Merry Christmas from YM360

When I was a teenager, I got a very odd Christmas gift from my grandfather. Before I tell you about the gift, let me share a bit about my grandfather, who was a part of the greatest generation as he was born just after the early 1900s and later experienced the great depression as a young person. I think when you have experiences like that, it marks you in a similar way to how experiencing COVID may mark those of us in this current generation. As he began his career, he joined the police force in Jackson, TN, and then later enlisted like many young men of that age when the conflict of World War 2 broke out. He was in the 42^nd Infantry Division (known as the “Rainbow” division because it was formed by 27 National Guard units, including his from Tennessee.) After being activated in 1943, his unit later moved across Europe, engaging in many military campaigns before he returned back to the States after the war ended and became a detective in the police force. During my entire childhood, he was a big presence when I went to see him and my grandmother. I always knew those visits would include BBQ on the stove, cold Coca-Cola bottles in the green fridge, and various stories from along his journeys through a depression, a war, and every crime story the town seemed to ever have. It was also very common to have a random gift here or there over the holiday season, but as a teenager, I received one that truly surprised me.

Living in Texas, we awoke on Christmas morning to begin opening presents, and when I got to the one from my grandfather, I ripped off the wrapping paper like some of your kids do on Christmas morning. The first thing that got my attention was that it was a nice box that read, “3 wooden pant hangers,” but I quickly moved past that, thinking it was a borrowed box holding whatever good stuff was waiting for me. As I removed the lid of the box, I was shocked. I was greeted with two oak and gold pant hangers. My father, not knowing what was in the box, asked me what I got since he could tell I had a perplexed look on my face. I held up one of the hangers and gave out a “pant hangers” response. I told my dad that I was confused as well because the box had a “3” on it, but there were only two in the box, and the pant hangers never made it to my Christmas list. After some time, we did the traditional call the grandparents on Christmas day, and when we got on the phone with my grandmother, I told her I wanted to thank my grandfather for the gift but did not let her know I was confused by the box having the wrong number. She told me, “Granddaddy Davis liked them so much he kept one for himself.” Mystery solved, and I was as grateful as a teenager who got two out of three pant hangers on Christmas morning could be.

A handful of years later, when I was a freshman in college, I got a call that my grandfather had passed away. I drove the four hours to their home to be there with my family. After the services and other various things that come with funerals, we were with family at the house, and I heard my dad yell at me from my grandfather’s closet, “Roger, here is your other pant hanger if you want to take it back with you.” I smiled fondly with that reminder of that odd gift I got as a teenager. While I no longer have the hangers, I still have that nice box and keep random keepsakes in it, as well as so many great memories.

I hope this Christmas you not only get great gifts but have the chance to give great gifts. This season is such a great time of the year to spend quality time with family, making memories that will last a lifetime, both yours and theirs. Soak up these days as they go by way too fast.

Our team at YM360 considers it a great gift to interact with you and serve you throughout the year. It is our joy to interact with you at events, on the phone, via chats, or other random connections along the way. We love making memories together as we see an amazing God do what only he can do in the lives of teenagers.

I also want to give you a bit of a gift today that may feel a bit odd, but I think if you don’t just leave it in your ministry closet but put it into action, you will find that it is a gift that will greatly help you and your ministry. As RCA Victor said in their 1963 Christmas season advertising color televisions and later an unwelcome uncle added, it can be “The Gift That Keeps On Giving.” I am also making sure you get all three that come in this collection.

Equip the parents connected to your ministry to handle issues like technology, sexting, pornography, video games, and more in their homes with Screen Smarts! 

This is the gift of what I call a Ministry Audit, and I encourage you to not only ask these questions but spend time reflecting on them. And if you have more than you on your ministry team, you may even let your team answer them independently, and you can get together and see if there are any commonalities. This is an audit that I have done for years, and I have had many friends who have taken it and done it with their ministry and church staff, some independently and others with over 200 staff members answering the questions.

3 QUESTION AUDIT:

1. What am I doing that I need to keep doing?
2. What am I doing that I need to stop doing?
3. What am I not doing that I need to start doing?

Take these questions and apply them to your weekly responsibilities, to your programming, to your personal time, and to your engagement with students, leaders, and peers. You can apply these three simple questions to any area and also substitute the I for a We as appropriate. This will give you great guidance and the gift of not only effective time and focus but freedom as well.

Our team at YM360 hopes you have a fantastic Christmas and an amazing New Year. Our hope for you is that 2025 will again remind you of who your God is and what he has called you to be and do. Our team continues to plan and prepare for all that the Lord will do in this coming year. We are excited for this new season of ministry supporting your DNOWs and retreats, hosting GENERATE this spring and summer, and providing quality resources for your bible studies and mid-week needs. Know we are here to help you as you disciple teenagers. May this year be one we never forget because of all the good gifts the Lord has waiting for us…

Merry Christmas, Happy Auditing.

Cheering you on!

J. Roger Davis

President | YM360

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