Capricorn sees a lot of people come and go. Because it's such a financially poor community, lots of Non-Profit Organizations come in and give handouts, pour resources into the community, etc. Often these people are only there to 'give and go' - no follow-up is done, it was just a 'handout driven' mission, and most of these people come in with no connection to the community and locals. Therefore, this community is used to people GIVING them things. It's a hard way to live - especially if you're one that's trying to minister to this community and the people are only interested in your efforts because they want to see if you'll handout food or a parcel at the end of your time together. This is a typical 'poor-community' mind-set ... a life-style and mentality I'd love for someone to break.
Not only do these people see foreigners and non-profits come and go, but within the few years Capricorn Church has been in existence, they've seen church leaders come and go. I've said this before - Capricorn is NOT for the faint at heart. Ministry workers here face many attacks - spiritual, mental, emotional, even physical. Many don't have the endurance and selfless mindset to stay long-term. These people, especially our youth, are building up walls (emotionally and socially) to those that say they want to minister to Capricorn. When new people come in, the people 'test' them to see if they can be trusted and often to see if they'll give tangible things. I encountered this when I first arrived. I was shown a lot of attention and 'welcomed' by locals - as time went on and they saw that I was there to serve and not 'hand-out' I was left alone - often left alone to the negative degree, as if because I had nothing tangible to offer, I wasn't valued or special to the community anymore. I'm learning that this community and people-group need time in order for a true welcome and embrace to happen. It takes extensive hours and days and months and years to truly make a relationship here.
All that to say, my Leadership Development background has led me to this motto: The true sign of a good leader is when a leader can step away and the group still functions on its own. Capricorn Church is not there yet. Our church is still dependent (often too much) on the leadership (the Pastor, the Youth Leader, etc). This past weekend, our Youth Staff (Meagan and myself) invited some of our older youth to come to my house for a Potential Leader Retreat. We had 5 youth take us up on our offer and invite. While at my house, we dove into some of those 'leader-leaving issues.' We asked them, "How does it make you feel when someone in leadership leaves?" We got various answers – some saying it makes them sad, some saying it didn't really effect them (a clear result of not getting attached to anyone because they too often see people come and go). We told them our learnings on leadership – casting vision that others need to step up and take ownership of 'church' because our 'Staff' can't do all the work. Church is about the body of Christ – each plays a role, each is important. Without team-work, the 'Staff' is worn out and the group is only receiving – instead of serving each other as Christ calls us to.
So, our group of 5 youth caught that vision and are now busy praying about whether God wants them to help lead and serve their church in this capacity. This small Potential Leadership Retreat is just the first step in raising up teen leaders, giving others opportunities to lead and minister to their church and community. Pray with us that these youth will see that they have potential to lead and can make an impact for Christ in their community. This is one small step but a big move in the right direction of church-planting and youth ministry here in South Africa!
Here are some photos from our time together with our older-youth:
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