it's not my fault...
george barna says that half of the students regularly involved in a youth ministry have never accepted Christ as their own savior. he also says that 2 out of every 3 teens involved in a student ministry will vacate the christian faith upon high school graduation. his research also indicates that over the next several decades, only about 1% of this generation will be a follower of Christ. (for more alarming statistics, check out anything by Ron Luce).
i share information like this sometimes, and i get some responses that make me so angry my tie would catch on fire - if i ever wore a tie. most often i get the spiritual quitting response - "that's just a sign of the time, can't be much longer till Jesus comes back." i don't mean to sound offensive, but i don't think we should be wanting Jesus to come back if we have this attitude. in Acts 1, the disciples asked Jesus when he would make everything better, to which he replied (verses 7-8, NLT) "The Father sets those dates," he replied, "and they are not for you to know. But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." in other words, don't worry about when Jesus is coming back. get to work and let's find a way to fix the problem.
sometimes, though, these facts start the blame game. the parents want to blame the church, the church blames the youth ministry, the youth ministry blames mtv, and satan puts another hot dog on the grill and enjoys the show. so who is to blame? who failed and who needs to do what to fix the problem? i think the solution is to realize that we all have to take responsibility for our own actions.
if you're a parent, what does God say about raising your child? and before you answer, are you sure that's what God says or is that just what you've always heard? do some research and ask God to show you.
if you're an adult in the church, what does God want from you? should you be a sunday school teacher? a small group leader? provide financial support? develop relationships with kids in your neighborhood? student ministry isn't for everyone, but those already involved are certainly not the only ones who should be. you should especially be asking these questions if you're not involved in a ministry at all. just sitting in church on a sunday isn't going to fix anyone's problem.
those of us who are in student ministry, are we doing what we know to do? are we seeking God's direction? are we willing to follow his direction at any cost? are we pushing the envelope, constantly looking to make this week's ministry better than last week's? or are we satisfied with what's always been done? (these questions could go on and on).
the point is, the only way to say we really do care is to open ourselves up in front of God, and then do what he tells us to do. we each have our own responsibilities, and nothing is going to get better until we play our own part. i may not do everything the way you think i should, and i have a lot to learn along the way. but i promise you i'm in this thing with the purpose of doing what God tells me to do in order to affect student's lives. will you do your part too?
george barna says that half of the students regularly involved in a youth ministry have never accepted Christ as their own savior. he also says that 2 out of every 3 teens involved in a student ministry will vacate the christian faith upon high school graduation. his research also indicates that over the next several decades, only about 1% of this generation will be a follower of Christ. (for more alarming statistics, check out anything by Ron Luce).
i share information like this sometimes, and i get some responses that make me so angry my tie would catch on fire - if i ever wore a tie. most often i get the spiritual quitting response - "that's just a sign of the time, can't be much longer till Jesus comes back." i don't mean to sound offensive, but i don't think we should be wanting Jesus to come back if we have this attitude. in Acts 1, the disciples asked Jesus when he would make everything better, to which he replied (verses 7-8, NLT) "The Father sets those dates," he replied, "and they are not for you to know. But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere--in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." in other words, don't worry about when Jesus is coming back. get to work and let's find a way to fix the problem.
sometimes, though, these facts start the blame game. the parents want to blame the church, the church blames the youth ministry, the youth ministry blames mtv, and satan puts another hot dog on the grill and enjoys the show. so who is to blame? who failed and who needs to do what to fix the problem? i think the solution is to realize that we all have to take responsibility for our own actions.
if you're a parent, what does God say about raising your child? and before you answer, are you sure that's what God says or is that just what you've always heard? do some research and ask God to show you.
if you're an adult in the church, what does God want from you? should you be a sunday school teacher? a small group leader? provide financial support? develop relationships with kids in your neighborhood? student ministry isn't for everyone, but those already involved are certainly not the only ones who should be. you should especially be asking these questions if you're not involved in a ministry at all. just sitting in church on a sunday isn't going to fix anyone's problem.
those of us who are in student ministry, are we doing what we know to do? are we seeking God's direction? are we willing to follow his direction at any cost? are we pushing the envelope, constantly looking to make this week's ministry better than last week's? or are we satisfied with what's always been done? (these questions could go on and on).
the point is, the only way to say we really do care is to open ourselves up in front of God, and then do what he tells us to do. we each have our own responsibilities, and nothing is going to get better until we play our own part. i may not do everything the way you think i should, and i have a lot to learn along the way. but i promise you i'm in this thing with the purpose of doing what God tells me to do in order to affect student's lives. will you do your part too?
posted by Jonathan Branch at 9:35 AM
2 Comments:
Inesting in people is the only investment that produces eternal dividends.That's Jesus model. He invested his life in people and expected them to invest in the lives of others. That, on this side, is not always something that is easy to do nor are the results always visible.
I was talking to a public school teacher not too long agao. She told me had she felt the call to teach. She wanted to help students become all they could be. The only thing-she was getting ready to quit and possibly pursue another line of work. She said she wanted to teach but found that too often she was required to be like a parent rather than a teacher. She had focused so much on that which she didn't seem to like to the point that she had failed to realize that someof the students she was parenting had no one at home to that job. She had lost sight of the fact too that she was impacting so many students for good. Her good rep had preceded her. I think she chose to stay and teach and parent hoping that she could make a difference. I think she will.
Youth ministry is hard because of some of the same reasons. We want to help parents grow their children spiritually but often find you have to be a parent sometimes too. it is often thankless and riddled with criticism but those who pay the price of investing til it hurts in the lives of young people will reap more results than they may ever know this side of heaven. Galatians 6:9 (NLT) "So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time."
thanks for the reply and the encouragement. i'm also reminded of 1 corinthians 15:58 (message) that says "throw yourselves into the work of the master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort." it just seems to me that, for whatever reason, i've heard excuses lately that i just don't understand the point of. not everyone is called to do youth ministry, but everyone does have his own responsibility in affecting this world for Christ. i don't mean to focus on the negative. i know there are a lot of people doing a lot of good. i want us all to throw orselves into the job and do what we can where we are instead of looking at everything else around us and thinking the situation is hopeless.
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