Our talented Kids Create Coordinator and Marketing Coordinator, Drew Holguin, has a proven record of going where help is needed and stepping up to the challenge. He isn’t scared or hesitant to jump in and get his hands dirty when it comes to the Lord’s work. Drew is a valuable member of our team, and this month we get to learn how he came to join the Ciudad Nueva team!
If you’ve seen the colorful mural-in-progress on the wall of our building, you’ve had a glimpse of the creative leadership shown by Drew. He’s all about hands-on activities to bring our students closer to God and to each other. Through consistent and reliable communication, engaging hang outs and some hard conversations, he has strengthened our youth ministry!
Drew earned his bachelor’s degree in graphic design and ceramics. He was inspired to continue his work in the arts, while remaining involved in his church’s youth ministry at the same time. In fact, his plan had been to teach art at the college level. That all changed when he started working at a middle school summer camp in New Mexico! He returned again and again to the camp — for four years. Although it had never been his plan to work with middle school students full time, he felt the reward of and desperate need for this kind of work. Our Middle School Coordinator at the time brought a group of kids to the camp and Drew got to know them. He connected with the kids through their shared love of El Paso!
He found himself being shadowed and looked up to by several of the students — some of whom were able to receive the extra attention and investment Drew Holguin was able to give. He soon interviewed at Ciudad Nueva, and saw the door opening for him to enter where he was needed.
Fast forward to today, and you’ll find Drew knee-deep in our youth ministry. He brings his artistic talents to the program through various projects and crafts. And each project has kid-focused meaning.
“Whatever the kids need is what we focus on,” Drew said.
Each meetup is a safe place where kids can feel open to talk about hard things, like justice, political, spiritual, or family topics. Drew commented that due to the pandemic, the kids have shown increased clarity — and curiosity toward world issues. “There’s the same level of middle school silliness, but when we talk about deeper topics, the bar has been raised. It’s more sobering, and there’s more opportunities for deep conversation,” he shared. When talking with Drew, the kids are challenged to answer prompts like, “What about God is confusing to you?” and “From a scale of 1 to 10, how is your relationship with God?”
Exercising flexibility, he put some projects, like the mural, on hold during the shut downs. Taking careful notice of the student’s feelings throughout the past year, Drew said, “what started as resistance from students to virtual stuff has turned into more eagerness for interaction.”
Drew works hard everyday to ensure our kids feel loved and seen and and get the opportunity to use their creativity. When we were able to start face-to-face groups again, the kids jumped at the chance to finish the mural.
“We’re building up a foundation of faith,” he said. “Isolation has pushed them to be open and demand answers. There’s a sense of urgency.” And Drew Holguin is not backing down from the challenge. In fact, he said, “I’m excited to see where things go.”
Drew brings so much vibrant life and safety to our youth program. We are blessed to have him on our team!
Would you like to get involved in a community that loves and cares for one another? We would love to have you as part of ours. Call us today at 915-521-2951 or contact us online.
