I have now been the Director of Student Ministries at Community Grace Church in Warsaw for just over a year now and I have been reflecting back on all the things that I have learned this first year and I just want to share some of those things with you, but before I do you should know something about what you are about to read. Not only do I explain what I have learned but I also take the time to challenge you and ask how you may apply what I have learned in ministry in your own daily lives, and not just those of you who are involved in ministry. So with out further ado, here are the top 4 things I have learned in my first year of full-time youth ministry
1. The youth ministry will only be as strong as the adults you have leading it.
A wise teacher of mine once said that above statement and I never fully understood what it meant until this past year. In the youth program I came from, we had awesome adults that where present every Wednesday and Sunday night and many of them I am still in contact with today, but I never paid attention to who they really where or who they represented. They where adults whose identity where first cemented in Jesus Christ. They understood why they where there and why they where giving up there Wednesday and Sunday nights. They where committed to what God was doing in the youth program.
The exact same can be said for the youth staff that I have here in Warsaw. I firmly believe that I have some of the best adults in the business. Some of them this is their first year volunteering, others have been involved for 20+ years, (You know who you are), but on a Wednesday night when 909 meets, none of that matters. Each member of the youth staff shows up ready to work understanding the purpose of why they are there. They understand what God has called them too and I credit the 20+ adults I have working with me as part of the reason why 909 Student Ministries is seeing significant growth this year.
2. It’s not about the lesson, it’s about the relationship
When I first started as a youth intern over 8 years ago, I put so much energy into writing lessons and having great discussion questions ready for the adult leaders, that I would be genuinely disappointed if the small group leaders never got to ask those awesome questions because a student was struggling with something and needed help. You can have a great lesson and students can be zoned and listening but at the end of the night if the students don’t feel they can trust you can and are not willing to open up to you, but you gave a great lesson, then I say you may want to reevaluate the priorities of the group. This is not to say that every student is going to open up to you but those students that you have in your small group, or those students that you are always having a conversation with before youth group starts, yeah those are the students that you want to trust you. If all they feel is that you are there to teach them and not walk with them, then again you may need to look at your priorities.
3. Point back to Jesus
Everything you do as a youth program should and needs to point back to Jesus. Every lesson, every event, the reason behind them should be to point back to Jesus. Every October for Fall Break we go to Fort Wayne to play laser tag, each year the students have invited friends that are not walking with Jesus. The point of this event is not so that we can play 2 games of laser tag, but it gives us an opportunity to say hey we care about you so much that we are willing to drive you to Fort Wayne and play laser tag with you because Jesus loves you.
This year a student asked me why we do this every year. This gave me the opportunity to say because you don’t have school and I wanted to hang out with you. This student then asked why I wanted to hang out with them and I was able to answer because I care about and care about whether or not you are walking with Jesus. The reason for laser tag was clear to this student, it was so that I had an opportunity to talk about Jesus with them.
4. Don’t do anything without praying and consulting God
This is by far the most important thing I have learned this year. First off, when I consult with God, I move in a direction that I am sure is in tune with His will for the youth program. Yes a big reason for the growth in 909 Student Ministries has been because I have the best youth staff ever, but more so because we consult God before we do anything and we have the students do the same. Most every Wednesday night, we start by playing games, but before we dive into playing games we have the students break into groups and pray with each other. Not just because praying is a good thing to do, but because we want to make sure we are following Gods leading and not our own. It also teaches the students the importance of praying.
These are just 4 things that I have learned in my first year of full-time youth ministry. I know I have a long way to go and that God isn to finished with me yet, but I look forward to what the next 4 will be.
