With Chris Zoephel | The Watering Hole Principle in YM

YAMIA is the youth and student ministries arm of the Anglican Mission in the Americas.

Had lunch with another youth pastor in town yesterday. We were discussing the upcoming training we are doing in East Africa. He was peppering me with all sorts of cross cultural training questions which, to be honest, I did not have answers for (but hope to have real soon). In the midst of the conversation he shared with me a principle he calls the "Watering Hole Principle".

The principle is based on the Woman at the Well story in Scripture. It goes like this:

Main Point: You meet kids where they are at

1) Like Jesus meeting the woman where she was at you go to places where the kids are at
2) This well, was a public place where you would find many people so you meet kids where they are at in a group setting.

For this youth pastor these places were the school, the local mall and the beach.

In these places you can meet a lot of kids, get to know their culture more (even if you just people watch) and you can talk 1 on 1 or to a whole group.

Labels: nuts and bolts

Involved in Youth Ministry for over 10 years, Rev Chris Zoephel has worked with junior highers, senior highers and those who act like these folks both as a paid staff member and as a volunteer in churches and para church organizations. These days most of his time is spent chasing his son around, keeping his office somewhat organized and trying to point others toward Christ. Currently Chris is on staff at Immanuel Anglican Church in Destin, FL as the Pastor of Discipleship (which includes being a youth pastor). Chris also serves as Director of YAMIA for the Anglican Mission in the Americas.