There was a phase a while back that said that if you had students leaving High School and going to Bible College, you were successful. There are also those that claim success based on numbers. I want to list off 4 areas that I believe must be done well if our ministries are to be successful.
1. Relationships -- In our world of technology this is both a blessing and a curse. We facebook, myspace, twitter, blog, text, email...and all this is fine (and somewhat necessary) in communicating and developing relationships with kids. But the greatest way to build relationships is still the old-fashioned face-to-face encounter. It's easy to sit behind a desk or sit at home and text a kid to let them know you care...but what if you verbalized it over ice-cream, or after a game of lazer tag, or after his/her sporting event? Relationships are vital in building a successful ministry.
2. Discipleship -- Relationships are important. Discipleship is equally important. So many of our relationships are "surface level". Discipleship takes our relationships to the next level. When we disciple a kid we are helping them discover their gifts and talents and challenging them to use those gifts to further the kingdom of God. Investing time in the life of kids encouraging him/her to do great things is important if our ministries are going to be successful.
3. Service -- Doing things for others is the heart of what Jesus was all about...so it should be at the heart of our ministries as well. Getting kids out of their comfort zones to be the hands and feet of Jesus not only teaches them to help people, it helps them understand their purpose.
4. Team Ministry -- Having a committed volunteer team of adults that help develop relationships and disciple young people is also at the core of a successful ministry. Successful youth ministry will not happen through "lone ranger" youth ministers...their must be a team of committed adults that help take ministry to another level.
This is only my opinion of what success means to me in youth ministry. I believe that if these 4 principles are followed that we will see young people go through our children's and youth ministries growing into adults that become an active and growing part of the local and global church.
I would love to hear your feedback and comments...
Matt
Hi Matt!
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great post and relationship definitely is the heart of any ministry.
I want to encourage you to check out the book "Family Driven Faith" by Voddie Baucham. It has been a life changing book for our family and has changed the way we look at youth ministry. Unfortunately, despite the greatest church youth programs in history, we are losing young people at an alarming rate in their first year of college (who actually really "leave" as early as the jr. high years). In order to keep the kids, the church truly must disciple the fathers.
I think the fact that you put your heart and soul into your work will allow you to reach many youth and plant many seeds. I do pray that our church culture as a whole will start to look at the discouraging statistics and re-think the way we need to truly reach our young people to live for Christ.
We have the book if you would like to borrow it, or it is in most Christian bookstores and on Amazon.
Blessings,
Mary
Matt, this is a really good post, just FYI. You should think about linking your blog to Facebook so more people can read your thoughts. You have asked a great question - "What defines success?" That might be the most important question anyone asks in ministry (or life, for that matter).
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