“Before Gospel Advancing, it felt like I was just running a cruise ship—that our students were just along for a fun time, and there wasn’t a lot of real-life spiritual connection happening.” –Logan Floyd
That’s how Missouri-based youth leader Logan Floyd describes her early days of leading a student ministry. After being introduced to Gospel Advancing, Logan knew she needed to make a big shift in the way she ran things. “We were running programs and I was meeting with students, but we weren’t investing in them as leaders,” she explains.
Logan was fortunate that she connected with and got help from other youth pastors in a Gospel Advancing network early in her journey. She was eager to learn and didn’t hesitate to say to other youth leaders: “Teach me your ways. Tell me what works. Tell me how God has changed your ministry.”
To connect with other Gospel Advancing youth leaders for encouragement and equipping, use this map to find a network near you. If there isn’t one close by, follow this guide to start one in your community.
Logan’s Youth Ministry Turning Point
After getting advice from other local youth leaders, reading Gospelize Your Youth Ministry, and putting the 7 Values of a Gospel Advancing ministry into practice, Logan saw her students begin to realize they were called to something much bigger than themselves. They went from two students who wanted to learn how to share the Gospel with their friends to having more than 100 students the ministry regularly serves. That’s the power of teenagers sharing the Good News with their friends!
At this point, Logan’s group has the joy of seeing the results of their first group of students that have been through a Gospel Advancing ministry, and it’s really encouraging to see how the things they learned are continuing to impact their lives, Logan says.
“It’s great to know these things aren’t limited to teenagers, but they take them into their adult years to mobilize and equip other adults,” she explains. “I get emotional thinking about how different life is now. I get to help teens who were in similar stages of life that I was in, and I get to share with them that Jesus offers something that is so much better. He has given me such an incredible opportunity. I get to teach teenagers how to reach the person that I used to be.”
Watch Logan’s full story on the video below and be inspired for your group:
