Brian Hickey - Youth Ministry co-oridinator

I am the youth ministry coordinator within two church communities. These churches are in Kilternan and Greystones. My role includes the running of the youth groups that take place in each of the communities.

Just because I am a youth pastor though, doesn’t mean I am strictly focused on them. Within the ministry you engage with a wide variety of people, including parents, grandparents and the leaders who help keep the ministry going. My role gives me the space to encourage, train and equip the leaders to be better leaders within their context. Although my studies were youth ministry focused, I am finding more and more that being a model leader for other leaders and for youth is more important. Demonstrating biblical leadership on a daily basis and creating a culture within that framework so to better express the love of God to others through action rather than just words is vitally important to me.

My time in IBI gave the opportunity to find my voice, my confidence in leading and ability to serve the needs of others. It was a lot of trial and error – and still is! But IBI gave me the tools to be better than I was before. The challenging parts of modules where I had to stand up and share, whether it was MPD, Preaching, Pneumatology or Christology. These modules, whatever the subject, gave me the opportunity to better learn, better teach and better experience more of who God is and the all surpassing love he has shown. The culture in IBI gave me that chance – where grace abounded by fellow students and lecturers! I want that for the communities that I am involved in… where grace abounds.