Written by Drew Hammond, Bhutanese Ministry Apprentice
This year something truly inspirational happened in our country, the Kansas City Royals won the 2015 World Series. The way that they won their games reminds me of the way that we think about leadership development at Mission Adelante. One of our Core Values at Mission Adelante is, Developing Leaders. This Core Value states: “We believe that developing individuals to reach their potential as disciples and leaders is how ministry bears fruit. We will emphasize equipping and empowering emerging leaders from our community.”
Our programs and ministries are structured around new leaders growing and developing their skills. Often times this strategy can feel almost contradictory because we have the staff and resources to run our programs very well. Why take the time to invest in people? Why take the risk on someone who will surely make a mistake, when we know we have the potential to do it ourselves? In a recent New York Times article, Kansas City Royals manager, Ned Yost discussed why he would “allow untested pitchers” to finish games in which the Royals had the lead. He said: “I wanted to put those young players in a position to gain experience, so that when we could compete for a championship, they would know how.”
The Royals were an inspiration in how they used young, less experienced players to win the championship but our ultimate inspiration in leadership development is Jesus. Jesus selected inexperienced men to be his disciples, He invested three years of his life training them and then went to be with God. He left most of the ground work to his new leaders, it was from these leaders that the Gospel spread to the farthest corners of the earth, developing leaders was Jesus’ strategy. We know that the participants of our programs are people of championship potential. We want to see them reach this potential, and work with them to rise to that challenge.
Other News:
Many staff and community members attended the parade celebrating the World Series Champions, the Kansas City Royals. Several of the staff brought Bhutanese friends with them to the parade. Baseball isn’t a well known sport in either Bhutan or Nepal but our friends had fun learning about baseball and feeling more a part of their new Kansas City home by participating in all of the celebration.
Current Needs:
Our after school leadership development and tutoring program Leaders in Training goes through around 75 individually wrapped snack items a week. Our current supply is beginning to run low. Some student favorites are Rice Krispie treats, trail-mix, granola bars, cereal bars, pretzels and snack crackers. If you are able to help out, or are interested in learning more, contact Kristen Maxwell at kristenm@missionadelante.org
The resource Center is in need of some items to help it stay organized. Milk Crates to organize the books and Rubbermaid Tubs to keep the food sacks dry. If you can help please contact Molly Merrick at mollym@missionadelante.org
Important Dates:
There will be no programs November 23-28. The Mission Adelante office will be closed November 25-28. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!