by David Hanson | Nov 13, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
My mom can cook better than your mom. Now I’m sure we all think this about our moms, at least I hope so… But seriously, my mom is a culinary ninja. I remember waking up Saturday mornings to her wearing an apron dusted in flour because she was making biscuits from scratch. She would have nothing to do with canned biscuits. Have you ever looked at the ingredients list on a package of canned biscuits? It’s like a mile long. Sure, they’re quick. Sure, they taste fine. But deep in our hearts, we know that there is a better way to go. How many ingredients are in my mom’s biscuits? Five. Just five.
For the last few months I’ve had the opportunity to make a student ministry from scratch. My church is launching their very first multi-site and I have the privilege of being the Student Pastor. The first few weeks on the job I looked for a canned ministry that I could pop in the oven but I couldn’t find anything that would work. I can’t tell you how many emails and calls I made to other student pastors, how many churches I visited and websites I surfed. I spent countless hours looking for the ingredients of someone else’s biscuit. The recipes I found looked tasty but I couldn’t figure out how they were made. I came to the conclusion that there is not a canned student ministry. Why are we distracted by someone else’s programs, strategies and philosophies when they ultimately won’t work our context? If I was going to bake an effective ministry I needed to go back to basics. I needed to cook the way my mom taught me. Simple and made from scratch. Here are the five ingredients that must be found in every ministry:
A generous amount of the BIBLE.
Our ministries must be biblically focused. The Bible alone is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. Our best ideas are not. Therefore, we must base our preaching, teaching, ministry and counseling — everything — on God’s Word.
A bowl full of RELATIONSHIPS.
Our approach to discipleship needs to be relational. Life change doesn’t happen by simply transferring information. It happens by knowing and being known. We want our students to move from being spectators to being personally-engaged followers of Christ. Students need to connect with people, not programs.
A dash of MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES.
Our gatherings, events and experiences must be memorable. Whether it’s unforgettable because it was powerful, unique, meaningful, convicting or funny, our aim is always to offer the very best to our students. We want to draw them back (along with their friends) because we have the greatest news in the world to offer them!
A big scoop of UNITY.
We need to remind ourselves that we are a part of something bigger than ourselves. Our student ministries exist within a church. We need to make decisions and plan in a way that unites with the church at large. If your student ministry is teaching a different gospel or pursuing a different vision, stop cooking and throw your dough away. Ask your senior pastor or elders to critique your recipe.
Season everything in PRAYER.
Apparently it’s rude to season your food before you taste it. Pray through every big decision you make. No matter how stressed or anxious you are, pray about it. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Prayer is our direct pipeline to the Living God. Don’t make the mistake of serving your biscuit without seasoning it first.
Johnny Farr works in youth ministry at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Forth Worth, TX. He is in the process of launching a student ministry for a new multi-site! Follow Johnny on Twitter: @JonathanLFarr
by David Hanson | Nov 12, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Need some walk-in or hype music? Download this song FREE and play it on Sunday as your students enter! Adrian is one of my Sophomore students who loves Jesus and has a gift!
Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava, 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,
Email David.
by David Hanson | Nov 12, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Can I tell you something personal? I hate airplanes. I love to travel, and would do it all the time if I had the time and means, but I hate flying. If you think about airplanes, they are essentially busses, strapped with jet engines, that weigh 875,000 lbs, that travel at 600 mph, 39,000 feet off the ground, filled with people and highly flammable jet fuel. That’s why I get a little anxious when flying. I will NEVER let this prevent me from traveling, but I get a little nervous. Flying is a situation in which I am NOT IN CONTROL!
Did the pilot barely pass his flight school? Did he get a good nights sleep? How many moving parts are there on an airplane? It’s not like I got to interview this guy before I put my life in his hands…
But the reason I will step on an airplane, despite knowing all these facts, is because I believe that GOD IS IN CONTROL. The theology word for this is SOVEREIGNTY. God is sovereign which means “in control.”
Which leads me to ask this question: Do we understand and live like God is IN CONTROL? Do we believe that God is involved in and concerned with who we are, and what we do, and what happens in this world?
This is what brings us to Philippians 4:4.
“Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS, again I will say, rejoice.” What I love about this verse is that it makes being joyful a command. To rejoice means to exude or show joy. And here we find Paul, remember he is in prison when writing this, telling us to rejoice or be joyful ALWAYS. He didn’t say, TRY and be joyful. He didn’t say, rejoice when it’s convenient, but rather “rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, Rejoice.”
But even before we get caught up on the word rejoice, I think it’s important to note what is in between the command to rejoice always. It doesn’t just say “rejoice always.” It says, “Rejoice IN THE LORD always.”
This is the acknowledgement that The Lord is in control. To rejoice or be joyful IN THE LORD, means to continually identify that if HE is in control, then you don’t have to be. If HE is in control, then there is no need to be anxious, frustrated, or fear.
We tend to feel anxiety, frustration, and fear when we are NOT in control. Jesus being in control does not mean that my plane won’t fall out of the sky, but it does mean that if that is how He choses to call me home, He will take care of my family, and “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” His ways are BEYOND our understanding.
I’m not going to lie. Even though I know God is sovereign, I still get nervous on airplanes. It’s hard for me to rejoice on airplanes. So instead, I rejoice IN THE LORD. I spend the whole flight declaring how great, and awesome, and worthy of praise He is.
Where do you need to trust in God’s sovereignty?
Where do you need to surrender control?
Are you terrified about your ministry?
Are you frustrated with your students?
Great News: You are not in control. He is. So rejoice in Him, and serve faithfully.
Texas native, Texas Tech Red Raider, M.Div. at Truett Seminary, husband to Ashley, father to Ava, 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,
Email David.
by David Hanson | Nov 11, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
Isaiah 55:11 “So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me void (empty), but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Write this down on your music stand, podium, whatever you preach from so you don’t forget this!!
Before you get up remind yourself that GODS WORD wont RETURN VOID!! It’s the inspired Word of God that you preach from!!
The WORD you PREACH every week is having an EFFECT!!! Don’t ever think it isn’t!!
You may not see it at first but it is working in the lives of people!!
GODS WORD is and will ALWAYS be the BEST MESSAGE we could ever PREACH!!
Gods Word does what God wants it to!
Gods Word will not Fail!
God is a Promise Maker and a Promise Keeper!! He doesn’t need to pinky swear.
Gods Word is alive and active! (Hebrews 4:12)
Gods Word sets people FREE!!
Remember Gods Word CAN CHANGE HEARTS so always make GODS WORD come ALIVE because that’s what will TRANSFORM their LIFE!!
Someone once said, “The greatest sin in ministry is to bore people with the Bible!”
Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever!”
Keep preaching Gods Word!! You cant go wrong!!
It’s Monday, you could be preparing your message and remember Gods Word changed your life and it WILL CHANGE your students LIVES!!
Michael Hux is the Student Pastor of Team Church in Matthews, NC.
Connect with Michael on Twitter or Instagram: @_Hux
by David Hanson | Nov 8, 2013 | The Youth Ministry Blog
There is a segment of the population that youth pastors ignore and frankly we’re missing out. I’m talking about school teachers. Think about this. We get 1-3 hours a week with our students. Teachers get 10-15 hours a week (teachers who coach get significantly more time). Teachers also have access to many more unchurched kids and parents than we will ever hope to influence. That means if we really care about the teens in our cities, then we must find ways to partner with school teachers.
One of my former middle schoolers is now a history teacher in our city. He allows me to spend time in his classroom from time to time and each time I do so it’s an eye opening experience. I see the challenges he faces each day. Not only does he have to motivate kids to learn, he’s also teaching them life skills such as time management, appropriate social interaction, and responsibility. He is a hero in my book because he takes his calling seriously.
Youth pastors can be hesitant to reach out to schools because we’ve been told by the media that schools don’t want us there. While schools may have an official policy against youth pastors evangelizing on campus, most of them want as much community involvement as possible. Chances are there is a teacher in your church who can be a gatekeeper to get on campus. Work with them to help you find a way to get involved in the school.
I’ve found that most teachers genuinely do care for their students and want to make a difference. They are our allies in reaching teens for Christ. Partnership with teachers is something that every youth worker needs in their ministry.
Here’s what I believe effective partnership looks like:
Encourage Them – Most teachers carry the weight of educating kids who are unmotivated and unequipped to learn. They face pressures from parents and administrators. They get beaten down by the system and the day to day grind of teaching. How amazing would it be if you adopted a teacher and made it your ministry to make them feel valued by your church? Write them notes. Bake them some cookies. Give them a gift card. It doesn’t take much to make them feel loved and appreciated for pouring into teens.
Listen to Them – Teachers see and hear things from your students that you will never get to observe. They have valuable insights on what teens are really like. They also can help us become better communicators. I’ve learned a lot about the students in my ministry simply by asking teachers for their opinions. Start a practice of regularly meeting with a teacher and learn from them. You could even invite them to come talk to your leaders and have them share what it’s like to be in their shoes.
Serve Them – Teachers have a lot of busy work that can weigh them down. Volunteer to grade some tests or make copies. Many teachers must provide their own school supplies (papers, pencils…). Serve them by getting some of those needs met. Try asking how you can pray for them and their students.
When we serve teachers we are really serving our students. Each teacher we partner with means 25-30 more students we are impacting. It means another adult who is encouraged to shape the teens we love. Healthy communities require a healthy partnership between churches and schools. What is one thing you going to do to bridge that gap this week?
Kevin Libick is a Middle School Pastor living in Fort Worth, TX with his wife Kara and her two cats. He is a novice banjo picker and expert Hawaiian food eater. Kevin loves to connect with other youth workers and equip them to live out their calling in God’s Kingdom. Connect with Kevin on Twitter: @kevinlibick
