by David Hanson | Nov 27, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Every year on Thanksgiving, it’s wise to stop and remember who you are thankful for.
This year, I am thinking about the countless hours my Small Group Leaders spend pouring into the students in our ministry.
Their love, devotion, and transparency is setting our students up for a lifetime of faith.
For two hours each week on Wednesdays nights and though countless meetings, conversations, phone calls and text messages throughout the week, they pour themselves out hoping to see students develop a faith where Christ is held preeminent!
We owe them so much more than a simple thank you…
But thank you.
If you are a youth pastor, take today to do two things:
1. Thank God for the people he has entrusted you, as you together lead students.
2. Thank your volunteer leaders. Send them a quick email or text today, thanking them for their contribution to the kingdom.
Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving to you! Thank you for reading the blog and caring about the next generation. Know that God is using you! Your efforts are not wasted and they have not gone unnoticed!
“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” – Philippians 1:6
by David Hanson | Nov 23, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
There is a strange phenomenon going on right now within Christendom. Those who have beautiful and creative ways to expand the kingdom are doing so outside the context of the local church.
The American Church has been operating within a very small frame. And the way that you frame a story matters. The bigger the frame, the bigger the impact, so why has the church narrowed its scope and frame?
Not only have we narrowed the audience we are hoping to captivate, but we have narrowed the ways we seek to expand the kingdom.
Is the church where people think small? Is the church where good ideas go to die? Why is the church not more entrepreneurial?
This could be the very reason the church stateside is dwindling…
We may have set the church above the kingdom. And Jesus didn’t say “seek yes first the church,” he said, “seek he first the KINGDOM.” Have young people left the church not because of disbelief, but because of the church itself!
Young people long to be a part of something bigger than themselves. They want to make an impact, they want to initiate change! So why is the church standing in the way?!
Youth Pastors, there is no greater place to begin the process of transformation than in the youth ministry. How can you expand the frame? How can you, WITH your students, think bigger?
by David Hanson | Nov 22, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
It is difficult to continually say “yes” to the commitments in our lives. We are constantly having to decide what, and who, we say YES to.
Time talks…it can shout the truth where words lie.” – Dorothy Bass
We say YES so much that we end up saying NO to the people we care about most.
Are we sacrificing our families on the alter of ministry?
We are not the only ones wrestling with this. The families in our ministries have a hard time prioritizing as well. Parents are saying YES without realizing the NO’s.
We should decide our yes’s and our no’s based on our theology, not our schedules. If not, our busyness makes us practical atheists.
“Exhaustion has become the new status symbol” -Brene Brown
This lays in stark contrast to Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”
So what truths are we speaking over ourselves and over our students in light of this? Is our job to to try harder to glorify God, our are we and the students we lead, called to REST in what God has already accomplished?
Here are two steps to help your decision making process as you rest in Him:
1. If it’s not a definite yes, it’s a no.
2. Chose your few great “yes” priorities.
Pick 4 and do those four well!
For more great information from Kara, check out www.stickyfaith.org
by David Hanson | Nov 22, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Here you will find my notes from Tullians message at #NYWC
We have a problem fully embracing Gods grace. We like to replace what He has DONE with what we have to DO.
We like to replace “it is finished,” with “we need to accomplish.” Then in our attempts to produce and be approved by God we turn to our good works to pump up our self worth and value.
When we do this we have created idols of worship that pale in comparison to the inexhaustible grace and mercy of Jesus Christ.
“We are idol making factories” -John Calvin
We tend to make idols out of anything and everything. Even our performance as pastors and youth pastors becomes our idol. We get bent on fixing people and fail to realize that WE can’t fix people. Furthermore, the fact that WE are trying to fix people demonstrates that we are idolaters and and aren’t even “fixed” ourselves!
Even our best attempts to glorify God are steeped in selfishness. Therefore we are fully dependent on Christ to redeem and cover even our attempts to glorify Him.
You are not good enough. You will NEVER be, but this is why we believe in His substitution for us. He achieved, accomplished, and finished what we could never do, which is our righteousness.
by David Hanson | Nov 21, 2014 | The Youth Ministry Blog
The World is changing and we need to keep up with the trends. The more we understand what is shaping our teens, the better we will be able to speak into their context with Gods truth and wisdom.
Our goal is to integrate our faith through every square inch of our lives which is worship. (See Romans 12:1-2)
Culture is…
1. The soup they swim in.
We want to know what’s in the soup. If this is what they are eating up, it will be what they become.
2. A Map.
Culture for teens often dictates the direction they head. Culture often tells teens, “you are what you look like.”
3. A Mirror.
Culture will reflect the pressures and realities that teens face. Get to know culture and you’ll better understand teens.
5 Trends:
1. The Me.
It’s all about me. What I can do, achieve, and receive. When reed this by telling our children that they are princes and princesses. When we make our children “royalty” they will have a difficult time with submission to God and the edification of others above self.
We must help students have a deep deep understanding of their brokenness and depravity.
Are we raising a generation of narcissists or are we raining disciples marked by humility?
Our goal is to live counter-culturally for the glory of God and to teach our kids to do the same.
2. The Moment
Life is about the moment. Seize the day. YOLO. Eat, Drink and be Merry. Many students live in a manner to fully embrace the now and look forward to what’s next.
We need to help students understand how their decisions effect their long-term destination. Student seek instant gratification over delayed gratification. This flies against embracing the long-term process of sanctification.
3. The Marketing
students are being targeted and there is a worldview being sold. We must tech students how to think critically about culture and yhe messages being sent.
4. The Much
Student have too much of everything! Kids have too much information, activity, distraction, pressure, and negative parental input.
We need to teach student how to rest and Sabbath. We need to teach students about silence. God created us for a rythem of work AND rest.
5. The Mess
Students feel like they are drowning. Because there is so much to do and accomplish, they feel like they can do nothing well. This pressure leads to teenage apathy, pain, and struggle.
We must teach students that THEY cannot do everything on their own. But rather, they were created to lean fully on God and find comfort and help from a Gospel Community.
Find more great stuff from Walt Mueller at www.cpyu.org
