Pator's Blog: Straight from the horses mouth...So to speak.

September of this year will mark 5 years since the time I first moved from Los Angeles to Baton Rouge Louisiana to intern at Bethany World Prayer Center. From the moment I arrived at the north campus of that church (after a 3 day drive - horrible) my life has been rocked! I am a huge supporter of internships! And now as a youth pastor I have the ability to encourage young people to do as I did. Of course, internships aren't for everyone, but I've been able to identify 7 things that mostly all the folks I interned with had in common. Here they are: (please note, when I say "internship" I don't mean some 2 day a week job at a church that requires you to make copy's and set up tables. I mean "internship" as an intense ministry formation environment, emphasis on intense!)

You should do an internship if...

1. You just graduated (either High School or College): What better time to go intern when you are in a transitional phase in your life! Something I've heard over and over again is, "I'm just gonna go to college one year and I'll do internship next year" WOMP WOMP. Every single person who's said that to me has not done it. It's a lot harder to go once you've settled where you are. Go now, while your in transition!

2. You are not sure about your future: Most students I talk to don't know what they are going to do after high school, career wise. The answer I most commonly get is, "I'm going to community college then transfer to a 4-year". That's great but I say if there is uncertainty about your future, why not give God a season to determine your future for you!

3. You are constantly doubting your faith: If you are constantly up and down, on and off, doubting and believing with God, it is just a matter of time that something will happen that you won't understand that will cause you to turn away completely. Internships (the right ones) are great ways to get you founded and firm in your faith in God.

4. You feel like there's something more: Maybe everything is great for you. You're growing spiritually. You're loving life. But, at the end of the day you feel like there's something more. If that's you, maybe you need to go be an intern!

5. The thought of leaving freaks you out: If leaving your home, family, friends, job, environment, freaks you out more than anything, you need to go! A very respectable pastor once said, "Sometimes the most fear will be in the places that you are most anointed to be in". If you are freaked out, maybe you gottsta go!

6. You know you are called to full-time ministry: Anyone that tells me they want to be in ministry I always recommend doing an internship! There is discovery of self and gifts, there is development of self and gifts, and there is deployment (commissioning) of self and gifts. Internships are great starting points for ministry. I don't think I would enjoy bible college so much now If I had not interned first.

7. You finally decide, "Yea, Ok, I'm going!" and things start to go wrong in your life: Sometimes, the fact that there's trouble, means were doing something right! Keep going!

If this was you and your wondering what's next? Since FYC does not currently have a full internship (check out our summer internship, http://www.myvcc.org/ouruturn/summer-internship), I highly recommend these full-time internships you should look into:

1. http://www.celebrationchurchtx.com/celebration-school-of-ministry (Austin Texas)
2. http://www.thechurchlv.com/internship (Las Vegas, Nevada)
3. http://220i.net/ (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)
4. http://www.generationinterns.org/ (Seattle Washington or San Diego California)

Acts 13
1. Motivation (v.3): The motivation for Paul and Barnabas was not selfish ambition but rather the Holy Spirit’s leading. As people who want to disciple people, we need to understand it is the Holy Spirit that guides us and equips us.

2. Preaching (v.16): We cannot preach anything else but the word of God. Our lives and ministries need to be built on the word; and specifically, the good news. Paul’s first message after being sent out by the Holy Spirit was a preaching of the good news! A ministry not built on The Cross will not stand.

3. Discipleship is a process: don’t make the mistake of trying to rush people to discipleship. Understand it’s a process!

4. You don’t follow your disciples, your disciples follow you: there was never an instance when Jesus followed his disciples around. Jesus didn’t ask, “Ok, so, what should we do now?” The disciples followed Jesus! Jesus always had a place he was going, VISION. What’s your vision?

5. Urging not forcing: at the end of the day, people are people and will make their own decisions. You cannot force people to do anything. All we can do as leaders is urge you, invite you, to do certain things, or not do certain things. Never let yourself become a leader of force, but rather of urging. (forcing put’s the power in your hands to change people, urging puts the power in God’s hands to change people

6. By Grace: this is all done THROUGH Grace! I refuse to ever become a leader with a “burden” for a ministry I shouldn’t have to carry. It is done through Grace. Paul and Barnabas told the followers, “by God’s grace, remain faithful”. OUR GOAL as disciplers should be this, by grace produce faithful people. Think of it this way, first is the cross, then grace, then faithfulness, then fruitfulness. In that order. Discipleship can only be done through grace. Receive that today! Blessings!

Hey friends, been a while since I wrote and there has been much happening! Quick update: not living at home anymore, living a condo with my cousin, started back up at Life Pacific College and still moving forward with the ministry!

So now that you’re caught up lets get to the next thing here. As you probably noticed on the site, there isn’t a link to our main church yet, its coming soon though! Your probably wondering, “why would your church make the youth website first?” The reason they decided to do it this way is because our church really believes in the youth ministry! What a blessing to have such amazing pastors (who happen to be my parents!) who are so for the young people!

I was sharing with someone earlier today my heart for youth ministry and the fact that I’m not the person that looks to youth ministry as a stepping stone to the next best thing, I’m in this for the long haul, until Jesus leads me elsewhere! The past two years of pastoring at this church I have really tried to lay a foundation for what God is wanting to build and it has taken much work, prayer, more work and more prayer to get to where we are today.

As I have been in the word and prayer in these last few weeks I have had such a strong urgency to do more! Not in “works” to show myself righteous before God, but Jesus has so been working in me and I have such a desire to please Him and Him alone! And what pleases him is SOULS! My desire to do more is fueled by a desire to see souls won to the kingdom of God! What I am asking is for help! For partnership with people that feel called for a season to come and partner with us not to build a ministry, a name, a program but to build the kingdom here with us! If you are looking for glamour and for camera’s and spotlights (nothing wrong with that!-when we can afford it, we will buy it!) this isn’t the place for you; but if your looking to be a part of something that is still in its infancy stage and partner with us to see it grow, then come do this thing! (I will say this- I’m not necessarily asking you to move from where you are especially if your out of state unless you REALLY feel like the Lord is calling you out and the doors open- this is intended more for local SoCal people who are looking for a place! ☺ holler.)

For more info about the main church, youth church, questions about all this, feel free to email me: dnl.fernandez@yahoo.com or facebook.com/danfernan or twitter.com/danfernan haha so many ways to communicate! Hope to hear from you and see if this is where the Lord is calling you to be. Blessings

Last Wednesday I flew to Austin Texas for a wedding in New Orleans. Confused? Ok, well here it goes, my old intern director (Jonathan Bowles) from where I interned at in Louisiana (220power.com) is now a youth pastor at a church in Austin Texas (celebrationchurchtx.com) and his wedding was in New Orleans. So last week I flew out and he actually let me speak to their youth church that night. It was so fun! That was actually the most I had ever preached to at one time, really felt the flow and I believe lives were changed.

The next day Jon had me speak to the interns and they were just such a great bunch! Such worshippers! We then drove to Baton Rouge that day and pretty much hung around Baton Rouge for a few days till the wedding. His wedding was on Saturday July 18th in New Orleans Botanical Gardens and WOW so nice! The weather was great that night too! The ceremony was pretty short but so powerful, yes, I have to admit, I cried a little bit, I always do in weddings – seriously for my wedding it’s gonna be out of control! But anyway back to the wedding – we then proceeded to the reception hall and had some AMAZING Cajun food, I couldn’t tell you what it was because I have no idea what it was! All I know is our waitress girl Jenna kept bringin it! Thank you Jenna of Botanical Gardens in New Orleans.

Sunday after the wedding I spent the day with one of my all time favorite people, ure boy Drew Armitage. We went to the south campus service at Bethany World Prayer Center and I’ll say this, one of the most powerful services at Bethany ever! Pastor Larry broke down in tears at the thought that there are people in the world that have never even HEARD the name of JESUS. There was definitely a deposit in my spirit! We then had lunch with the Bowles family and then I headed back to Texas.
Got to spend some incredible quality time with some incredible people in Houston on my way back to Austin, Joey Bush and Andrea Asbury. Then finally got back to Austin where I hung out for more days and on Wednesday night I preached their youth service once again and once again felt the flow! God is so good! The word was to GO IN! Anyway, that’s a quick summary of my week away, had a blast, hung out with amazing people, met some amazing people, good to be home! Blessings.