In two weeks I turn 42 years old. It is not a huge deal, but it has caused me to reflect a little. I am not in some mid-life crisis where I am going to sell all I have and get a new sports car or move to Tahiti. I would like a nice fishing boat, but that is more of a wish.  No, I have been reflecting on what I have been doing with my life. I started in youth ministry when I was 19 years old at a little store front church in South Florida. I had no idea what I was getting my self into, but I have felt called and driven to continue in ministry ever since. Basically I have spent myself in youth ministry in every type of capacity for longer than I have done anything else. It has become more than a calling. It is who I am. In all those years, I made so many mistakes. We were young and stupid when we started out and it is by the grace of God I didn’t kill anyone. I have been a part of ministry in the church, outside the church, stateside, and overseas. I have worked with urban kids, suburban kids, rural kids, and third culture kids. I am not trying to set myself up as some kind of expert, but after 23 years I think I am finally figuring out what effective youth ministry should look like.

We have heard the alarming statistics over the last few years about students leaving youth ministry. There are books and conferences that address the issues. We have more resources available to us than ever before. We have all realized that programs are not the answer and that in current economic times we all have been asked to do more with less. Programs are important to get them in the doors and decent budgets make it a little easier, but what is the outcome we are looking for? I know we say that the goal is to make disciples of teens, which is the correct answer, but what does that look like? Measuring effectiveness in youth ministry has always been a struggle. It is not only about numbers in our programs and classes, but how what we are teaching is translated into a teen’s life as a follower of Christ. I believe after all these years it is all about role reversals.

Think about the process of ministry. As youth pastors and leaders we start out by leading a crowd of students. The students don’t know you and you don’t really know them yet. The students are watching what you do, waiting to see if thing is worth investing in. At some point you start inviting students to not just sit and watch, but to be active participants. Now you are doing ministry with students instead of doing it for or too them. It has become a partnership. Then one day that student begins to lead out on their own. The student is doing the ministry. They are reaching out to their friends, using their gifts, and are actively serving. At this point you and I become part of the crowd that is cheering them on. We become the first part of Hebrews 12:1; “Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.” We have reversed the roles and basically have worked ourselves out of a job with that student except to be their biggest cheerleader.

What would happen if we approached every student with this mind set and strategy? We would need to look at each student as one who had all the potential in the world. It would not be the same with every one and honestly we will not always succeed in taking a student from the crowd to leader. It would mean we would have to be willing to let go of some ministry and create environments that would foster this growth. This is not about budgets or programs. This is not an 8 week series or a small group class. This is a philosophy and approach to ministry that will work you out of job in some cases. It is doing ministry the way I believe Jesus did. Didn’t he invite a group of rag tag followers to watch what he did, then do it with him, and finally sent them out to change the world? To me, this is what discipleship of students has to look like and the only way we will truly be effective.

Every week I step on multiple high school campuses and run into students waiting for hope and for someone to give them the chance to shine. They are a generation that genuinely wants to change their world and make a difference. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are kind of scary and many are just plain scared. After 23 years I still feel overwhelmingly called to youth ministry. Even with all the negative statistics I believe whole heartedly that we can and will make a difference.  I hope you will work yourself out of job and the student that we have led, that now lead others will change the world. That is something I have no problem giving myself away too for the next 23 years.

Tony Hevener

We seem to be driven in our culture today. Every where I look I see people and organizations pushing themselves to meet a standard or to produce a product that the whole world stop and admire with awe. We are all looking for it as if it was fading whisper of something that once was and that we desperately need again. In short, we are looking for perfection.  We advertise that it is out there. There is the perfect cup of coffee, the perfect golf swing, the perfect school, and even the perfect date.  This fixation on perfection must be the cause untold stress when we think we have found that perfect thing, only to be told by our friend, “I’ve seen or tasted better”.  Is perfection only a matter of opinion, or is it out there?

As a person of faith, I believe in a perfect God and that we were all once perfect. The saddest story in human history is the one in which we traded that perfection for a lie. We live in an imperfect world with imperfect people. We have all heard this most of our lives, usually when we discover life is not fair. Yet, we still strive for it and look for it. It has even bled into weekly spiritual lives. We all want the perfect church with perfect Christians. When we don’t get what we want we quickly leave or worse yet force someone else to leave. I think I remember a story about finding a speck in someone else’s eye before removing the log form your own, but I digress. I know I wanted to run the perfect youth ministry for the last 20 years, but who decides.

The truth is perfection is not subjective. Jesus was and is perfect in every way. That is our standard with which we all fall short. Let me reiterate that, we all fall short. I know I have made huge mistakes in my life, but by grace I am still here. I love grace, don’t you? As a matter of fact, the more I travel this road the more I see my failings and the more I appreciate grace. The kingdom of God is not made up of perfect people. It is made up of broken people being perfected by the grace and power of God. Our churches and ministries must be places where brokenness is not only allowed but strived for. Maybe that is where perfection comes in. When we are broken before the perfect God only then can we be perfected. IT is like chipping away all the junk to form a perfect diamond. God has the hammer and chisel waiting. It is at times going to be painful and not always make sense, but his goal is to bring us to perfection. The question is will we let perfection do its work in us? Will be come before our Creator not only broken, but perfectly broken?

Let our ministries and lives reflect the brokenness of this world.  Perfection is coming again. God promise a day that all will be restored. There will come a day and it will be a perfect day, but until then let our brokenness be evident and we continue to strive for that perfect cup of coffee.

Have you ever thought about how small we actually are? I love astronomy. I have a very nice telescope that I take out and survey the night sky. I am by no means an expert in astronomy, but it is a growing passion of mine. I am overwhelmed by the immensity of our universe. Planets and stars to numerous to count fill our sky and here we stand on this little planet. It would be depressing if I did not know the creator and sustainer of it all. I mention all of this because there was a time in history where we believed our planet was the center of the universe and everything revolved around it. It was a very arrogant belief that was strongly protected by leaders of the day. It was not until Galileo and his telescope that started showing we were not the center of it all. People started to discover how we are only a small part of something greater than any of us alone.

Today I would like to act like a telescope of sorts and show that we are a small part of something so much greater than each of us. We often fall into a trap in ministry and in life. We begin to believe we are the only ones doing anything and that it is up to us to make the difference. We get locked in by traditions, experiences, theology, and doctrines. None of these things are bad. In fact they are necessary to keep us on the correct path and to keep us from straying into realms that are more cultish than Christ like. The problem happens when we lock God into these boundaries and refuse to believe God can use others and other things to promote His kingdom. God is so much bigger than our theologies, our experiences, and our churches. God must be bigger, because the need for Him is so vast and overwhelming. If it was left to each of us individuals we would quit before we began. God is bigger than the need and and honestly does not need any of us to accomplish His will. He invites us, enables us, and leads us to change the world.

Youth ministry is a huge task. Nearly 8 out of 10 people make the decision to follow Christ before they are 18 years old. Our campuses are overpopulated with students and underpopulated with Christ followers. In the area in Florida where I live there are over 24,000 middle and high school students in the public schools. There are maybe 2,000 involved with anything spiritual in their lives. There are literally a hundred or more churches in the area. This story could be told of countless other areas as well. It seems overwhelming and hopeless doesn’t it? At least it would if we did not know that God is bigger than the need and that none of us are in this alone. I believe youth ministry needs a new perspective.

In Romans 12 and again in 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the diversity of gifts given us, but we are all part of the same body. We belong to the largest most powerful family this world has ever seen with God as the father of it all. “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.” (1 Corinthians 12: 12-14) As individuals we have little impact, but together it is beyond our imagination as to what is possible. We need to look beyond our limits and limitations and see what is possible when we attack the need as a body. We are not talking about building churches or programs here. We are talking about building the kingdom and in a kingdom the king always leads the way.

I recently had the opportunity to speak at a week long camp in Jamaica. The theme of the camp was “Stand Out”. Students were challenged to allow God set them apart and stand up and out for their faith. Let me ask you who do you think stood out the most in a camp with about 120 Jamaican students and leaders? Maybe it was the pudgy white guy from Florida. (Actually it was my daughter. She has red hair.) I was concerned at first with the differences in culture and church backgrounds, but then God did something amazing. He showed himself bigger than all of us and our preconceived notions. When it was all done, 20 students gave their life to Christ and many more rededicated their life to Him. God made it very clear that His kingdom was made up of all sorts of people with all sorts of backgrounds. The common thread was our brokenness and His grace and love. We came together as one body and He moved in our midst.

Isn’t this what you want in your ministry? Isn’t this what we all want? For God to show up and move beyond our limitations and change our communities. You may have a ministry to 10 or you may have a ministry to 1000, either way that is what God has set for you to do and it matters just as much for the 10 as it does for the 1000. I want to challenge you to stop looking at minding your own kingdoms and become kingdom minded. By ourselves our impact will be limited, but together we can reach the need and change our world. We can do this by celebrating each others ministries, praying for each other, and looking for ways to lock arms and join together in ministry. We will never reach this generation on our own. God’s kingdom is so much bigger than any one of us and He wants to raise this generation up. It will take all of us putting aside our differences and some of our preferences. We must come together based on God’s truth, standing together to reach this generation. We need to let go of our plans and self posturing and grab on to God’s kingdom plan. It is not about us after all or how successful we are. It is about the kingdom and how God wants it to grow. Let’s be kingdom minded.

Have you ever seen the movie “What About Bob”? Bill Murray plays a man named Bob with a lot of problems who seeks help from a psychologist played by Richard Dreyfuss. The movie is hilarious and one of my favorites. In the movie, the psychologist writes a book called “Baby Steps” and uses this to treat Bob. The premise of this treatment is to take small baby steps as you move towards recovery. It is all about being cautious and taking as little risk as necessary. I like the idea of baby steps. It is safe. The problem is that none of us were created to play it always safe. Following Christ is not a safe venture, just read Foxes Book of Martyrs if you don’t agree. God asks us to do risky things at times. To take big steps. No, it is not always safe, but it is always secure.

When I think of big steps, I think of Abraham. Abraham was called to leave home and family to go to a new land he had never seen before. God promised that through him the nations would be blessed and that he would be the father of a nation of priests. I can imagine his first step on that journey. It was a step of faith and it was probably a big one. Later in life Abraham was asked to take another huge step of faith. God had fulfilled his promise and gave Abraham a son. God then commanded Abraham to take his son up a mountain to sacrifice him. What kind of step did he take that day as he reached the mountain and began to climb it with his son? Abraham had seen God keep His promise by bringing him to this new land and giving him a son. Abraham knew of God’s provision and protection. Abraham knew God had the plan and so I believe that step was yet another huge step of faith.

I think we often approach life and ministry with the “Baby Step” mentality. It is scary to take risk and in an economy gone crazy it seems prudent to take it easy and play it safe. I understand all to well the struggle of resources versus need. This past week I have been confronted with the immensity of the need to reach students in my area. There are over 24,000 of them and everyone is busy trying to run their own programs and keep their ministries going with limited resources. It seems overwhelming, but then we pause and think about the God of Abraham. The God that has the plan. I was once challenged to dream a dream so big, that it would fail if God was not in it. What if we approached ministry and life this way? I am not saying be crazy and just spend everything on a whim. What if we allowed God to give us the dream? What if we truly believe God is as big as we know He is and trusted Him to provide?

I know for certain that God is bigger than any dream or need I have. I believe that God is calling us to dream big and trust Him. We can reach our entire communities because God is that big. We can change our world because God is the one who gives us the dreams and makes them possible. I know that worldly logic today screams at us to take it easy and be cautious, but I say the day of taking baby steps are long gone. We need to take some huge steps. We need to step out in faith.

There is so much ministry out there to be done. We need to seek God for His dream for our communities and ministries and then be quick to follow. Each step we take is a step of faith. We do not know what the future holds, but we do know who holds the future. If it is a dream that God is in, how can it fail? God wants to do a work and He will do it with or without us. He does not need us to fulfill His plans, but he does invite us to join. We need only to take the step.

The first step is always the scariest, but we follow God who knows the road ahead and what’s waiting at the end of the journey. Abraham took his steps and God provided a ram at the top of that mountain to replace his son. May we be people who dream big dreams about changing our world that God has given us, because we follow a big God. May we be bold and take big steps of faith, because we follow a God who is faithful. May we leave the baby steps to Bob.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to travel to a small town in North Carolina and run a 3 day outreach for a local church. This town, like many in our country, has been hit hard by the economy. They have the same problems that everyone else has. There are teens making bad choices, families are falling apart, churches are struggling, and hope is not easily found. I walked into this week simply hoping to be a blessing to this town and the local church. I had no grandiose ideas that in three days we would turn everything around, but I knew God had called us there to give ourselves away. I chose to be obedient and faithful and let God do the rest.

On the first day of the camp I met Shelby. Shelby was quiet and secluded herself from all that was going on. I heard about Shelby the night before from the youth pastor we were working with. Shelby liked to be in the background and watch. She was not the kind of kid that wanted to get involved and she definitely did not want the attention. She seemed to content to just sit back and watch. I spent the first part of the day trying to encourage her to get out and play. I even told her that her job was to yell at me if I did anything wrong. She just stood there watching the day go by. Near the end of the day we started playing a game with a giant earth ball. You know, one of those insane youth ministry games where you are amazed no one died. I looked across the field and there was Shelby playing hard. Shelby came back each day and played even harder, sang the songs, and heard the Gospel. She felt included, loved, and noticed. It made all the difference.

Shelby has made me think about all the students in our schools and communities that are standing on the sidelines and watching life go by. How many of them go unnoticed and forgotten? How many are just waiting for someone to invite them to join in and play hard? There are over 24,000 students in the area I live in. At best, there are maybe 2,000 of them involved in local churches and ministries. That leaves 22,000 not connected, not knowing God’s love, and not being noticed. What would happen if 5-10 adult leaders showed up on a campus each week to notice these students? What if we connected 1000 teenagers to local youth groups this next year? The change in families and our community would be enormous.

The need is overwhelming. So many students and so little time. The running of a day to day ministry is entirely life consuming. I know, because I have done it for over 20 years. None of us can do this on our own, but together it is more than possible. This is the vision God has given me in Life That Matters Ministry. Teams of 5-10 leaders showing up on a school campus every week. Youth Pastors and leaders coming together for encouragement and support to accomplish what none of us could do alone. God has already opened the door to 4 local high schools and continues to open doors in middle schools. There are a lot of students waiting for us to show up and notice them.

I pray where ever you are you are noticing the people around you. I hope you are loving and including all of them. I know we can make a difference and I believe God will take what has started here as a dream and make it a reality all over the place. This is our journey and it is so much better together. The world’s teens need us to notice and to invite them to join us and play hard. Right before we left North Carolina, we visited Shelby and said goodbye. She finally yelled at me and then gave me a hug. I am so glad that God gave me eyes to notice her. I pray for the countless other Shelby’s who are still waiting.

As I sit at my desk today, I have been thinking back over the last 22 years of ministry. God has allowed me to be in some amazing places. I remember just starting out at the age of 19 in a little church located in a shopping center in a bad part of town. I can still clearly see loading my 1979 Ford Thunderbird with as many kids as would fit from the neighborhood and going to Burger King. It was there that I heard the unmistakable calling to youth ministry and I found the woman I would partner with for the rest of my life. The church closed its doors and we sensed God’s call into the military. It made no sense at the time, but we knew that was where we were being led. We committed to trust God to send us where He wanted us. Everywhere we were assigned, God led us to a church where we became the leaders of the youth ministry. It was amazing, but hard too. Separated by deployments and the Gulf War made us strong and forced us to rely on God.

After my first enlistment was up, against everyone’s opinion, we signed up for another tour. This time in Europe. It was in Germany that we found ourselves once again running student ministry and being introduced to an amazing organization called Young Life. It was all about building relationships with students, earning the right to be heard, and sharing God’s amazing story of grace and love. We were sold! We again sensed God’s call, this time to leave the military and go into full time ministry. We spent the next 10 years entering student’s lives and sharing the Gospel in Germany, Italy, and on the Space Coast of Florida. We knew every student on a little Navy base in the middle of the Mediterranean and we oversaw ministry that reached out to 1000 students in Brevard County, Florida. We loved Young Life, but there was a restlessness we began to feel in our hearts.

During this time we felt God leading us into a new adventure as He called us back into local church ministry. We moved to Bradenton Florida and watched God do amazing things in the lives of students. It was challenging for our family during this time. God was chipping away at us as He was molding us into what He wanted. God was faithful and He began to grow a vision of youth ministry in my heart. A ministry not focused on programs, but on the truth of scripture and the desire to do everything with excellence. It was about building God’s kingdom and not our own by coming along side with others and reaching students no matter where they went to church. I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself and I learned this is only possible when the center of ministry is Christ and not our own personality. God opened the door for us to join Mosaic Church outside of Orlando who had this same vision. Once again ministry grew and doors were opened into schools and with other churches in little over a year. It was astounding how quickly these relationships grew. God’s hand was on this and yet there was still that restlessness. We soon discovered God had a bigger plan than what we first imagined and that my days of running a church youth ministry had come to a close. A new adventure was beginning.

Here I am at age 41 and I am starting an entirely new ministry that combines my passion to reach students as I did in Young Life and my passion for the local church. A ministry that will engage over 24,000 students in our area, connecting them with local youth ministries and connecting them to each other to make the difference in their schools. A ministry that will invest in youth pastors and leaders, providing networks, support, and coaching. A ministry that will empower a new generation of leaders to continue the fight for our students by providing internships, mentoring, and training. Life That Matters Ministry will start in the Orlando area, but will spread everywhere. It is time to have a ministry and a life that matters for the kingdom.

Winston Churchill,in his first speech as Prime Minister said, “You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: Victory – victory at all cost, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.” Youth ministry can not and will not fail. The stakes are to high. We must and we will reach this generation.

How do we do this? We do it together. We need you to partner with us and this great ministry. We need you to pray with us as God opens doors for school assemblies and community outreaches. We need your prayers for unity as we partner with churches and organizations. We need you to consider financial support as we establish this ministry over the next few years. We need to raise around $5,000 per month in support. If only 50 people would commit to $100 per month, or 100 people to $50 a month, or 500 people giving $10 per month we would reach our goal. Every dollar you donate will make a difference in the lives of students. If you are in Florida, we need you to consider setting up a dessert or coffee time with friends and family so that we can come and share the vision. The fact of the matter is we need all of you. We are staying on staff at Mosaic Church in Oakland, Florida for oversight and accountability of all funds. This is a huge dream and together we can make it a reality. Our desire is to launch ministry this coming August, which means we have little time to raise funds. Will you join us and help us to change the world?
All donations are tax deductible and should be made out to Mosaic Church and mailed to 3833 Glenford Dr, Clermont, FL, 34711. Please e-mail me back with whatever you can do and please pass this on to others on your mailing list. I can not wait to see all God is going to do as we partner together. I hope to hear from you soon.

Tony Hevener

Over the past few years I have been hearing of the struggles in Youth Ministry. The drop in attendance and the exodus of students after graduation from the church seemed to be a world wide trend. This prompted me to really start questioning what is going on with students. With the onset of facebook, myspace, twitter, and texting we have forgotten the art of relationship. The idea of being in each others lives and engaging, investing, and empowering one another. I believe we need to encourage students to live a life that matters and makes a difference in their world. For this to happen I have concluded there needs to be people walking on campuses and engaging students, youth ministers investing in other youth ministers and ministries, and empowering the next generation of leaders. This is more about building the Church than organizations. This is about being kingdom minded, instead of minding our own kingdoms. The question is, where do we start?

I have had the opportunity to minister in many different settings over the last 20 or so years. I spent years on Young Life staff both overseas and stateside growing a heart for outreach and learning how to navigate the world of public schools and administrators. I also spent years on church staffs confirming my belief in God’s plan for the world through His Church. Most recently, I have been on staff at a kingdom minded church named Mosaic on the outskirts of Orlando, Florida. Over the last year and a half God has opened doors for me to build relationships with many youth pastors, the administrators of 3 large high schools, and many other community and ministry leaders. At the same time God began to birth a vision of identifying students that are following Christ in each school and connecting them together and with local churches to bring about real change. I discovered that in the area of West Orange County and South Lake County there are over 15,000 high school students. There are great student ministries happening, but none of us were making a dent in this population. Running a weekly ministry is very time consuming, and as I sat in my office last summer I wondered how we would ever make a difference?

This past year in ministry was like so many before. We had growth and God was moving, but I could not get rid of a nagging feeling I was not doing enough. Everything changed in May of this year. We had been discussing sweet spots and the places we run the hardest in ministry on staff, when it became obvious that running the student ministry at Mosaic was not the best fit for me. I spent the next couple of weeks seeking God and trying to figure out what He was leading us to. The day after I was asked to step down, I received a call from an old friend asking me about an opportunity to set up an outreach program for at risk teens in the West Orange County area. God started rebirthing a vision He started in me the year before. What if I was free to be on the campuses engaging students every day? What if I could walk along side youth leaders in the area, encouraging them and investing in them to help them to succeed? What if I started empowering a new generation of leaders wanting to give their lives to ministry? This was impossible if I was running the day to day ministry of a church youth program, but now anything was possible. I had my questions. I did not want to just start another ministry that would develop outside the church. I wanted to build the Church and be connected to a body. I wanted to take the passion God placed in me for outreach and the passion for the local church and combine it. I wanted to be a part of seeing our own church grow and see every other one grow as well. I wanted a life and ministry that matters in the building of the kingdom, but what kind of position in a church allows for all that? This past week I got my answer. My position at Mosaic will now be one of being a campus pastor and leading community outreach.

Over the next year or two, we will be developing a ministry that will focus on three things. First, we will be engaging students by being on the campus every week. We plan on working with local agencies to provide school assemblies that promote personal responsibility and prevention of at risk behaviors. We will be organizing outreach events that will be community based while being connected to local church bodies in an attempt to funnel students into the many outstanding youth programs in our area. We will begin to identify the students on each campus that are followers of Christ and encourage them to live lives that matter and make a difference in their schools. Second, we will invest in the local youth leaders. We will seek to provide opportunities for networking with one another while also connecting them with local schools and administrators. We will be available to support and encourage the youth leaders and their ministries in any way possible. Third, we will empower a new generation of leaders by helping to connect those who have sensed their calling into ministry with local churches. We will provide mentorship and coaching as these new ministers seek to step into the world of youth ministry.

For years I have preached that we should dream a dream so big, that if God is not in it, it will fail. The time for me to practice what I have preached has come. This is an enormous undertaking that could have ramifications for youth ministry far beyond our area. I am humbled by this calling, and yet I know God is bigger than the dream. Mosaic has given the green light, but there are needs that must be met to make this dream a reality. The first thing I need is prayer. I need God’s wisdom and favor over the coming months as I begin to solidify relationships with area officials and local ministry leaders. I need teams. Teams of people called to outreach, event planning, administration, and those who will help keep my feet on the ground as I dream. Finally, I will need financial support. As this is a new ministry and Mosaic is still a growing church, I need people who will believe in this vision and support it. I need to raise around $5,000 a month in support. This is as simple as 50 people committing to $100 a month. As I said, I will be on Mosaic Church staff for them to provide oversight and and accountability for all things financial. This also allows you to use your contribution as a tax deduction. All support must be made out to Mosaic Church and can be mailed to me at 3833 Glenford Dr, Clermont, Fl, 34711. Please identify the donation as monthly or a one time gift. E-mail me at tonyhevener@gmail.com to be added to my e-newsletter mailing list so you can keep up with all that God is doing.

I have ministered to and with more people than I can count over the years. Many of you reading this are those people. I want to thank all of you for what you have meant to me and the ministry I have given my life to. I am asking you to partner with me, as I have served you and with you, to make it possible for me to continue to give my life away for students and the kingdom. I know God is leading this and I am so excited to be able to share this with you all. Together we will change the world. Together we will live lives that matter and make a difference for eternity. I look forward to hearing from you and sharing in this amazing journey.

Have you ever had one of those moments where you sit and ask, “Why am I doing this?” If you have been in ministry for a while, you probably want me to clarify if I mean just this week. The fact of the matter is that ministry in any form brings trials, frustrations, and doubts. If you are a volunteer, you probably wonder at times what good you are doing with such fixed time constraints. If you are full time, you wonder if anything is getting through to the students you stand before week after week. I know for myself, I am always my toughest critic. Why aren’t my messages bringing about life change? Why aren’t the programs being filled with new students? Why are we still getting complaints about what the students wear and their behavior?

If any of you are like me, and I have a strange suspicion there may be a few, when I first heard and answered the call to youth ministry, I knew for sure that every student I would come in contact with would give their life to Jesus. It didn’t happen that way. In fact, I think I drove many students away in those early years. It is now over 20 years later and I am still at it. I am still passionate about student ministry. I may even be more passionate now than I was, but I still struggle with feelings of inadequacy and questions of if I am doing ministry well.

Let’s be honest for a second. We are all in some way competitive. We live in a society where success is measured by numbers and size. Who has the biggest program with the most students and best facilities?  Find that person, and go do what they are doing. I have to confess, it sure makes me feel good when some other youth pastor or leader wants to come by and see what we are doing because he or she has heard we are doing great things. I find myself comparing our programs with others to see how we stack up. There is nothing wrong with wanting to do your very best or having a huge vision. The question is what is the motivation? Why do you do what you do?

I recently gave a message on Mary and Martha to our high school students from Luke 10. We have all probably given this message, but my point was about choosing the great thing over the good thing. It struck me as I was speaking to a small group of students that we were doing good ministry, but we weren’t great. Sure, we had all the programs, camps, and facilities that would make some envious, but it was missing something and I found it in Mary and Martha.

What Martha was doing was good, but what Mary did was great. You see when ministry is focused on what I can do or on who I can impress it will never be more than just good. When the focus is taken off me and put on Jesus, it has the opportunity to be great. I think it is interesting that Mary was at Jesus’ feet, not sitting beside him. When you walked in you probably didn’t even notice Mary, unless you tripped over her. Martha was easily noticed because of all she was doing. There are many of us who do not take the time to do this kind of work and do it with excellence, but when the focus becomes the work and not the one we are working for trouble and frustration will come.

Unfortunately, many of us settle for good. We are concerned if we look busy enough or with attendance numbers or baptisms or, you know the list. It is important to track growth and numbers are important, but is this our motivation? Do we do it for the numbers and prestige, or do we do it because we are driven by an unspeakable force to love and reach out to students. I have come to the realization that I am driven, but I am incapable of having any lasting or real impact without Christ.

When I empty myself of the expectations of recognition and allow Jesus to simply speak through me, something stirs. When I forget about what I look like or who I am trying to impress and simply become obedient to the call on my life, then the amazing happens; the Spirit moves, hearts are stirred and lives are changed. When I understand it is not about me, but it is all about a God who so desperately wants to bring his children back into his arms and has invited me to watch and be awed, it is then ministry of lasting impact happens.

I do student ministry because it is what I was made to do, but I am so aware that I am incapable of any of it without the grace and guidance of Christ. I am accountable to my church, students and parents, but I work for God. I gladly place myself under the authority of my Pastor and wisely take his council, but it is the Spirit that leads me and brings any success. My messages and planning are fruitless unless God is in them and has ordained them. I was once challenged to dream so big, that if God was not in it, it would fail. I have found that I can not out dream God. My dreams and vision, when relying solely on my abilities, are pitifully small, but God’s dreams are unimaginable.

John the Baptist said it right in John 3:30 when he said, “He must become greater; I must become less.” Jesus is the only great one. For me to endure in ministry and to see real impact and change, I must be less.  It is not about me. I am just a joyful invitee into a world where anything is possible when we choose the great thing instead of settling for the good.

Tony.