“People don’t buy WHAT you do, they buy WHY you do it.”
–Simon Sinek
HEADS UP: in order for this post to make the most sense, it
will be best to watch the video below! (It’s about six and half minutes, but
I’ve found it very meaningful)
In my previous post you met the Who: it’s me! But it’s not
just me, it’s 60 other young adults serving all over the world for the next
year and the communities they come from and will go to.
I’d like to communicate more about what YAGM is through the
framework Simon Sinek talks about in this TED Talk. And, I’ll attempt to speak
a little bit about why I am being a servant this year. Please watch it and then continue
reading! (Thanks to Matt, Geoff,
and Elise at Lutherhill Staff Training for introducing me to this video!)
Quick overview of the What, How and Why:
“Every single person, every single organization on the
planet knows what they do, 100%.
Some know how they do it...
But very, very few people or organizations know why they do what they
do. And by “why” I don’t mean “to make a profit” That’s a result.
It’s always a result. By “why”
I mean: What’s your purpose?
What’s your cause? What’s your belief? Why does your organization exist? Why do
you get out of bed in the morning? And why should anyone care?”
Here’s the “what” and “how” of YAGM, and my initial
understanding of the “why”.
WHAT:
Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) is a program through the Global Missions office of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The program develops servant-leaders through a one year mission of service and learning opportunity in eight different placement sites around the world- Argentina/Uruguay, Central Europe, Jerusalem/West Bank, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The volunteers commit to being a servant in their placement for an entire year, to live as simply as the people in their community, and to walk beside every person in accompaniment (more on that word later!)HOW:
Volunteers apply to YAGM and after acceptance attend a
Discernment Interview Placement (DIP) weekend. The DIP weekend consists of country presentations and
country interviews. YAGM staff and
country coordinators, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then match each
volunteer’s gifts and interests with the needs of each program to give country
placements. This highlights the “call” aspect of YAGM, the notion that God is
specifically calling each volunteer to be a servant in a particular place. Volunteers are required to raise at
least $4,000 of the $11,000 cost to the ELCA to send each volunteer and begin
service in August. After a week of
orientation in Chicago, volunteers are sent out into the world to their
placement site. Country
coordinators oversee country programs and site coordinators oversee the specific
sites volunteers serve in, and awesome YAGM staff constantly provide support
from the States.
WHY:
I am serving through YAGM this year because I feel called and equipped
to live in a new community completely foreign to me. I am willing to be uncomfortable, to experience new things,
to be lonely, and to wonder in my understanding of God. But I am mostly doing YAGM to take the
“I” out of everything, and instead live in community and relationship with others. YAGM places volunteers all over the
world to think, reflect, and learn how each culture and diverse community can
live in relationship with one another.
Together we walk along side new people and new communities to experience
the Gospel as they do. We enter
into conversation about what it means to live as people in one common identity,
the identity that each person is a Child of God. This is my
current understanding of “why” I’m doing YAGM.
More later.
-Mere
Want to read more about YAGM? Check out this link
Want to support YAGM? Check out this letter:
No comments:
Post a Comment