This past November, after attending the Youth Specialties Conference in Nashville, there have been two quotes that have really stuck with me and made an impact in my approach to ministry.
Both came from the mouth of Tim Eldred from Christian Endeavour:
The first quote was: "Youth workers for far too long been the sperm, egg and carrier in the youth ministry process. Instead, we need to let kids have 50% of the birthing process and learn to fertilize what is already there."
And the second: "Our job is not to produce youth ministry but instead to produce youth in ministry."
After hearing these quotes and ruminating on them for a while, it really got me thinking about my ministry and allowing students to do ministry versus being ministered to.
For far too long we have communicated to our students that they are not needed or that we don't have a place for them in leadership. We have told them to wait until they are better versed in the Bible, the guitar, public speaking or that they are simply more mature in their faith. We have created programs and events that don't center on allowing students to lead, but instead the focus is on ourselves, the bands we hire, the great speakers we bring in and the games we lead.
When we operate like this, our students have a ton of fun, they learn, they grow but at the same time I am beginning to wonder if we have subconsciously taught our students that ministry and church should be left to the trained professionals.
With all this in mind it got me thinking about Jesus and how he handled His disciples. When did he allow them to step up and lead?
A few months ago, my response to this question immediately would have been built around Matthew 28 or Acts 1. After spending three years in training and learning from the greatest Teacher in the world the disciples stepped into their ministry. Jesus had ascended to heaven, they were given the gift of the Holy Spirit and they began to move in powerful ways as they led the early church. Jesus was, physically speaking, out of the picture and it was now their time to lead the charge for the Kingdom.
What I have realized though over the last few months as I have dug deeper through the gospels is that Matthew 28 and Acts 1 only paint half the picture. Yes, the disciples do step more into the forefront at Pentecost. Yes, they are the ones leading the charge now here on earth. But this is not where their ministries begin…this is where each of their ministries come into full bloom.
To see where the disciples began to minister, we have to go all the way back from Matthew 28 to chapter 10. It's here that Jesus takes his group of twelve theologically confused, Bible school dropouts and sends them out. And they aren't sent out to do menial tasks like setting up chairs for Jesus' next big event. Instead, Jesus puts them into up front leadership positions with "authority to cast out evil spirits and to heal every kind of disease and illness."
When was the last time we gave our students real authority over the youth ministry that is happening at our churches?
Whether you are just starting in ministry or whether you are a seasoned veteran, you know that the idea of giving students authority can be terrifying. I'm sure as you read this now, a face or two just popped into your mind as you imagined in horror what would happen if you gave those specific students authority. Our youth ministries might not ever be the same and maybe even our careers.
But the thing to remember is that it wasn't always pretty for Jesus and his disciples either. In between Matthew 10 and Matthew 28 there is story after story of the disciples messing up, making mistakes and missing the point.
They constantly had to ask for clarification after a parable because they didn't get it.
Jesus tells them to feed the crowd of 5,000 plus people and despite seeing numerous miracles they look at Jesus in disbelief and confusion.
They walked on water…kind of.
They are told to feed 4,000 plus people and still don't get it.
They try to cast out a demon, can't pull it off and Jesus is frustrated with them…again.
And on, and on, and on…
Each and every single one of these opportunities provided teaching moments and times of growth. Even tough so much seemed like a failure at times along the way, in light of the resurrection afterwards, everything came together. Had the disciples not been given time to lead early on, they never would have been able to lead the way they did when their full ministry came.
As we as youth workers look towards the future of the church and the hope that we will see some of our former teens in ministry along side of us, the best thing we can do is start that process now. It won't always come out picture perfect but it's a necessary risk.
A few ideas of how to let students lead:
- Allow students to do a teaching or sermon. This year so far, we have had three different freshmen take this role and it'sbeen so amazing watching them wrestle with the Scriptures, put together thoughts and then walk through the prep with them. It's been some the best discipleship time I've gotten with students and they still talk about it months later!
- Allow students to lead small group conversations
- Let a group of students lead music at one of your meetings
- Gather a team of students to decide what curriculum you will use or what book of the Bible you will study next
- Instead of planning events yourself, let students tell you what they want to do and support them as they organize it
These are just a handful we've been trying this year and some have worked really well and others have not. I'd love to hear other suggestions of things that you may have tried.
Jake Kircher
www.jakekircher.com