When Barry Dollar joined our staff, he did not bring with him a cookie-cutter approach to youth ministry. Instead Barry took several weeks to pray, study, research, and look carefully at the teens in our church. He would come into my office once or twice a week or into our staff meeting and discuss what God had given him, a scripture verse or passage, a name, a direction, a passion, and so on. Piece by piece, slowly God brought all of the pieces together.

Within a few short months Barry had a vision, a passion, and a viable outlook for youth ministry. "Dirt Crew" was birthed. Barry's vision of youth ministry combined evangelism, discipleship, and active missions ministry for teens and their leaders. Not only were the teens wanting to dig deeper and be discipled, and bringing their friends, but lives were being changed. The first two years of the Dirt Crew, more teens prayed to accept a call to vocational ministry in this one youth group than I have seen in more than ten years. The Dirt Crew concept is truly one of the greatest youth ministry endeavors I have seen in recent years.

Normally, I advise against copying a model of ministry and advocate searching for the principles involved in successful ministries. Learn the principles and pray to determine how they can best and most effectively be used in your ministry setting. However, The Dirt Crew ministry is such a biblically based principled model of ministry, I gladly recommend it and Barry Dollar's counsel for any church desiring a youth ministry that truly works (as long as you work it).

George Yates

For More Information:
Barry Dollar (the guy)
theguy@dirtcrew.org
678-773-6102

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