Yesterday was the kick-off of the Urban Youth Workers Institute Conference, which happens to be held about 3 miles from my house in Pasadena. I love this conference - such amazing diversity and great people!

The highlight of the two roundtable sessions I attended yesterday was a theme about telling someone you believe in them. First I heard Eric Iverson, a friend I greatly respect, from YouthWorks say that when he was 14 and volunteering in children’s ministry, one of the adult leaders told him, “You’re good at this.” That was the initial seed of Eric’s current calling to full-time vocational ministry.

Then twenty minutes later in another session, Dr. Jude Tiersma Watson, my colleague at Fuller who I also greatly respect, shared that it was the encouragement of a Fuller faculty member that led her to seriously consider becoming a faculty member herself.

Our words - the way we envision what God is and COULD do through the teenagers and young adults in our lives - have such power.

Who can you encourage today?