actually being played out; I was just trying to get the girl.
Now three years later, I see how God still used those wayward days to prepare me to work with students, and not only work with them, but to be a leader.
And yes, just in case you are wondering, that girl is now my wife.
What keeps you going?
Total reliance on God. After putting after putting in 50, 60, 70 hours at the office in the day job and maintaining a household and family, sometimes there is just no gas left in the tank. But knowing He has placed me in this role, called me to serve, and knowing that He will give me the means and the strength will get me through.
Also, the small blessings from the students themselves make it worthwhile. Just last week I was privileged to perform my first baptism. Afterwards, one of the young men who was baptized told me how much it meant to him that my wife and I were the ones who got to baptize him and that he would never forget that moment. It is in moments like that I am reminded of why I am in student ministry, which is to see these kids lives changed.
And I cannot go without mentioning that without the support of my wife, and our amazing volunteer staff, our ministry would not exist as it does today.
Have I been to a youth ministry conference before?
No, I have never attended a youth ministry conference before and I am very excited about SYMC–just ask my wife, she’ll tell you it’s all I have talked about for days now! Thank you Dennis for making this trip possible!
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congrats Justin! We look forward to seeing you in Chicago!!!
the SYMC team