Because good youth ministry doesn't just happen
Run With It
An idea happening
Copyright © 2011 The Center for Youth Ministry Training
Mike Andrews has spent most of his life in Wyoming and Nebraska, but he doesn't have cowboy boots and he doesn't love corn. He does love his wife, who...
Recently, a couple of my students were hanging out at their respective homes, playing xbox360 like they often do, and talking about youth ministry with each other. (My students are the good kind of strange: they share faith with each other on the way to digital dominance!) Here's the picture: Some variation of Bond on the screen (you guys do realize all your games are variations of Goldeneye, right?), dodging explosions or zombies or whatever, with a live chat box open for discussion, unbound by the reality of not being in the same place at the same time.
An idea hit them so hard, they put down their controls and headed for my office. "We had this idea for a youth ministry on Tuesday nights, where..." For the next 20 minutes or so, I listened as three high school guys excitedly told me about an idea they'd had to bring their peers together to share and help each other know Jesus a little bit better.
There are a few obstacles to work through and a some clarity that is still needed, but I am excited to see what happens when these guys are unleashed and well-tooled to reach outside the familiar and do something new. I'm a little torn, because I can't be there on Tuesday nights this semester, but I love that this is an instant response by these students. They haven't been goaded or guilted into anything, they're just responding to the circumstances of their lives with action that will show their peers what God's Kingdom is like.
The last series I taught was called "What are you waiting for?" and I ended with the thought that the birth of Jesus is our green light to make disciples. He's telling us to GO. Something tells me they were listening...I'm praying for them and wish I could be there.
This makes me wonder, what action/initiative do I need to be taking? What about you? What keeps us from acting on impulse? When does the anchor of wisdom become more of a shackle of uncertainty? When was the last time you let your students run with an idea, even though you didn't know exactly where it was going?
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Copyright © 2011 The Center for Youth Ministry Training.
Thursday • May 17 • 2012