JOY Teen is a unique English immersion program of JOY Ministries which recruits, trains and mobilizes US churches to effectively engage (gain entrée, build relationships, and win to Christ) Basque teenagers in order that God’s Kingdom would be advanced and a reproducing church established among the people group.
- The summer English immersion program is for Basque teenagers.
- The strategy is called “Reverse Mission”- where the mission field (Basque student) comes to the missionary (churches and families in the US).
- The promises of the “4 F’s”. Fluency, Families, Fun and Faith
- Relational Evangelism “wins the right to be heard.” All summer participants practice that motto. Students are not here as targets but as God’s creations.
- Families, not Program. Although program is important to the summer, we consider families to be the core of the summer. They are the missionaries therefore certain things are true for the time a student is with the family.
- “Spiritual Adoption”, not only hosting. Families are asked to see the student as an adoptee not a guest. The differences between the two emphasize relationship.
By adopting a child, the American parents and family step up their commitment. By adopting a child, American families enter into the Basque relational network as they become family. - A Shared Cost. The student bears some of the cost: plane ticket, pooled money for program expenses. JOY also shares in the cost by hosting fundraisers to minimize the cost to the student.
- Church Centric. At the heart of what we do is a group of churches each of which is committed to reaching these unreached people. The church forms a Basque Leadership Team (BLT) which meets all year praying for students, selecting team, choosing families and planning summer activities
Home Base Church (HBC) is a local church or churches who have committed to implementing the JOY Teen English immersion program. The program is overseen through a Basque Leadership Team (BLT).
Basque Leadership Team (BLT) is a group of individuals within a Home Base Church committed in ministry to the Basque people, implementing the JOY Teen program. Click on the BLT Category in the right side menu to learn more.
Leadership is the position or function of a leader—a person who guides or directs a group. He/she points a group in a specific direction; focuses them on a goal. A leader doesn’t just monitor progress to that goal, but escorts the group to the finish line. The leader knows the way.
A team is a number of persons associated in the same joint action; they share a vision. It is a group of people who function cooperatively as a group for a cause or purpose. They recognize the group approach/method is essential to attaining their purpose.
The Basque Leadership Team (BLT) is a team of individuals in a Home Base Church committed in ministry to the Basque people, implementing the Summer In The USA program. The BLT are involved in a joint action. They share a vision: to mobilize churches to effectively develop relationships with Basque students through the Summer In The USA program so that God’s Kingdom would be advanced and a reproducing church established among the Basque.