it’s not your ministry

Posted on May 18, 2010 by T.

After reading more blogs than I can stomach, I’ve got to spew a little. This is really just a rant more than anything, so hold on to your shorts.

The general definition of the word delta is the gap between two distinct boundaries; it’s a disconnect of sorts. Well, there is a definite delta in philosophy when talking about youth ministry. It’s not minor; it’s huge!

I think the best way to illustrate it is for us to look at some blog titles I found online:

How to Create Awareness about Your Ministry
How to Get Youth Leaders to Show Up at Meetings
How to Get Youth to Come to Youth Group
How to Teach and Keep Young People’s Attention
How to Name Your Youth Ministry
How to Raise Money for Youth Ministry

The list could go on and on and the same overall mindset would prevail…your ministry. Let me just cut to the chase and say it, “It’s not your ministry!”

That’s the problem.

Every time I talk to youth pastors, I find the biggest obstacle to their success is ownership — they have way too much of it. We have really come to believe that our job is running an effective youth program that draws kids to Christ. Close but no cigar.

We spend more time talking about keeping our ministry, growing our ministry, or building our ministry that we do giving away ministry. I have yet to see a blog or seminar called, “How to Work Yourself Out of a Job.” If we finally begin to understand that our ministry is to help young people do theirs, then we will be close to understanding the role God has called us to do today. Coaching.

This generation is tired of sitting on the sidelines. Now, that doesn’t mean you need to find a better way to plug them into your ministry. It means you need to help them find their own ministry. Seriously. They have something extraordinary to give the world. Now. “Equipping the saints for the work of service,” clearly indicates that young people who have given their life to Christ are:

saints, and
ready for action.

For Pete’s sake (whoever Pete actually is), it’s time for most youth pastors to go to McDonald’s or Wendy’s and get a real job that pays better and has health benefits. When did we become such “ball hogs” afraid to stand on the sidelines and let young people actually run something themselves?

What would happen if we stopped creating ministry for youth and recognized them as our real ministry? What would happen if we stopped long enough to listen to their hearts and then helped them accomplish their God-given passions, dreams, and desires? Here’s what would happen: We would be so busy setting teens up for success using their gifts, talents, and abilities that we wouldn’t have time to plan another useless meeting (yes, I said it).

Get out of your office! Get in their world. When they begin to open up and share their lives with you, get behind their crazy-outrageous-impossible-can’t-be-done-ideas and help make them a reality. That’s the real mark of discipleship, but it can’t happen as long as you think it’s your youth ministry.

If the gates of hell cannot prevail against the church, the junior high kids aren’t going to do any great damage to it either. Get out of their way!