You know that student ministry is hard work. I know student ministry is hard work. So the idea of networking together with another youth group to do something together sounds likes making your job even harder.
On top of that, consider the concerns that come when you network; like "what if my students like the other pastor more than me?" A youth pastor friend of mine from Texas shared with me that his senior pastor and parents don't really like the idea of networking because the other churches are either to liberal or to conservative and "we don't want our kids exposed to their bad theology".
Matt Knapp and Brett Hall, two youth pastors in the Bay Area of California have eliminated these concerns by first building a relationship of trust with each other and finding a couple of things each year where they in fact have proven that sometimes it really is "better together". One such way they have done this was teaching about Gods passion for justice and working together to fight slavery and sex trafficking happening in our world today.
"Anti-slavery is one of those things that can unite many different backgrounds to rise up together. It breaks all of our hearts and makes all of us mad. Not too many people can look at slavery and walk away from it. So it's not a denominational issue but a human issue that crosses differences. People are becoming more and more aware of slavery and sex trafficking in the Bay Area. So when we learned that IJM (International Justice Mission), a Christian human rights organization that rescues victims of slavery, prosecutes the perpetrators and provides aftercare for the victims was creating a new tool for youth ministry called the "24 Hour Justice Experience" AND was looking for groups to beta test the experience for them, we had to do it - and do it together." (Matt Knapp)
"What we found was our students quickly bonded together, had a blast together in their learning about God's passion for justice though the "24 Hour Justice Experience" or "24JE" as they worshiped, played, served in the community and raised funds to actually pay for a slavery rescue operation that IJM would do in the coming months. In fact, the 24JE was such a great networking tool, we are doing it again this coming March with three other churches now too." (Brett Hall)
"I recently had the chance to travel to India with IJM and saw first hand how important and better it is for organizations like IJM to network together with other mission organizations, police and government leaders and even churches from across the world to provide not only rescue, but aftercare, prosecution, and structural transformation. Working together with all of our gifts and passions literally save lives – I even met some of them. It's a better theological image of the church and shame on us for thinking we could save the world on our own." (Matt)
Just as IJM must network to end slavery, so must youth ministry network together in the battles your students face on their campuses each day. It takes trust between church leaders and members, it takes better theology of the body of Christ, and it takes a bit of risk. But the reality is, we really are better together some times.
Brian Cress first joined the National Network in 1985 and now is the Director of Student Mobilization-Youth, for IJM. bcress@ijm.org. Matt Knapp is the youth pastor at Centerville Presbyterian Church in Fremont, California and Brett Hall is the youth pastor at InRoads Church in Fremont, California.
Note: for more information about the "24 Hour Justice Experience" go to www.IJM.org/24JE