Nigeria, Part 3

(If you missed it, click here to start with part 1 and part 2.)

I’ve never been invited to speak at a conference before, so needless to say the whole thing was a bit intimidating. And on top of that, I’ve only been teaching youth ministry in Africa for a year and a half. Most of my experience comes from a Western context in the United States. What could I possibly offer these guys? I was suppose to be learning from them!

The conference organizers were very hospitable and friendly. They picked me up on Thursday afternoon and we drove about an hour out to the conference facility. The weather was nice and cool, it being their winter time, though it warmed up nicely during the day. Everyone was all bundled up in coats, hats and gloves and kept asking me how I liked the weather. They were shocked when I told them that my last winter at home it got down to -17C.

People arriving for the conference

All afternoon people kept trickling through the gate to the registration table. I sat outside with Silas, one of the first youth ministry graduates from the seminary who was assigned the task of keeping me company while they prepared my room. He’s from the northern Muslim areas and was planning to go back to his region to do ministry. He may also have the opportunity to work with Samaritan’s Purse and travel all over the country. Either way, he’s a sharp guy and I’m excited for how God’s going to use his ministry.

The first night after a few opening songs and an introduction, I was the first speaker. Apparently the TV show “Knight Rider” was quite popular in Nigeria, so I could make a few jokes about my name to break the ice, then we jumped right in. The theme of the conference was “The Dynamics of Youth Ministry in a Globalized Youth Culture,” so during our first session we talked a little bit about culture and how it influences us. We played a little game called “Do You Know Me?” to get an idea of their youth culture IQ. Everyone stood up, then I would make a cultural reference, then if they didn’t know what it was they would sit down. The very first thing I said was “selfie” and almost the whole auditorium sat down! So from that vantage point I think I certainly did have a few things of value I could share with them.

Showing the conference what a selfie is

During the next mornings session I decided to show them what a selfie was. This session we talked about media and how it influences us. We talked about biblical discernment and how we can be mindful critics rather than mindless consumers. Then for the rest of the day other people were sharing messages about discipleship, breaking addiction, and other youth ministry topics. They also broke everyone up into small groups to get their opinions on specific challenges and issues. I thought that was cool that they recognized the value of the experience of the nearly 500 youth workers in the room and wanted to hear their insights.

By Saturday morning some people had already started leaving. For our last session together we discussed youth sexuality and our sexualized culture. For some shock value I had titled my message “Why I Stopped Teaching Abstinence.” To get an idea of the present situation I had looked around online and found some astounding, yet not surprising statistics concerning youth sexuality in Nigeria. Then we looked at both how the church typically responds, and how it should respond. Most often the message we hear is abstinence, suppress your desires, don’t have sex. But we looked at how a negative prohibition will never be the strongest motivation against temptation. The strongest motivation against temptation will always be positive. It’s not about suppressing your sinful desires, but replacing them with holy desires! So rather than teaching abstinence, I suggested promoting purity. Purity is a positive holy desire and it involves so much more than just no having sex. So I think once I explained my position it helped set some minds at ease about the title of my message. :)

Some conference attendees (Silas is in front center)

Overall it was really a good conference. I loved meandering around and talking to guys who’ve been doing youth ministry for years. I loved the feedback of their questions and comments about my talks. One guy was a bit put off when he heard that they had invited a Westerner to come speak, but once I started talking he said I spoke like a Nigerian who knew exactly what they were dealing with. I think everyone who attended certainly benefited and gained something to take back to their ministries, including me.

The day before I left the conference organizers had me to their office for lunch of pounded yams and soup. They kept expressing their appreciation for me coming and what I shared. It was a nice send-off and it helped me realize a didn’t just meet some new people, I had made some new friends.

Me with the conference organizers