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Bring God Into Every Decision

March 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. Hebrews 2:17 -ESV

I’m always amazed when I teach a lesson to my high school small group about a topic and shortly afterwards, God will put me in a position to live out what I just taught. A few weeks ago I talked to my guys about decision-making and asked them if they are bringing God into the process, not just for big decisions but for the day-to-day ones also. and now this week I find myself in a position where I need to make a pretty big decision about my future and my career and where do I go from here with this whole student ministry thing God has given me.

This verse above from Hebrews is one that reminds me that Jesus is not just my savior, he is my high priest. He has my best interests at heart and he is there to help with all my decisions. As I’m making up my decision on where I go from here I’ve done the following things, and they are all part of the lesson I taught my high school guys:

  • Prayer. I feel like I’ve been in a constant state of prayer for the past couple of days. Now I have to admit at first my prayer was selfish I was asking God to make this change happen for ME because I think it’s something I’m going to love doing. Then yesterday morning during my quiet time I heard myself say ME and the light bulb went on; this needs to be something that will be good for others, for students, for my ministry and lastly for me.
  • I’m a list guy. I started a list with all of the pros and cons to this decisions. I have a ton of things on the pro side but I also have some substantial things on the con side that I need to figure out. Sometimes listing them out is the only way for me to make sure I consider all angles.
  • I need to remember that if this comes about, I need to make this be the best possible thing I can do to help contribute to the overall student ministry I’m involved in. But if it does not come to be, then I need to remember that God has a bigger better plan that I just can’t see yet.

 

Filed Under: Spriritual Life, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , ,

Student Ministry Trophy Case

December 20, 2012 by 1 Comment

Our friend Dennis Beckner over at Volunteeryouthministry.com has talked about having things in your trophy case, things from your days in student ministry where a student took time to point out that you made a difference in their life. I understood the concept, but I don’t think I truly understood until today.

I got a text from a guy who was in my last high school small group asking if we could meet and talk  tonight. My first response was to think that something was wrong and he was coming by for advice. I admit, I’m tired tonight and have had a sinus headache for a couple of days and wasn’t looking forward to this. Well, long story short, he didn’t have a problem, he actually came by to wish me a Merry Christmas and give me a gift. He asked me to open the box and inside was a mug with all of the pictures of my last group and a card thanking me for helping to make them the Godly men that they are today. I’m not often speechless but I was tonight, and not ashamed to admit I had tears in my eyes. Such a small thing, but it was huge to me. And now I truly understand why Dennis recommended the whole “trophy case” idea.

You know those times when you think you’re not getting anywhere, like you’re not making a difference…all I need to do now is look at that mug I realize that if you let Him, God will use you. I may not have been totally fired up for my role in student ministry when this day started out, but I am now!

Filed Under: Cool stuff, Volunteer ministry, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , ,

Small Group Leader Roll Never Really Ends

October 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Last night was the “meet and greet” night for High School Ministry here at Saddleback Church and I got to meet some new guys in my small group. It was an awesome night and I really have some great students in this group and I’m excited for the new school year.

And then today I had lunch with a former student of mine from my last small group. Sitting and talking with him at lunch and going over some stuff in his life made me think about how we never really leave a student’s life, not if you’re doing small group right. I have a whole new batch of students that God has placed in my care and I’ll do my absolute best to walk along side them and help strengthen their walk with God, to be there for any problems that they open up and share and need help with, I’ll be at sporting events and school plays, and going out of my way to let them know that besides their parents they have another caring adult in their life they can depend on.

But, I’ll also keep the door open to my past students. Just because a student is no longer in your group does not mean that God wants you to end the teaching and role model and mentoring to that student.

I think it’s important to know the role you play in a student’s life as they mature.  My role now will be more of a mentor to past students and a couple have asked me if I would mentor them. I think it’s also important to note a couple of points here also.

  • I’m a single guy and I have time for this. If your married with kids, don’t sacrifice your family time and make them second. Being single, God expects a little more of me since I have the time.
  • If you decide to mentor former students, put it on them to arrange a time to meet and to follow through with this. It’s part of the growing up process and also, they have to want a mentor in their life, more than you want to mentor them.

The bottom line is when you sign on for Student Ministry remember that your job is not always done just because they graduated junior high and went to high school, or graduated high school and went to college.

Filed Under: Small Groups, Spriritual Life, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , ,

400th Post!

August 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment

This post you’re reading today is our 400th post on this blog. What started as a six-week guest post spot on our friend Dennis Beckner’s blog, volunteeryouthministry.com turned into us starting our own blog and 400 posts later we’re still going strong.

We’ve seen our reader numbers continue to rise, we’ve been picked up by other blogs and had our blogs reposted on some pretty awesome websites that we read every day, and we’ve been humbled and honored because of that. We have blog ideas come to us from all over the place and from our experiences. Before writing each blog, Steven and I pray that these words are God’s words and not ours, that we are just God’s mouthpiece. We also pray that God will put our blogs in front of other student ministry leaders who struggle with the same issues we do and need some ideas on the same problems we face. Each time we get a comment or an e-mail from someone we’re never met telling us how our blog has helped them, it just encourages us even more to keep going.

God has blessed us with the talents and gifts of student ministry and one day He will hold us accountable for what we did with these gifts. We LOVE the fact that we can help students grow in their faith and through some tough times in their lives but we also love that we can help other leaders and volunteers who face the same tough student issues that we do.

I am honored that I get to write this blog each week with Steven. I love his heart for students, his gift of wordsmithing, his sense of humor and his biblical knowledge. What started as a mentoring relationship has turned into an amazing friendship between us. I’m not ashamed to admit that our mentoring relationship probably resulted in me learning and growing just as much as he did if not more. It’s the reason I’m such a huge proponent of mentoring. It’s a win-win situation.

We have tons of ideas and blogs to come yet, and we thank all of you for reading this blog each day.

 

Filed Under: Uncategorized, Volunteer ministry, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Good Example or a Great Example

April 19, 2012 by 1 Comment

Tonight I had a phone call from the mom of one of my high school small group students. During the conversation she thanked me for being a good example for her son. After the call was over I began to think if I’m a good example, what could I change to be a great example.

When we decided to get into student ministry either as paid staff or as a volunteer I think that all of us agreed that we need to live our lives to a higher standard because we are an example to students of what a Christ follower is. None of us can be perfect all the time but there are things we can do to ensure that we are putting our best foot forward when it comes to being a good example.

I asked myself the following questions, ask yourself and evaluate your answers.

  • Language  Am I careful how I talk, not just when students are around but all of the time?  - Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them. – Ephesians 4:29 NLT
  • Relationships  How you treat others is a big example to students of a Godly man or woman. If you’re in a relationship, is it Godly and pure? You can’t teach students about purity and saving sex for marriage if you’re not living it yourself. They will see right through you.
  • Gossip  Don’t get caught in the gossip circle. Gossip is a sin that destroys ministries. If you’re not part of the problem or part of the solution then don’t gossip about it.
  • Worship  Make sure that you are attending worship service on a regular basis and that you are getting spiritually fed. You can’t expect students to be church attenders if you’re not. Don’t spend so much time serving Jesus that you don’t have time for Jesus.
  • Quiet Time  It’s hard to get students to participate in a daily quiet time with God if you’re not doing it yourself. It’s also the way you stay connected to God. Pray for your students every day. Pray for your church and for your ministry. - Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. – Philippians 4:6 NLT 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to just be a good leader, I want to be a great leader. Every now and then we need to stop and evaluate our lives, I did tonight and I know I have to make a few changes.

Filed Under: Spriritual Life, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

When You Feel Stuck

February 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Here’s a repost of an article from Benjer McVeigh, a student pastor at Washington Heights Church in Ogden, Utah. We’ve all felt like our ministry was stuck in neutral and not going anywhere. Here’s a tease of his post, you can find the entire post here. 

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Lately, I’ve felt…stuck. Stuck in ministry, that is. There’s no one thing that I can put my finger on that’s really, really broken in our student ministry. It’s just that I feel like we’re not making the impact we could be making, and that as a leader, I need to help our team figure out where we need to go next. The feeling is actually quite hard to articulate, and it’s something I’ve spent a lot of prayer and thought on lately. I’d be willing to bet that others have felt this way before, or may be feeling this way right now. Here are some things to do that are helpful when we feel “stuck” as leaders:

Ask: Why do I feel stuck? Do you feel stuck because you realize that there are hundreds or thousands of students in your community who don’t know Jesus, and you feel burdened to reach more of those students? Or do you feel stuck because your pride hurts from lower attendance numbers or slower growth? Sometimes we’re just longing for another shot of momentum to stroke our egos and feel important.

Pray: Obvious, yes. But worth mentioning, because if you’re like me, you’re a problem solver. I studied math in college, and I love solving problems. Many times, I approach my role as a leader the same way and continually try to puzzle things out. There’s nothing wrong with solving problems, but I often forget that it’s the Holy Spirit that leads, not me and my tiny little brain.

Filed Under: Repost, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

40 Days in the Word

January 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

How well do your students know the Bible? How well do you know the Bible? I think I’m like most volunteer leaders, I can find stuff in the Bible when I’m looking for it, I can use the index and the concordance in my Bible and eventually I can find what I need. But I’m not content with that. I want to be able to have scripture at the ready when I’m dealing with a student going through a tough time. I want to be able to give him the right words at the right time. To do that I need to spend some intentional time in my Bible study each day.

At Saddleback Church we just kicked off a church-wide campaign called, “40 Days in the Word” Click here for more information on how you can participate in this awesome study. I want to use this 40 days to my advantage. I want to greatly increase my knowledge in scripture so that I can use God’s word not only for myself but also be able to minister to my high school group. When we as leaders show our students that we are willing to take the extra effort to know the Bible and read it on a daily basis we are showing them how they can do the same thing. I’m afraid that in the past, my fumbling through my Bible probably sent the wrong message to students.

In our student ministries at Saddleback, we are also participating in the “40 Days in the Word” series. Click here for Josh Griffin’s (our high school pastor) link on his website for the series arc that he is teaching on. The first week went really well and I’ve had a ton of positive feedback from students about the weekend service. It showed me that students are just as hungry for more Bible knowledge as we leaders are. If you’re not teaching students on Bible study methods or on ways to unpack scripture your students are missing out, and you’re missing out on better ways to use scripture to walk a student through a crisis in their lives.

Are you taking the time to teach students how to read study and interpret the Bible?

Filed Under: Small Groups, Volunteer ministry, Youth Ministry Tagged With: , , , , ,

Time For Rest

August 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Life comes at us pretty fast and if you’re a student ministry worker or volunteer it can come at you non-stop. But there is one thing we need to remember to do and that’s to rest. Now people who know me are reading this and saying, “Matt is writing about needing rest? The guy who works 6 days a week? The guy who has not taken vacation for a year and a half is writing about rest? The guy who is hyper and annoying is writing about rest?”

Yeah, I am and the reason I am is because Steven convinced me to take a week off last week. A week off from everything and just rest. Not gonna lie, the first couple of days I felt awkward and felt like I needed to be someplace. But by the time Wednesday rolled around I started feeling good and rested. It also made for some interesting quiet time with God and it was then that I remembered that the Bible commands us to get rest so we can be better prepared to work in God’s garden.

I came back feeling refreshed and recharged. I am very good at having a quiet time everyday, its been part of my daily routine for over a year now. But when I did my quiet time this past week I felt like I was putting more into it, and getting more out of it. Getting rest is necessary for good health. That’s something we need as a student ministry volunteer, if for no other reason than being able to get out of the way of a dodge ball being flung at us from a high school senior who has a throwing arm that equals Nolan Ryan’s.

I know I have not been as effective as I could be. By going full-steam all the time and not resting and recharging has led to health problems for me and it’s let stress take too much of a toll on me. I make better decisions when I’m rested, I have better advice when I’m rested, I’m funnier when I’m rested. I could go on and on but I think you get what I mean. So, I have committed to make sure I’m mixing the proper amount of relaxing time with work time so I don’t get back in the same rut again. Pray for me, because I know how I am and I know this won’t be easy for me, but I know its something I need to do. You need to also.

Filed Under: Spriritual Life, Volunteer ministry Tagged With: , , ,