People follow strong leadership.  This is true in many aspects of our lives.  Through out humanity we have seen good examples and bad examples of this.  Often times ‘strong’ leadership is equated with power and/or strength.  What I am referring to is far deeper than that.  Behind every man or woman of Christ is something more…. something more powerful than they could ever be on their own.  The Holy Spirit is such a critical part of this equation.  If the God wills it then it will be.  It will be as if it has always existed (wrap your mind around that).

So this begs the question…how do we measure/know that the student ministry a God given direction?…

It’s easy for man to come up with a plan on his own.  A plan that has been developed by man or by the spirit share a few things in common.  First, they require work.  Nothing just happens.  God uses circumstances and situations to glorify Himself.  He uses plans for ministry for His glory alone.  Second, plans require resources.  Whether it be human or financial, resources are require for things to happen.  Plans developed by man and by the spirit have a few differing qualities.  First and foremost plans developed by the spirit are 100% sustainable.  Look at the story and life of Moses.  Wow, he could have never lasted more than a day doing what God has asked him to do on his own.

So how does this tie into student ministry?  Well, like everything else, even the student ministry must have a plan.  Like other plans it can be of God or of man.  How can you tell the difference you might ask?  Well since I thought you would ask, let me give you something to look for.  First of all, neither you nor I can judge people.  No one can look into my eyes or your eyes and determine if God is speaking to us.  What we can do is inspect.  We can inspect the ministry and see if there is sustainable fruit.  That sounds like such a Christian thing to say.  Let’s restate that in common terms.  Are student’s lives being changed?  Is God being glorified?  Are disciples being created?  So what is our plan? What is the plan for the student ministry?

For starters, we are not a stand-alone ministry; life does not end when our students graduate.  College is NOT the finish line.  The starting line does not start at 6th grade.  It starts when you (the parent) start attending church and begin to commit to raising your child in a Godly way.  Our goal is simple.  It’s to partner with you so that we can walk side by side with you during the most important years of your child’s life.  Our goal is to say what is Biblical, true and Godly.  If you are saying these things then we are saying the same thing.  More often than not, counseling cases usually end with an acknowledgement that mom and/or dad have said that before.  You see the role of a youth worker is simple.  It’s to be a sounding board for the students.  As students are learning independence, they need a Biblical voice of reason in their lives so that they can begin to navigate the roads of life.  It’s to not shun their parents; they are in fact spreading their wings and prepping for their own lives.  Our direction is simple; it’s to assist you (the parent) during the navigation of this time of life.  Success for us is when these students acknowledge that they need a Biblical voice of reason in their lives.  So if you believe that the student ministry has NO direction, I invite you to come and sit in with us one day.  Look for fruit…ask questions.