Bridge The Gap: A Global Year Podcast
"The Global Year Podcast explores stories of faith, adventure, and cultural immersion through the lens of gap year missions. Join us as we bridge the gap between ordinary life and extraordinary global experiences, empowering young people to follow Jesus and make a difference around the world."
Bridge The Gap: A Global Year Podcast
The Sacred Disruption: Rethinking the Default Life Plan w/ Brant Fountain
What if the greatest spiritual growth happens when we step off the conventional path? In this enlightening conversation, youth pastor Brant Fountain reconnects with podcast hosts to reflect on their shared 2009 gap year experience in Costa Rica and how it continues to shape ministry approaches sixteen years later.
Against the backdrop of today's youth culture—where students face unprecedented pressure, disconnection, and mental health challenges—Brant passionately advocates for breaking free from "cookie-cutter Christianity." Drawing from his own transformative experience, he explains how taking a year to surrender completely to God provided clarity and direction that four years of college couldn't match.
The conversation delves into the concept of "the soul-sucking voice of reasonableness" that keeps many from taking holy risks. While today's generation appears more cautious than ever, research shows elderly people's greatest regret is not taking more risks. This paradox frames a compelling argument for why gap years might be exactly what our disconnected, anxious youth need.
Beyond theoretical discussion, the episode offers practical wisdom about navigating relationships during mission experiences, recognizing spiritual idols, and approaching major life decisions with complete surrender. Brant's journey—including how he and his now-wife Julie went from best friends to engaged in just eight days after returning from Costa Rica—illustrates how God often works in unexpected ways when we create space for authentic spiritual formation.
Whether you're a student considering your next steps, a parent navigating options with your teen, or a youth pastor guiding young people, this conversation invites you to reconsider conventional wisdom and embrace the transformative power of holy risk-taking. What might God do with your life if you laid everything on the line?
Connect with Us:
- Website: https://www.globalyear.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/global.year/
- Email: info@globalyear.org
What's up guys? Welcome back to the Bridge the Gap podcast. We are so excited that you are back with us and, man, I'm excited about this episode. We got to sit down with our friend, brant Fountain, who went on a gap year in 2009, along with my brother, taylor, and Brant and his wife, julie were also on our staff for several years, and so this week it's me, taylor and Brant get to sit down together. Brant and Taylor get to reminisce about their trip.
Speaker 1:But we also got to hear what's going on in Brant's ministry as a youth pastor, some of the things that he's facing and seeing some of the challenges that students are facing in these days. And, man, it was such a treat and I think you are going to thoroughly enjoy this episode, especially if you're a youth pastor. I think you're going to love this and you're going to hear a lot of wisdom from Brant. So y'all hang on tight, enjoy this episode of Bridge the Gap podcast. Y'all be blessed. So let's just start off just kind of sharing maybe some of y'all's favorite memories from Costa Rica.
Speaker 1:Your gap year. How long has it been since y'all took a gap year?
Speaker 2:16 since we left, it was 2009.
Speaker 3:Okay, we met 16 years ago no. Like the summer, 16 years 2010. We met 16 years ago, no.
Speaker 4:Like the summer 16 years ago, we met in Marketplace Canton Marketplace right after it was built.
Speaker 3:It's 2005. No 2009. Right minus 2009. So yeah, yeah 2009.
Speaker 1:So, for people listening, y'all went on your gap year together. Yeah, yes, we did. People listening, y'all went on your gap year together.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yes, yeah, we were. Our gap year had a lot of students all over the United States, but there were four of us who were local to where we live and so we got together before we left for a, just to get to know each other yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:So so give us some highlights just to kick us off, like highlights from costa rica 2009 um well, there's some stories we were talking about before we came on um, yeah, I think what pops out is that initial hike we took.
Speaker 3:So, to the cross, looking back, we should have never done that, or really I can't, but I don't know how. It was like an approved thing. Because, we hiked to the cross with this one guy and he was pretty young.
Speaker 4:Like a kid. He was basically a kid, like we just hired two kids to hike the mountain with us.
Speaker 3:I don't think we hired, I think they just joined us. They were locals and they were like, yeah, we'll come with you. I thought. Justin paid him $20 or something, I don't think. So there was one guy who was I can't remember his name but then the kids joined us and we had to have the kids because we didn't know where we were, so we got lost. We got lost all day it was raining, pouring. We went all the way up and then came back down. I think we circumnavigated.
Speaker 4:Coming down was wild because it was pouring rain.
Speaker 3:So we ended up getting lost and we were out for a really long time and every time we'd ask our guy like hey, where are we? No one knew. So everyone was just kind of struggling a little bit.
Speaker 1:What a perfect way to kick off.
Speaker 4:I remember being the first one to the cross, though I was super proud of that. What a perfect way to kick off. I remember being the first one to the cross, though I was super proud of that.
Speaker 1:I did the Rocky jump, you know, with the fist in the eye.
Speaker 3:Was this like at the beginning of y'all's trip, yeah, first week or two, yeah, like first week yeah exactly First week or two, so we were just getting to know everyone you know and getting our bearings.
Speaker 4:Yeah, looking back at those pictures. A lot of people look very different.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:Because I mean a lot of people. I would say ate less food.
Speaker 3:Yeah, some people didn't like the food that we had. Some people ate a lot and got bigger.
Speaker 4:Yeah, for some reason, jake always went to Burger King for every dinner.
Speaker 1:Dude, I gained 20 pounds when I was on my gaffer.
Speaker 3:Are you serious? Yeah, oh my gosh. Yeah, I can't imagine that.
Speaker 1:I think it was because I ate three meals a day.
Speaker 2:It was so consistent that I just like yeah, Anyway, it's random, but yeah.
Speaker 1:So what was the most surprising thing and we're kind of jumping through just to keep us on time but what was maybe one of the most surprising things you learned about yourself during y'all's gap year experience?
Speaker 4:I mean, I will never forget.
Speaker 1:I know you gotta dig deep this is for brant, though long time the first listen, the first, like I'd say first semester.
Speaker 4:But one of the first things I remember is brant. Just like we're all going to the gym mainly because of brant. Like brant's like the jack dude on the team. So we all go to the gym and he's just like we're all going to the gym mainly because of Brant.
Speaker 4:Like Brant's, like the Jack dude on the team. So we all go to the gym and he's like motivating us. We're all like buying memberships to go, and then he's like, hey guys, I'm not going to work out. I feel convicted about it. And uh, that's so true, Like first few weeks and I was like shoot dude. I just paid like 20 bucks to be a memory. It was an idol.
Speaker 3:I didn't even know it. I didn't, I didn't even know it like it was an idol. The Lord wrecked me that those first few weeks. Yeah, like I. So I would wake up, I mean the butt crack of dawn, 5 o'clock and and just hit the gym hard. And then I, but I would, I didn't really realize what being abroad would do to my body and like my energy, physically, and so throughout the day I would, I would like sleep during Spanish class, like sleep during Bible, and I ended up getting into like going into a pretty like quick depression and I I didn't realize.
Speaker 1:I couldn't figure out Just physically exhausting yourself.
Speaker 3:Yes, and so I began questioning like why I was there and all this and that, and I was like what is going on?
Speaker 3:I was like, oh, like the Lord has convicted me that, like working out is an idol and I've been working out for years I'd reached like maxes and lifting, and you know, and it was also just a huge part of my life and routine and, uh, and I delayed it for several weeks, knowing that that's what the Lord wanted me to do, but I couldn't quite give it up until finally I was just like I got a like cold turkey and I told the guys and everyone was stunned and frustrated because everyone just signed contracts with the gym. But I had to stop because it was just like there's no fellowship with God.
Speaker 1:Did you stop working out altogether?
Speaker 3:I did, really I did. I had to go all or nothing, yeah, wow.
Speaker 4:I had to and I had a new workout buddy. That's when me and Jake started working out.
Speaker 3:We were morning and afternoon every day, Morning, afternoon. Well, everyone else continued and there's nothing, and I'm not there's nothing wrong with working out.
Speaker 1:No, no. Yeah. Well, I think too that's a good point of like when you're on the field, um, really physically taking care of yourself, cause I think sometimes that could be like dialing it back, or right.
Speaker 4:I mean because you can over overdo it or exhaust yourself, um, but even I mean seeing that from him for me was big because, again, this was like my first time going out on my own, kind of experiencing my faith on my own. And seeing someone close to my age, a little bit older, like make a decision that this is what the lord's telling me to do, and then listening to it was like, oh man, I need to be listening to what the lord's telling me because he's probably talking to me too you know, so, yeah, that was big for me in the beginning of the year.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah okay, so this is like a little bit off script, but I feel like we have we talk about uh couples that meet like uh, you know, during a gap year or connect in different ways, and you and julie are one of those um, what was that like? Share a little insight into that and maybe it would be helpful for somebody else. Like we've had you know several now marriages like that have come out of gap years multiple came out of ours y'all already knew each other, so it's not like y'all met, but like what was that?
Speaker 3:well, julie's boyfriend came to one of the parents' week. So like he came to visit.
Speaker 4:That was wild.
Speaker 3:I mean, how many boyfriends are coming? I mean maybe one here and there.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Like he came to Costa Rica, came to Costa Rica while we were there, while they were dating by himself, by himself, without her parents.
Speaker 4:Like her parents didn't come. He was just a little bitty fella, you know.
Speaker 3:He was just a kid and we were all buddies, like we were all just hanging out having a good time and then he left and they broke up.
Speaker 1:She broke up with them right after she got clarity.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and then I kind of liked a girl while we were there.
Speaker 4:On our team.
Speaker 3:On our team Not Julie, not my current, not my wife, current wife, not my while we were there and our team on our team not Julie, not my current, not my wife, current wife not my wife, my only wife. I love you, julie, um, and uh, you know it was through that process. She was the first uh like, uh, real relationship, or or girl that I really liked.
Speaker 3:Um and then that didn't obviously work out and and so Julie and I had known each other for years, we were best friends, um, and super close, and um, and yeah, we, uh, really we realized that we liked each other and that uh, uh. What's funny is we were we both wanted to be in missions and we're like okay like. This is before. We knew. We liked each other, we like. Okay. How can we be in missions like you and me?
Speaker 3:together, uh, somehow side note this I I just want to say this is the strange relationship not on the table it was. It wasn't like we should get married, it was like okay, like you can live here, we can live here.
Speaker 4:We'll just be buddies. I I met when I went, when I met them before our gap year. I'm thinking to myself this is the weirdest thing I've ever experienced. I've never met a guy and a girl who are best friends and y'all and y'all don't like each other, like we. We had this conversation multiple times throughout the year. Are you sure you don't like julie?
Speaker 3:no, man, we're just best friends. Living in the, living in the one day at a time, yeah, yeah, just enjoying.
Speaker 1:And when you're best friends. Sometimes it's harder to get to that point Like it feels weirder, it takes like a moment to get to where you're like. Oh, maybe this is more than just like best friends yeah.
Speaker 4:And then the awesome part is, once they did decide to get together and engage decide to get together and be all.
Speaker 1:Y'all didn't. Did y'all have to navigate that while you were there, or was that last night on the table?
Speaker 3:last night the night we are, we, we flew home on uh, I think june 5th is when we so june 4th staying up in the wee hours of the morning, we said, okay, we gotta either stop being friends or we got to start dating, because this is just, this is just too much, it's crazy. So it was really late and I remember us saying we're gonna date and.
Speaker 3:Julie doesn't remember that conversation at all, so she thought we decided not to be friends. So for a week I'm thinking we're dating and for a week she's thinking we decided to not be friends. Man, so how? So communication not yeah?
Speaker 1:big break down there, so like a week later.
Speaker 3:Julie's like why are you like still talking? Like, why are we like, why are you being buddy, buddy and all this? And I'm like I don't know, aren't we dating? And she's like no what? And I was like, and she was like.
Speaker 3:I thought you said you didn't want to be and I, I was like look, let's just clarify right here, right now Like I want to date you and so, um, I guess it was two weeks, it was on June 13th we started dating. Um, I remember that it was at my, my brother's wedding. Um, it was like okay, we're making this official, we're dating.
Speaker 3:So it was two weeks after we got back, where we both knew we were dating. The whole time I thought we were dating, anyways, yeah and then. But since we had known each other so long and it was I knew that I wanted to marry her. So on June 21st I asked her to marry me. So we went from friends maybe we're not friends to engaged in eight days.
Speaker 1:Wow, um and so yeah, I guess you didn't, you didn't have to think about it or like really get to know her. It was just like you already knew her.
Speaker 4:So I knew.
Speaker 1:I knew her inside and dating for years without realizing it yeah that's pretty amazing we you know it's like y'all have a unique in the sense like we've had several couples that have like had to navigate that while they're on the field well from what we, from what taylor and I you know see, saw on through our team.
Speaker 3:We had couples who are couples, we had people who liked each other, who did it well and those who didn't yeah you know what I mean those who do it well, they, they don't let the, they don't let the relationship like override why they're there. Yeah, they're still hanging out with their guy friends and they're and you know the girls still hanging out with their girlfriends and they're deeply involved in their ministry. They're learning, they're learning the language, they're giving themselves to the culture and the, the experience overall knowing they like each other.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know what I'm saying and knowing that after the year's over they can pursue that more.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 4:They did it good, that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, nathan good.
Speaker 3:Nathan, yeah, they did it.
Speaker 4:Nathan and Kaylin did it. Well, they did it.
Speaker 3:I didn't know, they liked each other. But yeah, yeah, other.
Speaker 4:but yeah, yeah, like they. I think it was one of those like end of the year kind of thing yeah and then over the summer they decided, and then they came back as interns both of them right, but you'll have but I was also a director after the fact.
Speaker 3:So for two years I was a director yeah and so we would see students who would do with this not well you know, they'd like each other and then everyone. It was like they had. They lived in their own little world.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And so, yeah, I think there's a wise way to navigate that, and you can get too caught up, I think.
Speaker 4:Yeah, and for those who are worried about finding a spouse, it doesn't have to happen on your gap year. I mean, I was still introduced to my spouse by my friends, so Brent and Julie introduced me to my wife.
Speaker 2:Yeah, A lot of years later. Yeah, 10 years later.
Speaker 3:Yeah, almost 10 years later. So stay friends with the people.
Speaker 4:Stay friends. Yeah, you should totally stay connected. I mean, it's been a huge blessing to be friends.
Speaker 1:We all know like a gap year is a great opportunity to build friendships. Like building relationships on the field is yeah, there's almost nothing like it. Like just sharing that experience with people is pretty transformational for everybody and when you share that together, it's like it just connects you forever. I mean, we're sitting here at this table.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I mean, you become family.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And it's like it was the best year of my life.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And so those relationships will that's always be special.
Speaker 4:Now I did miss everybody's weddings because I wasn't in the facebook group, which, by the way, I'm not anymore. I'm still not in the facebook group because I had to get a new facebook. So, yeah, y'all still have a facebook group.
Speaker 1:We have facebook group and that's where no but listen nobody sent out wedding invitations.
Speaker 4:They just said hey, come to my wedding. Here's my invitation on facebook. And I never got invited.
Speaker 1:Still a little salty.
Speaker 4:I'm a little bit, it sounds like I did get to go to nathan and kaylin's wedding because I went to college with one of our teammates and she was like hey, do you want to go to north carolina or to west virginia?
Speaker 2:I'm like yeah, sure, let's go but, yeah, that's awesome. We love you, taylor. Yeah, so um.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. We love you, taylor. Yeah, so let's just keep it rolling. So now let's just come to the present day. You are the youth pastor at this church. How do you think your gap year experience with it, even being as long ago as it was, has influenced your ministry? I mean, obviously you've done different things up to this point, but especially now, because you know students is what we, those are, the that's who we work with you know, and so you're in the midst of all that like how does that influence what you're doing now?
Speaker 3:It influences my ministry every single day because the greatest stressor, the greatest prayer request, the greatest anxiety for students is what they're going to do after high school. And so, having taken a year off to really just dive into the heart of God and different culture, language, serving the church there, realizing how clarifying it was for me, I mean, I want to show the students a better way. I want to show them that their life doesn't have to be mapped out in ninth grade. These students are taking, like they are stressed about, dual enrollment classes like ninth and tenth grade now, and so they're worried and they feel like they have to keep up. So it's impacting my ministry with students on a daily basis.
Speaker 3:And so I just encourage them. Like you don't have to have your whole life planned out, you know, even graduating from high school. And so because I've realized throughout the years like the Lord is going to move you to different places without you planning it out or knowing it. And so just to, yes, to have your plans for sure, but to let God move those plans, those plans, uh, in his direction. And that's something I learned through the gap year program.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And so, uh, through global year, and so, um, and I, I am, if you asked any of my students right now, like they're probably like tired of hearing me just encourage them to take a year off and spend it with one of our missions partners. Spend it with global global year. Spend it with in a gap year. Just take a year off and mature and learn and and decide like um discover who you are in the faith kind of like what taylor was saying, like he had never been out on his own.
Speaker 3:and then you're thrust into this home with a bunch of other, like christian dudes, who are all learning the same. Like these lessons and like the sharpening that happens, there is like none other, um, and so so I, I challenge our students to uh, to consider how the Lord might be leading them to take, to take, uh, some time off and um and serve him, so to tie the year to the Lord.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what do you? What do you think? The uh, the biggest resistance to like a gap year program is?
Speaker 3:Do you think it's students or parents? Ooh, that's a tough one. So it's yeah. I don't know, I would probably have to say I would say students, but that's a really close call, because the students are being influenced by how the parents have raised them. Yeah, you know what?
Speaker 3:I mean yeah yeah, and so like the pressure, the success, the striving for you know this and that career is deeply ingrained into them from somewhere. They feel it consciously or unconsciously in their high school years, which is what's making them to, you know, decide to take on all these heavy loads at school constantly. I mean kids are thrust into these adult like just burdens of, like success when they're 15, 16 years old and so. And a gap year is not for every student necessarily, but every student should absolutely pray about taking a year and serving the Lord abroad.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:What do you? Uh, we just said something and I thought about another question. But what? One of the things is? Why do you say, um, it's not for every student? I'm curious well, I think I mean I could answer that too, but I'm just curious what your thoughts are I think we know that the lord has different callings for, for different people.
Speaker 3:For example, praise god for um for faithful church members who have great jobs who are able to send many students on these global years. Without them, then this couldn't happen. But what's funny is that's almost setting up the idea. If you go on a gap year, you won't have a successful job.
Speaker 3:Well that's obviously not true. In fact, I would say, when you go on a gap year, when you go with global year, you get clarity and you get maturity beyond what you can get in four years at college, to a large degree because you're on your own, you're challenged in ways you're not challenged at college and things like that, and so most students come back, and I know for me, I came back driven like I knew what I wanted to do.
Speaker 3:Like at you know, uh 21, I asked my wife to marry me. She was 19 and we started um the process of joining global year and became the directors of student development when I was 22 and she was 20 yeah, and it's like, and for five years we served like, and you know, recruited students and, you know, vetted students and trained students and then served on the field and so, like, we became driven, you know, because of our global year.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:Like we, like the Lord clarified the vision he was giving us for our path forward.
Speaker 1:Yeah, y'all had a ton of influence. Yeah, yeah, what do you uh like as a youth pastor? What are some of the? Because we have a lot of like youth pastors obviously are some of the our biggest influencers. You know, just as far as like as global year, we see youth pastors as kind of the, the people that are um influencing students most, you know teachers, youth pastors, parents, obviously, but youth pastors are a big part of that and we've consistently seen, you know, resistance from youth pastors, whether it's like pressure from churches or parents or just the pressures of being in in like church ministry, um, do you feel any of that like because obviously you're somebody who's been through the experience, uh, are an advocate for taking a year, um, but do you feel any of that pressure now that you're in this role, like you know, to kind of like steer away from that or like to be careful about, um I don't know like influencing kids to do that?
Speaker 3:Absolutely not. Oh my goodness.
Speaker 1:Now.
Speaker 3:I am accountable to one and that is Jesus. Yeah, that's awesome accountable to one, and that is Jesus. Yeah, that's awesome I'm accountable to Him and how he's leading and what is the very best for Jesus in the hearts of these students.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And he's the goal, he's the prize, and formed in the hearts of these students. And so, whatever it takes and we're sitting here in this chapel where we worship, I preach and I pray that Jesus is formed into the lives of these students and as I see them, I want them to just surrender to everything that God wants for them in their lives, and to do that you have to surrender a lot.
Speaker 3:You have to surrender the plans that you've made the past three years in high school, the plans that your parents have made for you, the plans that your girlfriend or boyfriend you know that y'all have made together, and so to do that, you have to make a big sacrifice.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So I have no reservation about challenging.
Speaker 2:That's good.
Speaker 3:Why would you be afraid?
Speaker 1:Yeah, we wonder the same thing, you know, but we've seen consistently where there is that hesitation.
Speaker 3:Well, I mean, have these youth pastors gone and seen? Have they been? Right have they experienced it yeah.
Speaker 1:We offered. This is like a and I won't. You know, I'm hesitant to share this, but we offered at a luncheon, you know, for it's kind of a funny story, but just like to, we were playing pickleball, you know. We're like hey, you know we'll play, if you beat us, we'll pay for a trip for you to go to one of our locations, and it was kind of just throwing it out there almost. Like you know, this is kind of a funny thing. We were serious, like you know, and nobody took the gamble. I mean, there was basically, I think if we won then they had to send one student. That was like the.
Speaker 1:so if we won, they have to send a student, if they win, they get a free trip to one of our locations, and not one person took the bet, you know, and so and that's just like a silly little thing, but I think it kind of highlights something, and that is that, whether it's the pressure to send students or just the hesitation, or whatever it is I don't know what it is because obviously you have no reservation we are struggling with this cookie cutter timid Christianity in students and in leaders.
Speaker 3:Because guess what? It's been how long? 16 years. We're now the leaders, and so it's like, if we have this cookie-cutter discipleship path for everyone, guess what? We're creating cookie-cutter leaders. And yeah, everything's safe, everything's good and the kids have decent behavior. Okay, well, that's not the goal. The goal is total surrender to Christ as King.
Speaker 3:And and to do that you have to go through some hard stuff, you have to take some risks, um and so, um, I would encourage youth pastors to not be afraid of anyone except Jesus Christ. Um, and because, your boss your senior pastor, whatever. But the thing is is like okay, well, I'm, you know, how do I, how do I know for sure, well, go like go and see, Like I've been and it changed my life forever. Well, you've got to go and see. You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3:So, like, if you know, if no one's been to a Braves game before, and I take them. And their life has changed because the Braves are awesome which they are.
Speaker 1:They're struggling right now. We're about to get to 500. They're coming back. It's all right yeah.
Speaker 3:You know they're going to. They're going to like go to Braves games you know, it's like yeah. Truist Park is awesome.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't think there's anything like that in any way.
Speaker 4:I mean we've had multiple youth pastors go and see and all of those youth pastors are well connected with our ministry and want to be involved in our sending students.
Speaker 4:Right when you were talking about, you know being timid, it just made me think like you know, timid disciples will make timid disciples, mmm, cookie cutter disciples will make cookie cutter disciples and for me I could have easily been drug into the cookie cutter Christianity, the timid Christianity my dad was not that, but going Absolutely, I mean changes. You can't come back and be a part of the cookie cutter anymore. It's like cookie cutter makes you want to throw up.
Speaker 4:You know, like the way you view everything that you grew up with shifts, like you know, I knew I wanted, for example, I wanted to be a youth pastor. I felt called to ministry before I went to Costa Rica. When I came back I'm like, oh, I'm still called to ministry, but I can't just stay here. It's got to. You know, I've got to go and do I've got to go. You know, yeah.
Speaker 3:And I'm not saying that those who don't go are cookie cutter in a negative sense.
Speaker 4:It can happen.
Speaker 3:I'm just saying be willing to consider, yeah, like be willing to take risks Right, and your risk might not be going on a global year. Your risk might be something else. I don't know it could be starting a youth choir when no one you know it could be starting this or that, Like whatever it might be, I don't know. But be willing to do whatever it takes for the discipleship of the students.
Speaker 1:I think what you said is the key to walking in the kingdom and and participating in jesus building his church you know is surrender, so that that's going to look like a lot of different things for a lot of different people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, you know, obviously we've experienced gap years and we know what it's like and I think when you've tasted and seen, you know, in a sense you're like sometimes I feel like the door is open for everybody. You know, like for me and I think for all of us, maybe you almost feel like at times, like everybody should go and the thing just even it might not be a gap year but just a season of rest. I even think for students, life is so fast-paced in America and I think taking a season of reflection and rest is really important, and so this is one opportunity for that.
Speaker 3:Well, so as church staff, I feel like one of our greatest challenges and maybe our greatest challenge is in adults and students is busyness, and so that is being ingrained into these students. So to take a year off sounds absurd. It sounds like you are just. I mean, you're shooting yourself in the foot, but you're not. You think you are, but you're not.
Speaker 3:It's like digging the hole for the foundation. That you'll never see, but it's going to hold up the whole building Yep, and so, yeah, I would encourage students and pastors to go and see um and to consider it makes me think of peter.
Speaker 4:You know he was married, you know, and, uh, you imagine his wife when he came to her and said, hey, I'm, I'm gonna just take indefinitely off from fishing, and she's like what sure it sounds insane he took.
Speaker 4:He ended up taking three years and then the rest of his life but like it's just what did he do? He did the same thing that we have to do. We have to trust Jesus, because Jesus said come and follow me. So you have to trust the one who calls you, and he's called us. You know, and like and like Brant said, it's going to look different. You may not be going overseas for nine months.
Speaker 4:It may be serving locally in your youth ministry as an intern or you know whatever it is. But there's this there's a pastor up in New York, church of the City, john Tyson.
Speaker 1:John Tyson John.
Speaker 4:Tyson. He said he talks about this thing called the soul-sucking voice of reasonableness. That's unreasonable, that's not reasonable, we can't. But he just talks about how the soul-sucking voice of reasonableness, like God, doesn't call us to reasonableness, he tells us to do unreasonable things, and reasonableness can be soul-sucking. It causes us to choose to do what everybody else is doing because it's safe. Ever since I heard him talk about that specifically, it's always been like am I listening to the soul-sucking voice of reasonableness or am I listening to?
Speaker 2:the unreasonable Jesus, you know who gives life, that's good, well, just a couple more things.
Speaker 1:One thought is what do you see like right now in students? What are the biggest challenges for students right now that they're facing?
Speaker 3:Disconnectedness. They all think they, the friends they think they have, they don't really have, and the friends they know they don't have aren't as far as they think they are. They feel disconnected because they've for one. They're kind of the COVID generation, so they've been shaped by virtual everything that's become a predominant way of interacting virtually and so, whether it's, you know, through social media or gaming or whatever it might be, and so they think they have these interactions, these friendships, and so, um, they, they think they have these interactions these friendships, but when they're disembodied it's not.
Speaker 3:It's just not the same.
Speaker 3:Like just like uh, being with someone presently, you know. And so they, they're lonely and they're disconnected, um and uh, and they don't know how to connect and so, and also, they also they're extremely busy. So, because I think it's a perfect storm that causes depression, anxiety I think everyone knows now that, like, depression, anxiety and mental illness is just like rampant right now. And so students are in counseling, students are on medication, students are at the end of the rope now. And so, uh, students are in counseling, students are on medication, students are, um at, I mean at the end of the rope, because they are disconnected, they're confused, they're anxious, I mean without end, and it's burdens my heart, um and so yeah.
Speaker 3:I think that goes back to busyness to some degree. You know the pressures and everything, so, um, so, yeah, I I think that that's definitely the challenge, uh, that I'm seeing in in students, um, that's heavy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's it. It seems like. I'm curious because I, you know, I feel like you probably have your, your, um, um finger more on the pulse and the heartbeat of of that. But do our students reckon starting to recognize that and like course correct, or is it more like adults or other people around them are recognizing it? Um, because I feel like the this generation, gen z maybe I don't know how old Alpha is, but Gen Z especially I feel like has really recognized the kind of somewhat swing that the prior generation has done, even like inauthentic ministry or whatever it is, phones, just this, so like this total disconnectedness and almost like and again, I'm just seeing it from the outside in, but almost starting to swing back, like they're so desiring, like just deep connection, you know, authentic relationships and just realness you know, know, because it seems like the world has moved into this like false whatever, like you're saying, like the disconnected thing.
Speaker 3:Do they feel?
Speaker 1:that Do? They see it and recognize it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, do they course, correct? I think I think they're beginning to. I think parents are beginning to, but I think I think we're at this crisis point where parents are just searching for anything, anything at all, to help their kids. And so I think that's why we see more and more kids who are coming out of. I mean just today I wrote a reference letter for a student going into a private school.
Speaker 3:They're going out of public school into private schools or homeschool and that kind of a thing, because parents are seeing that they need to spend more significant time, that they need to be the primary influence in their kid's life. There's nothing wrong with public school. I have kids in public school. I love the public schools we have around here. They're great. But for some kids who are struggling, like some of our kids are, it's helpful to just slow things down a bit. Slow things down, take the pressure off let them be.
Speaker 1:Let them be kids Right.
Speaker 3:Can we just let them be kids? I know, Let them play, that's so important. Let them. Let them connect with others in the neighborhood. Let them just just do nonsensical things with others. Uh, obviously, you know, with safeguards in place, but just let them chill. But we have to help them connect because they don't know how to connect.
Speaker 2:They feel stressed.
Speaker 3:It's like I don't know if I can walk over to their house or this or that it's like yes, you can. Like I have a kid who just is like stressed out about, like I don't know if we can say this or do this, or I don't know if I can ask them to play or you know, go over here and do this and it's like just stop and just live in the moment. But it's not that simple.
Speaker 2:I know.
Speaker 3:And that's why they're in counseling, they're on medication.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:They're being pulled from public school, they're this and that, and so it's like a ship. You can't just, like you know, do 180.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a slow turn for sure. We'll close with this. What advice would you give somebody that's considering a gap year experience?
Speaker 3:The advice I would give is to take all of your own expectations and your own plans, your own desires. If you're truly willing to follow the Lord's will totally, truly willing to follow the Lord's will totally, then you owe it to God to take all your plans, everything, literally everything, relationship plans, future, everything. Lay it all out there, lay it all on the line. I mean, be a blank slate and give God a blank check to write however he wants to write. Um, if you do that, then if, if you're supposed to go, you'll go. Like, if, like, if it's the lord's will, you'll go because, theoretically, you've laid everything on the line for god to totally direct your life. If you've done that, he'll direct you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and it could be to global year, could be to college, could be to taking a year and just working, could be taking a year to, to, to intern at your church. But why not do a global year like? It's good question, why not like, if we're, if we're saying like, also, if you lay everything out there and you don't have direction, why not take a year and learn a language? I've used Spanish, for I mean Todos los días, cada día, estoy usando español.
Speaker 3:And so it's like why not?
Speaker 2:learn a language, why not?
Speaker 3:like go through some Bible classes and some Bible classes and really galvanize your theology. Why not gain this incredible core group of like-minded friends?
Speaker 2:that you'll have forever.
Speaker 3:Why not do all those things if you don't have direction? Oh and yeah, by the way when you get back, you can test out of a lot of Spanish or a lot of other language.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And so I don't know. I, I just I would say my advice is just to lay out all your plans and your expectations for your life and let god direct your, your path so often people look at nine months, students specifically.
Speaker 4:They look at nine months because they've only lived, you know, 16, 17, 18 years yeah, and they're like man, that's.
Speaker 4:It's a long time, right. You know, I stood up in front of some students who were going and I'm like you know, nine months seems like a long time, but I've lived since my gap year. I've lived nine months, 20 plus times, right, which is crazy, but nine months is it's a blip on the screen. It's this much of what God deserves is what Brent was saying If you really want to live your life for the Lord, this is a blip on the screen of what you should give Him.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's an adventure and I think it's really helpful. It can be really helpful. Yeah, other thoughts before he.
Speaker 3:Anything we didn't talk about oh, there's lots we didn't talk about yeah, yeah, I mean there's yeah, so many anything that's like just burning in your soul.
Speaker 1:That needs to be said what I mean yeah, what I mean yeah?
Speaker 3:I I just have a burden for students to um, to break out of the traditional mold of the faith that's been, um, uh, I don't know uh, to some degree ingrained into them in a good way for sure, but but to break out of the mold of what you think faith should and has to look like and just learn and grow and experience.
Speaker 3:I think there was a little book we read a while back when I was on staff with Goldbeer Risk is Right by John Piper. It changed a lot of what I thought. And when there was a study done by I don't know if it was Barna or another group of surveying elderly people and they said their number one regret in life is that they didn't take more risks, it's like. But this is a generation that is apprehensive they are timid. They are scared to take risks. So it starts with us leaders helping them.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we all have kids now, and I feel like there's no better way to lead or to instill that than to do it ourselves.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because, as you're saying that I'm going like man, we have to do that Right, you know, like we have to take risk. We have to be bold and really believe what Jesus said, you know, because I feel like I said, we all have kids and it's like we really know that there's no better way to lead our kids than to do what we want them to do, not say what we want them to do.
Speaker 3:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:And I think that's for your students as well and I know you do that and the students we're influencing that are going. It's like there's no better way to do that, because I think we all share in that burden that you're talking about, the students we're influencing that are going. It's like there's no better way to do that, because I think we all share in that burden that you're talking about For students. You know, man, I want them to bask in the freedom of Jesus and his kingdom, but we have to do that, we have to lead that and show them the way.
Speaker 4:Hopefully we are. I know you are, and then you know. And for students considering doing this, a statistic that I've been working on myself is I always ask every youth pastor, every adult parent that I come across you know would you do it if you could go back?
Speaker 2:and.
Speaker 4:And, fun fact, this is the only statistic that I know of. That's 100%. But 100% of them say, oh man, I would do it if I could. If I could go back, I would do it. And kind of going off of what he was saying, like we should listen to generations who have gone before us, those 90-year-olds who wish they had taken more risks. They're also wiser than we are because of the life experience they've gained. And if you can, in middle school, high school, start believing the adults who have gone before you and taking their experience and learning from it. That is called wisdom Learning from other people's mistakes or risks not taken, that's wisdom, no regrets yeah.
Speaker 4:No regrets, no regrets. Yeah, no regrets, no regrets.
Speaker 1:Not even one.
Speaker 4:Not a single one Not a single one.
Speaker 3:That's good. Do you know that? No, I don't know this. I don't want to, If somebody knows it it's a movie.
Speaker 4:If somebody knows it, they know it. I don't even want to bring it up after that Well, dude.
Speaker 1:thank you for taking the time to do this. This has been a pleasure. Yeah, you too.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I love both of you guys. This is like my favorite. What an awesome podcast opportunity.
Speaker 1:I feel like we could probably sit here and do this for like a few more hours. Yeah.
Speaker 2:We feel limited in our time, so much to talk about.
Speaker 1:But I think what we've hit here is going to be really helpful, hopefully to youth pastors, to students.
Speaker 4:Parents too, and parents.
Speaker 1:Yeah, cool, signing off.
Speaker 4:See you guys, pura vida.
Speaker 1:Pura vida.
Speaker 3:Igualmente, igualmente and comment.