Boo ya is the new Amen.

Amen.
I say it at the end of every prayer.
If someone says something of spiritual significance that rings true with me, I say "Amen".
It's kind of the "seal the deal statement". It literally means "So Be it."


It was last Spring in a NYGO training session that I found myself continually saying "Boo Ya"

It kind of caught on around the group.

The source of boo ya is a mystery. According to Wikipedia, it started on the sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, but was popularized by ESPN's Stuart Scott and Mad Money's Jim Cramer.

The spelling is up for grabs.
I've seen boo ya, boo yah, boo yeah... it's been hyphenated and turned into a coumpound word.

Now I don't know if I picked this up from my pal Corey, who I've discovered has a certain fondness for the phrase, or if we both just started using it more.


I've found we've been using it around here to...
voice my agreement... a student shares that a lost friend cannot be looked at as a project, only as a person... I say "boo ya"

emphasize a point... I'm getting fired up about our upcoming Fall Shabang event, and as I talk about what a great opportunity it's going to be to reach out to our lost and unchurched friends, I shout "boo ya".


So here's my point. I think boo ya is slowly becoming the new "Amen" around NMC Student Minsitries...

• I go over to the prayer room and see a prayer that a student has written out. Next to the prayer I see a little line that connects to someone else's writing "boo ya".
• There's moments on Wednesday Nights where I hear a little "boo ya" from the crowd when we're starting to get fired up.
• I received a facebook message yesterday, and the title was, "Prayer... boo ya".

I'm looking forward to the night where at the close of the prayer I say, "And all God's People said..."
Without hesitation, the students respond "BOO YA!"