Do you ever feel like youāre little more than a glorified activities director? As a youth leader, itās all too easy to fall into this trap, even though what you really want to do is impact students for Jesus and leave a legacy of eternal significance for Christ and His Cause.
Mr. Bill Freund was just such a youth leader. His burning desire to see lasting impact in his studentsā lives motivated him to take a hard look and honestly evaluate his youth ministry efforts. Thatās why a few years back, Mr. Bill asked himself some challenging questions:
- Is our student ministry producing fruitābiblical outcomes with long-lasting impact?
- Or are we just producing apathetic students whoāve created a few fun memories along the way?
More Than a Social Club
Mr. Bill came to realize that thereās a big difference between activities that just fill our schedules versus activities that yield long-term spiritual impact. He wanted to do more than provide a social club for Christian teenagers.
Iām sure thatās true for you too!
Try This! āÆ
Text one student today, and tell them youāre praying for them. Encourage them to share their faith with a friend this week.
Jesusās promise is clear:
āI am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.ā
John 15:5
Jesus promises that we will bear much fruitāif we remain in Him and He in us. How do we do that? Through prayer, of course. And through plugging into the power of His Holy Spirit moment by moment. But another way we do that is by programming His priorities into our daily lives, into our ministries, into our calendars, and into our weekly rundown sheets!
Everything we do as youth workers should drive toward fruit that lasts. And advancing the Gospel in order to fulfill Jesusās call to make disciples who make disciples is most definitely fruit that lasts.
Strengthen Your Focus
So how do you go about making your youth ministry efforts count for eternity? It takes focus, focus, focus.
1. Focus on the urgency of communicating the Gospel.
2. Focus on your studentsā fluency when it comes to understanding and communicating a clear, complete, and compelling Gospel message.
3. Focus on a Gospel Advancing strategy within your own youth ministry context that advances the Gospel both in and through your students.
Here are three questions that will help you strengthen your focus and program your priorities in your calendar:
1. Gospel urgency: What specific elements of this event will inspire our students to keep intercessory prayer for their unreached friends and/or relational evangelism front and center?
2. Gospel fluency: What training or coaching do we need to incorporate into this event so that our students are better equipped to talk about Jesus and His Gospel message with their friends who donāt know Him personally?
3. Gospel strategy: What practical application can we fold into this event that will challenge our teenagers to relationally advance the Gospel in their circles of influence in the coming week?
With every event you plan, remember to run it through these three questions. Look for ways you can āGospelizeā each event so that it includes some aspect of Gospel urgency, Gospel fluency, and/or Gospel strategy.
Thereās nothing wrong with fun activities that build great memories. Fun is good. But thereās nothing more fun in youth ministry than seeing teenagers leading teenagers to Christ! So Gospelize every event and infuse it with a deeper purposeāa Gospel Advancing purpose!
Thereās nothing more fun in youth ministry than seeing teenagers leading teenagers to Christ! Share on X
