The Effects of God's Will on His Youth Ministry

After discovering God's will for His people and the church I quickly changed what I was doing. No longer was I trying to entertain teens with games and then sneaking in a quick devotion. I began to incorporate intentional fellowship, encourage meaningful worship, and devotions became sermons focusing on discipleship and evangelism. I also encourage missions work organized and impromptu. When I changed my focus to God's will, everything changed. My brother in faith, Randy, was so right when he advised me; "Do what God says to do."


It takes time and serious prayer applying God's will to youth. It is constantly evolving each and every day. Anyway, the overhead laminate film projector did not seem to matter anymore. It became cool to project the lyrics on a wall with a plastic sheet and play contemporary worship music over the sound system. Instead of sounding like bad karaoke, the youth were singing as to please The Lord. The quick devotions became 20-30 minute sermons. Every week I faithfully pray and seek what God has willed for that weeks sermon.


After several months of the same old routine with 9-12 youth, God began to move. The more I found myself surrendering to His will, the more youth He was drawing in to our youth services. Literally it seemed like overnight that we went from an average attendance of 9-12 to 20-25 teenagers. God was obviously blessing "His" youth ministry in our small town. Most people may think 20-25 teenagers is really not that impressive. Maybe it is not for most towns, but for our town it is. What impresses me the most is the number of youth who continue to come every Wednesday night and worship the Lord in a way that is not the norm for today's youth ministry.


Since May of 2009, God has taken the network of 12 students that I had been blessed to minister to and multiplied it now to an average attendance of 40-50. Through it all, God has truly blessed me by allowing me to network and build relationships with nearly 100 teenagers in our area.


Now forget about the 12, 40, 50, and 100. My real point is not numbers, numbers mean absolutely nothing if all a ministry does is entertain teenagers. What I really want to draw attention to is the faithfulness of the youth to worship in the way God has called us to worship Him. I find it fascinating how God reaches youth and keeps their attention so unconventionally compared to what we think is needed. I have seen teenagers grow spiritually in ways I never imagined. I have also seen students turn from sinful lifestyles that most people would have written off as a lost cause.


When we are within God's will and His plan, He moves. We should never think that our plan is greater than His. We simply do not have in mind the things of God nor could we ever dictate or plan His heart's desire. We simply must come before Him in obedience to His will and submit. We must seek His desire and earnestly serve in such a way as to please Him alone if we are to truly be an ambassador for Christ.

I want to encourage you to apply God's will to your daily life. You will discover blessings beyond measure. I assure you, there is no greater place than to be in the midst of The LORDS will. What I shared in my last post as God's will is this; repentance, following Him, fellowship, worship, discipleship, evangelism, and missions. I certainly have not arrived so to speak and neither has the youth group I have been blessed to minister to. My life and His ministry are constantly and continually evolving and hopefully will continue to do so until The Lord brings me home! I never want to come to the place where I think "I have arrived."


The picture is the most recent I have of the Flippin FBC YOUTH Group! A least some of them from from 2012.


Isaiah 55:8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. 9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.


May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ's love!

God's Will for His People and His Church:

As I was seeking God’s will for His church, I did so with extreme sincerity. Over a period of several months, I found myself digging deeper and deeper into God’s word more than ever before. I also found my relationship with Christ maturing exponentially. By exponentially, I mean significantly deeper and with greater sincerity than ever before. The more the relationship grew, the stronger the desire, hunger and thirst I had for Christ became. All the while I was asking the BIG question; “What is God’s will for my life and for His church?” I think most want the answer to that question.


I quickly discovered, God was not about to give me a road map of His will for my life. Like everyone else, wanted a clear concise picture of how I was going to get from point A to point B. I believed if I had a map, so to speak, then I could easily obey God’s will. Sounds simple right? Wrong, spiritual obedience requires faith. Where is faith if life is spelled out by a road map? There is none. Faith is believing in what is not seen.


As I faithfully searched for the answers to my BIG questions, I found certain desires naturally surfacing. They way I worshipped became sincere and so much more than music. Worship was no longer about what pleased me, but how my life and song blessed God. I developed and increasing hunger to know and learn more about the Holy Bible and how it applied to my life. I no longer was satisfied with who and where I was. I wanted to grow and mature in my faith and character. Being around other Christians became more important and necessary to me. Missions work became more important to me and leading others to Christ became a daily passion.


Without becoming all theological, here is what God revealed to me through His word and through His Holy Spirit. Christianity is not about a specific plan or road map. God's will for our lives simply begins with this; repenting from our sinful self in order to follow Him. When Christ comes knocking on the door of your life, He reveals to you the gravity of your sin and the separation it creates between you and Him. If you are sincerely convicted by your sinful life, then you will desire change.


In order to open that so called door, you must repent. Not become perfect and sinless, but turn away from your sinful desires and nature. It is dying to a self directed life and surrendering to a Christ directed life. Paul said it best "I no long live, but Christ lives in me." In this way, your sinful self no longer directs your life, Christ does. Through this, you literally follow Him.


In repenting from sin by dying to self and following God's will by living in Christ; that is when those seemingly natural desires and passions emerged with in me. I am certain it is the work of the Holy Spirit within me. Gods will for our lives is not about a road map, it is about becoming what He has called us to be. As we become more like Christ, then we discover God's direction. At times He may give very precise instructions. Predominantly His will is that we trust Him in fulfilling the great commission in and through us no matter where you are in life. In our homes, at work, at school, during leisure, when ever and where ever God's greatest commission and will for our lives is making disciples (Matthew 28:19)


In short, God's will for our lives is to repent, follow Him, become a part of His body of believers and make disciples. In and through this process certain themes or practices emerge that are God's will for His people and for His Church. Here they are: Fellowship, worship, discipleship, evangelism, and missions.


Ironically, after God revealed to me His desire and will for me and for our youth group, I came across a book called “The Purpose Driven Youth Ministry. Written by Doug Fields.” I purchased the book and began to read it. Initially I expected to find what everyone else was doing. I expected to learn how to entertain teenagers most effectively and get them in through the church doors. To my surprise, God affirmed everything He had already placed upon my heart.


In The Purpose Driven Youth Ministry book, Doug outlines the purpose of the Church in these scriptures:


Matthew 28:19-20 therefore, go and make disciples of all nations. baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.


Matthew 22:37 "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.


Matthew 22:39 Love your neighbor as yourself.


Evangelism, that is what making disciples is all about. We are to go out and reach people for Christ, leading them to salvation through repentance and entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ.


Fellowship, thats the product of baptism. when someone is baptized they are symbolizing the fact that they have given their life to Christ. When you give your life to Christ, you become a part of the family of Christ. As a family, we must fellowship in order to strengthen our relationships and build one another up. We are called to be a body, not divided individuals.


Discipleship, is teaching others how to obey the word of God. It is also learning how to obey the word of God.


Worship, is all about loving The Lord with all your heart, soul and mind. Worship permeates every aspect of our expression. It effects our song, speech, character, obedience, works, discipline, habits, ethics, morals, values....


Missions, is loving your neighbor as yourself. It is about doing things for others. Maybe it's your neighbor next door, or maybe it's your neighbor on the other side of the world. Missions is being the hands, feet, mouth and heart of Jesus in this world.


So what is God's will for my life and for His Church? It certainly is not a road map although there will be times when God will give very specific direction. God's will first and foremost is that we repent and follow Him. Jesus himself said "unless you repent, you to will perish." (Luke 13:3,5) Repeatedly Jesus Christ is quoted throughout the gospels saying "Follow me." In following Him, He certainly wills our lives and His church to be centered around five specific areas. Fellowship, worship, discipleship, evangelism, and missions. Think about how the life of Jesus Christ clearly defined, expressed and set the example for all these areas?

In my personal testimony I experienced, if your life is truly in Christ and you align your life around these areas, you will no longer find yourself searching for the answers to God's will, you will find your life guided in God's will. You no longer are consumed about tomorrow, next week, or next year because you know God will lead guide and direct you each and every moment of each and every day. What I have discovered is that knowing God's will is directly related to the degree of my obedience and dependence on Him.


May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ's love!

The Search for the Purposes of Church

During the time I agreed to lead our Wednesday night youth and the day I surrendered to the ministry, I was attempting to mimic other youth pastors and their methods of ministry.  I really had no budget to work with and not much money of my own to invest.  What I did have I spent on trying to make our Wednesday night youth appealing to our local students.  Honestly, that was an epic failure.    God had called me into His ministry not my ministry or the ministry of someone else.  My failure was trying to fulfill and mimic what others were already doing.  I was not seeking what God wanted to be done. 

It is funny how we have it in our heads that God needs all the fancy gadgets and latest technology to reach the lost.  The irony was in what I did have.  The digital projector was broken, I had no laptop, and the youth building was and still is the old church with no pews.  We did have an old pool table, a ping pong table and one basketball goal.  The floors were and still are bare.  The walls are just a plain white with grungy smudges everywhere.   No fancy lights, no fancy décor, no band, and no cool place to just hang out. What we had and still have is the blah boring bare minimum, a scratchy sound system, and an old school plastic sheet projector.  Most youth would walk in and think “really, are you for real!” and walk out.  In spite of all this, we are blessed beyond measure, we really are.  Today we do have a working computer projector and a somewhat working laptop. 

After several weeks of leading the youth, reality set in.  God wanted something different than what I was attempting to create and mimic.  If He really wanted what I was trying to do He would have provided for those needs.  So the big question was; “What was it that God had planned?”

The first night I led youth, there was 9 students in attendance.   Several weeks later there were 12-15.  Obviously something was wrong.  Please do not be mistaken, it’s was not about how many kids you can draw in and entertain.  It is about making an impact in the life of a student for Christ.  If you have a hundred or even a thousand and not one life is reached for Christ, then it is all in vain.  If you only have one and that one life is changed for Christ, then it is all worth every effort you have made. 

One fact I knew for sure was; we had more than one in our community that needed to meet the Lord.  I also realized that what I was doing really wasn’t what The Lord wanted.  The kids I was ministering to were the kids of parents who had been attending our church for years.  They all grew up in the church and they were expected to be a part of the youth group.  Not that this was a bad thing, because it was not.  The problem was our youth ministry was bound by the walls and membership of our church.  God never intended it to be that way. 

I began to pray faithfully, “Lord, what is it that our youth need? How do you want me to lead and minister?”  As I became more faithful in praying and more in tune to listening to God’s voice instead of making sure God heard my voice, I began to hear what He desired.  I began to realize that what God wanted was not entertainment it was church.  I began to see what God’s church looked like.  It had no walls or fancy comfortable interiors.  God’s church was the people.  With that in mind, I began to focus on what we did have and not what I thought we should have.  I no longer sought after the images of other youth groups; I sought after the images of Christ’s church and its purpose.

God began to put things on my heart and my mind of what He wanted.  It seemed like every time I asked He would respond “Church!”  As I would read His word and pray, I began to realize what Church was suppose to look like and what its purposes were.  When we make church what we want it to be and not what God has called it to be it may look attractive and nice on the outside, but in the inside, it is dead.  In my next post I will share what God showed me, and how He confirmed the purposes of His church. 

 

The picture is of a church in Romania.  the inside was absolutely gorgeous.  The outside was surrounded by homeless people with great need. There is something wrong with that. 

Matthew 23:27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.

May my life be the proof and evidence of Christ’s love!

Bullying, and the Message it Sends

I was born with a kidney defect that prevented me from being able to control my bladder.  I honestly do not remember exactly what was wrong, but I know I had to have surgery to correct the problem.    Long story short, I had a bladder control problem and it did not go unnoticed.  It was not uncommon for me to wet my bed at night and even wet my pants at school.  Word got around pretty quick, for obvious reasons, that I was a bed wetter and a baby.  This title was the gateway to bullying. 

I remember the verbal teasing, the chasing, pushing, and even hitting that occurred on the playground and after school.  In elementary school, I distinctly remember a tire maze that was more of a trap for me.  After a few attempts to go in and play, I quickly learned it was not a safe place.  The tire maze, it was a trap for the timid and a safe haven for bullies.  The bullies, they could do and say whatever they wanted within the confines of the tire fortress.  Teachers could not see or hear what was going on within this labyrinth of tires.  Avoiding the tires was not the solution to my problem.  Hindsight, it made things worse.   Avoidance only proved I was a wimp and I was afraid making me a more desirable target.   

Not only was my bladder a problem, so was my self esteem.  I had little to no confidence and therefore I had no courage.  I was the kid who could strike out in t-ball.  When it came to neighborhood games and picking teams, I was always the last.  Well actually most of the time I heard things like, "We have enough", and "We do not need you".   On the rare occasion I did get to play, I usually heard things like, "You suck", "You stink", and "We do not want you on our team". 

Because of my problems and trials, I was extremely shy and timid.  I was however good at one thing, running.  I ran home every day from school.  I did not run for fun, I ran for my life.  If I did not run fast enough, I would be picked on, bullied and beat up.  That my friends made me very fast and gave me endurance like a bloody gazelle running from a pack of cheetahs.   

I could go on and on about my experiences of bullying.  However, that is not really what is important about this story.  What is important is the effects bullying had on me mentally, emotionally, and socially.  The message that I heard and believed was this:  "nobody likes you", "nobody wants you", "nobody cares for you", and" you will never amount to anything". 

The one regret I have, I never really ever told my parents or my older sister what I was going through.  The three people who loved me the most, I chose to hide these things from.

Bullying is a real problem and it is a bigger problem today than when I was a kid 30 plus years ago.  With the aid of technology, bullying has no boundaries.  You may ask; "why does God allow these things to happen."  I do not have the answer for every situation.  What I do know is this; God used my weakness and my hurts to make me who I am today.  For this reason, I am grateful.  

Me with a couple girls
that bullied me with body paint.
MFUGE - youth mission trip St. Louis

John 9:3 

"Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.

May my life be the proof and evidence of His love!