I am excited to announce that The Youth Ministry Blog is about to get a whole lot sweeter! In the coming weeks we will launch Youth Ministry TV. The goal of Youth Ministry TV is no different than the blog. We desire to train, equip, and encourage youth workers…while having fun…and conversation.
Take a look at the teaser:
If you want to know what we end up talking about, just click the button below and stay tuned:
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David Hanson: Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava & Ben, Student Pastor at LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask.
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Ben Fawcett is a six year student ministry veteran, who is currently serving as the Associate Student Pastor at LifePoint Church in Plano, Texas. He is currently enjoying typing this bio out in third person, and aspires to one day speak in only third person.
Youth Ministry can be one of the most frustrating jobs. Just when you think your students are perfect angels and living sold out for the glory of God, someone pulls back the curtain to reveal the ugly truth. I had a curtain moment recently and I had conflicting feelings. Part of me was frustrated and wanting to drop some truth bombs on those students, but the other side of me just kept thinking “student make mistakes.”
The last thing I want is an attitude of “teens will be teens” where I ignore student development, but I also recognize that despite my best efforts, I cant change students. That is the role of the Holy Spirit. Teenagers are trying on identities, they are living life through the process of trial-and-error trying to figure out who they are and who they want to be. This process comes with mistakes.
What’s important is not how we police our students, but how we model Jesus to our students. Our students, like Israel in the OT, will bounce back and forth between obedience and rebellion. May we model the loving grace of Jesus when our students mess up. May we be the people they call in the midst of their rebellion. May we wisely address their mishaps and point them toward a purpose and identity in Christ.
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David Hanson: Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava & Ben, Student Pastor at LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask.
I was recently interviewed by Jody Livingston over at The Longer Haul. We sat down and discussed theology in youth ministry. It’s a great podcast and this is a great primer on how to infuse theology into your youth ministry. Take a listen and subscribe to The Longer Haul Podcast:
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David Hanson: Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava & Ben, Student Pastor at LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask.
This past weekend I attempted to replace a bathroom sink faucet. While this might not sound like a difficult thing for some of your super handy folks, let me share something about myself…I’m no handy man. If I was installing a new faucet in a new sink, I think I could make it work. However, I was installing a new faucet in an old sink which led to a whole slew of issues including a slow leak. Often times, ministry feels this same way.
In ministry, we should always be looking to keep our processes and programs up to date. However, often times we can’t overhaul the entire bathroom…I mean ministry. Sometimes you have to deal with existing structures and make the new fit in with the old. This can be tricky, but it can be done (and sometimes has to be done).
I can’t afford to replace my pale yellow, seashell sink, countertop (I’m a youth pastor). However, I can replace the dated faucet. When I went to install the new drain, I quickly realized I would have to use the old drain and guts as the new stuff would NOT fit the dated countertop. I had to compromise, install the new faucet, then spray paint (sweet metallic spray paint at that) the old drain and stopper to give it the updated look. I had to make the old drain system and the new faucet play nice together and make them look like they belonged together.
In ministry, we should be excited about the introduction of new things. However, we must not be naive and think these new initiatives will seamlessly fit in with the ministry that has been happening for some time. Your new initiatives might not play well with programs that have been in place long before you got there. You might inadvertently slaughter a sacred cow and send the elderly in your congregation into a frenzy! Your new initiatives might not kill programs, but you might find that it’s the older people/staff at your church that do not want to play nice with your new ideas. This can be crazy frustrating.
What you need in these times is patience and skill.
You must be patient with the old systems and people understanding you can’t just gut the bathroom and start over. They were there before you and they will probably be there after you! However, this doesn’t mean we should accept mediocre or dying ideas. We must skillfully and tactfully figure out how to make our new initiatives play nice with the systems/people in place. This process of trial and error will require an insane amount of patience, but in the end will prevent leaky ministry.
Leaky ministry is what happens when the old and new refuse to work together. Leaky ministry happens when the new tries to forcefully replace the old or when the old refuses to accept the new. Leaky ministry happens when people try to change too much too fast or when people never change anything at all. Leaky ministry happens when programs that once drew the masses are kept despite being a shadow of their former self. Leaky ministry happens when people pretend that newer is always better.
May we prevent leaky ministry by being good stewards of the past while moving forward to where the Lord wants to take us next.
Maybe you have experienced this. How did you navigate it? Comment below!
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David Hanson: Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava & Ben, Student Pastor at LifePoint Church in Plano, Tx, table tennis (ping-pong) extraordinaire, addicted to coffee. For anything else…you’ll just have to ask.
Sometimes I try to count the errors within ministry that I have made. I would like to think that I could recall all my ministry mistakes. However, the reality is that there are many I am unaware of. I entered into student ministry fully aware of my reliance on God for life and life eternal, but through ministry, God has revealed to me that my reliance upon Him is much grander then I imagined.
The saint burns grace like a 747 burns fuel on take off. –Dallas Willard
The all-consuming machine of salvation that drives us towards the Lord God is powered by grace, and within this awesome machine of salvation are many gears, one of which being ministry. Left to my own devices I would only serve myself and only in the manner that I desired. However, God has placed His machine of salvation into my very being, and I have now become a living demonstration of His grace. It is the grace of our perfect God that allows me to serve Him in the midst of my imperfection. The grace of our generous God that allows me to be a participant in the good works that He has prepared for me. As the gears of salvation turn transforming me inwardly, my ministry is a reflection of grace outwardly. Or so I hope….
Remember this; or you may fall into error by fixing your minds so much upon the faith which is the channel of salvation as to forget the grace which is the fountain and source even of faith itself. –H. Spurgeon
There is not a day that goes by that God does not overwhelm me. He extends so much goodness, faithfulness, and mercy to me… so much grace! If God is the fountain of grace then I am a toxic pool of sin that His purifying waters have flooded into. The fact that I am a pastor does not change that truth. I am man of pride, selfishness, and hypocrisy. So, how is it that I am able to serve God by making disciples? How is it that His Gospel permeates in my soul?
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God. – Ephesians 2:8
The answer is grace. The very same grace that I burn through every single day as I strive to draw close to Jesus Christ. I hope to do a better job of modeling my reliance on God’s grace to my students. I pray that my students would come to rejoice in the grace of God instead of shamefully clinging to sin in silence. I have both made and will continue to make many mistakes in ministry…. Praise God for His rich love and mercy because I have a grand need for His grace!
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Ben Fawcett is a six year student ministry veteran, who is currently serving as the Associate Student Pastor at LifePoint Church in Plano, Texas. He is currently enjoying typing this bio out in third person, and aspires to one day speak in only third person.
