Ever had a big dream for youth ministry that you never got to implement?

In our seminars, students write down plans of action. They are charged up to begin working on their big goals. BUT, for some… many of these plans remain unfulfilled.

For in the places we hope to implement our vision we face opposition. There will be people we need to convince, leaders we need to motivate and young people who need to know what’s going on. We also need to work against our own fears and uncertainties. These may have the overall effect of discouraging us, making the dreams we thought were so good during the training end up being… just dreams. But they need not remain that way.

In this and the following posts let me state 3 things we need to do to get to our dreams.

The first is — Communicate the Vision Well.

Team Israel had a big dream. To take the land promised to them. It had eluded them for 40 years and at this moment they were ready to begin the process. There was one problem though—the man who had led them for 40 years was about to die, they were about to lose their leader.

As you strive to reach the vision of your youth ministry many changes are also occurring that might cause you to leave your dreams. Moses prepared his people for the coming change in his ministry by communicating the vision well.

The whole book of Deuteronomy was his last speech. Moses spoke. It is not the speech of a leader’s achievement. He speaks of God. Of What He has done in the life of the tribe. He speaks about what life will be like in the new land. But mostly his main point is to remind the group of their main purpose—to go in and take the land. (Deut. 1:8; 6:10; 9:5; 29:13; 30:20)

You too have specific purposes and a big dream for your ministry. Have you communicated this to your people? One way we have addressed this in our seminars is by asking you to define your dream and write down your purposes. But let me dig a little deeper. Is the dream you have something rooted in God’s Word? And does it give you excitement to see it come into reality? If not, perhaps this is not at all the purpose God has given for your group to accomplish and the first thing to do is to spend time with God, the Bible and the leadership team to come to a better understanding on what God would want your ministry to do. If it is, have you communicated it well? Like Moses, we need to speak to everyone of the big picture. To tell them of what God has done to bring us to this point and to also speak of what the future holds for the group.

After Moses was gone, the Israelites did not forget, they went on and succeeded in obtaining what had been promised to them. The ministry will continue, the vision will keep on, if it is communicated well.

This post is part of the YC  which we hope will be of use in your youth ministry. Other YC articles can also be downloaded or seen in the Resource Section of this website.

Personally, I confess that when it comes to physical food I love sweets. I love to eat candies and chocolates, especially. I have tasted many great chocolates and found them to be good. In fact it is not unusual for us to try to have some kind of sweets always available in the house.

This reminds me of what is spoken of in the Old Testament,

“How sweet are your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps. 119:103).

The psalmist speaks of God’s words as being as sweet as honey, but I think the sustaining, throughout the day, power of His Word, our food is found in the next verse,

“From your precepts I get understanding. Therefore, I hate every false way.” (Ps. 119:104)

Is it not easy to taste the sweetness of the Word, but then to look elsewhere later in the day for something to fill our soul that is not from Him? Chewing on the precepts of God’s words throughout the day gives us understanding. Simply eating sweets alone will not sustain us.

In another Psalm, the writer states,

“O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.” (Ps. 34:8).

Here I see again that the Lord does not want us to only taste (or sample) His goodness, but to take refuge, abide in Him. There is a stark contrast between sampling and abiding. True impact, life change and availability to God happens in the other 23 ½ hours a day that we may not be paused in front of the Scriptures, but in these hours of time we can have His word in our heart, mind and soul so that we can call upon the spiritual food reserves at any time.

What if we could position ourselves before the Lord in a way to chew on His truth throughout the day? What if we stored up the spiritual food in our pockets and pull it out throughout our day? We can be filled and led 24/7 by the Great Provider, but He bids us to come and eat with Him. Do not excuse yourself from the table with a full belly alone, but take His food with you. Two fish and 5 loaves will not sustain you forever, but when He multiplies and distributes His food in us through the Holy Spirit it will miraculously feed your hungry soul and leave more pieces for the feeding of those around you as you share His provisions. May you be fed spiritually and be a source of spiritual sustenance for those around you.

This post and the one before it are written by Chris Davis, as part of the YC which we hope will be of use in your ministry. Chris is the Executive Director of Global Youth Ministry Network and he also blogs over at GYMN-International.

I have noticed that when it comes to our spiritual life we tend to run on the premise of feast or famine.

This may be a new saying to some of you, but the idea is that either we have so much “feast” or we are starving “famine”. In the physical realm this is not the best way to life if at all possible. This is living a life on the extremes. In the physical realm when we have a feast, it slows us down as we tend to eat too much. However, if we are in a famine we have nothing to eat for many, many days which can cause us to not be able to function and become prone to diseases.

These same truths apply in the spiritual realm. I know that most of us would not say we are spiritually famished or that we get to live at a feast spiritually every day. So what is the healthy and balanced option?

I was personally pondering this the other day in the midst of feeding spiritually in the morning. I had felt as if God set the table of spiritual feasting right before me. But then I entered a time of reflection on my upcoming day and past days. I noticed the following. That I may even feast daily on His word and His presence and that is all good. I am glad for that kind of routine and God’s presence (though there are days when it is more like I am begging Him for food than feasting). However, I noticed a trend in my life and maybe you have seen this. My trend is to meet with Him but then find myself somewhat still in need spiritually throughout the day, finding myself spiritually hungry or not walking as I would like and not walking as I had committed to earlier in that day. Why is that? I asked myself that same question. I was thinking about all that I had just eaten spiritually. For some reason, I realized that as great as that was, it would not sustain me for 24 hours, probably. So what is one to do?

Maybe, the issue of feasting sounds totally fine and quite enjoyable. But in the physical realm doctors say it is best to eat more small meals throughout the day. As I recalled that health tip, I remembered that early in my walk with Christ, I became frustrated that I would meet with the Lord but then in our next meeting, usually in the next day or two, I felt as if I was reintroducing myself to Him, reconnecting and not feeling at home in Him and with Him all day. As a new believer I had seen people pray at meal times, so I thought that this would be a good way to connect with Christ throughout the day. I went beyond the basic “Thank you for this food” prayer but moved toward meditation at each meal. If possible I would get away from others and sup with the Lord. This spiritual feeding as I physically ate each day helped fulfill my spiritual cravings throughout the day.

Now here I am, 25 years later, asking the same question. Life has become too busy again at times. I find myself even skipping lunches to work (for Him). But as I reflect, I wonder if I am walking with Him throughout the day? Sure I feast with Him, but then I can run so quickly and feverishly that I rarely stop to meditate and digest His truths in the midst of the day. Pausing throughout the day is helping me to stay fed and nourished spiritually. I am still in this journey and looking for new ways to connect throughout the day with the Lord.

One new way that I have used is to keep a rock in my pocket. Here is how this has worked for me. I gathered a small bucket of rocks and as I feast with the Lord, I make a mark or write on the rock a symbol or word that reminds me of the spiritual truth or action that the Lord is leading me to carry with me through the day (and often for many days). I now realize how often I check my pockets throughout the day and feel that rock as a reminder that He is my Rock and He has something to share with me throughout the day. In the everyday items and actions we can be reminded about God.

Brother Lawrence mentioned the following in his Maxims:

“Men invent means and methods of coming at God’s love, they learn rules and set up devices to remind them of that love, and it seems like a world of trouble to bring oneself into the consciousness of God’s presence. Yet it might be so simple. Is it not quicker and easier just to do our common business wholly for the love of him?”

(A free downloadable copy of this and other classic books can be found by clicking here).

Related Post: Feast or Famine: Spiritual Food Reserves

A new commandment I give to you, that you agapē one another…

In the gospels, Jesus gave the commandment “Agapē one another” to his disciples only toward the end of his earthly ministry and in as simple a sentence as possible. One reason is that it was better shown in his actions, how he treated and engaged his disciples in love, than in his words. He demonstrated it more than talked about it. To build the fellowship in our ministry, we would do well to follow this example, showing love more than speaking of it and later on simply saying “Follow my example as I follow Christ.” For many committed Christians, it was the actions of their leaders more than their words that had the most profound impact in their lives.

“Just as I have agapēd you, you also are to agapē one another.”

Our greatest example is our Lord. After giving those words, he went on to demonstrate agapē for us in the most poignant way possible, dying on an instrument of shame and humiliation so that we would be redeemed. May his example draw you on to agapē your youth group in that same way.

Agapē has an onward focus.

One of the dangers of fellowship that leaders fear is that the youth within the group might get to like each other so much that they become unwelcoming of newcomers and make it hard for new youth to fit in. Growing groups into agapē does involve the danger of becoming an exclusive group.

Also as the fellowship becomes like family, like families there may be bickering and fights. Growing up I had a love-hate relationship with my brother. There were times when we would be the best of friends. But quite often our differences in temperament and perspective would rub against each other and we would end up disagreeing on everything and fighting. Youth groups also tend to follow this trend. Minor differences turn into major disagreements.

In the Bible there was such a group who had their differences. There was one person who believed he could eat anything, while another who only ate vegetables. Another person felt a special day should be set to honor the Lord, while to someone else all days were the same. Each one it seemed was fully convinced of his case. Apostle Paul gave this prescription for that group:

The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ~Romans 14:5-7

He then turned the focus to Jesus concluding with: “Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” Romans 14:18-19

The same prescription can be applied to us. The way for our group to not become combative with one another as it grows is that each person must continue to look onward to Jesus. As we look toward him we begin to see that we can work together even in our differences. We begin to live for him and not for ourselves.

Living for Jesus would also prevent us from being exclusive as the quality of His love for us is such that we would also want others to know and share in it.  You can begin to lead this onward focus in many ways: By showing your passion for Jesus in your service to him. In speaking about him not just during group meetings but even in casual conversations. And including him in every aspect of your life.

There is an element that can make or break your youth ministry. I have seen it draw many a seeking youth into the group, and I know of two personally who left the youth group because this vital element was missing. Indeed it is this very quality in my youth group that made Christianity attractive to me again and started me on a path of deeper fellowship with Jesus.

It can be found in the words of Jesus in John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” The word “love” today has many meanings so for these series of posts let me use its synonym “agapē” instead. C. S. Lewis, in his book The Four Loves, defines agapē as “A love that is passionately committed to the well-being of the other.” I will use that definition as we take a closer look at agapē and why it should become a mark of your youth group.

Agapē has an inward focus.

Often times we take the fellowship of our youth group for granted. We pour out our attention and effort toward those who we want to come into our ministry and take less time and energy in building relationships between those who are already in the group. And it is important.

Without a strong fellowship no strategy for evangelism will be effective in the long run. We might share the message of the God who is love and draw the youth into our group but if they don’t see that love of Jesus working in our group, the young people will be dismayed and eventually leave, perhaps in no better a condition than when they came. This is where agapē for those in our group comes in.

Agapē was Jesus focus too. A look at the gospels would show that Jesus spent most of his ministry with his disciples instead of with the crowds. Shouldn’t we also spend the same proportion of our ministry doing the same?

Lastly, agapē was a distinctive characteristic that Jesus wanted us to show. He didn’t say they would know that we are His disciples by the number of our group, or the status of each individual in it. Rather he said: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have agapē for one another.”

So take a moment and reflect:

Have you become so focused on reaching those outside to the neglect of those inside your youth group?

Or (if you have already begun to build on the fellowship):

Are there areas where we can improve on building agapē within our group?

The great thing about agapē is that it is actually one of the easiest things to begin in a group. It requires little if any planning or programs. It is as simple as taking time to listen to one of your young people. Saying words of appreciation to someone.  A pat on the back. Or helping someone out in what he is doing. And it can begin with any one person for agapē is not dependent on one teacher.

Now that you have understood the three basic learning styles and have seen some specific examples of the styles, you need to be able to look at your lesson aim and find ways to connect your teaching elements to the aim. You need to think about your aim and see what elements (or method of instruction) will help you connect to all types. This will probably mean you need a variety of elements to insure you capture everyone involved. You have to realize that you do not know what learning style each person has, so you have to offer options for all and in this way everyone will connect to the aim at some point.

As you outline your lesson, beginning with the aim and working down through the actions you want to take, it is essential to include all types of learning styles as you go. For example, you may want to have pictures, videos or handouts for the visual learners. Use music, your verbal teaching and small groups for the auditory learners. For the tacitile/kinesthetic learners utilize the small groups as well as an involved project or building of objects and group movement, activities or dramas. Once you have some ideas then you have an outline for a lesson that meets. Putting these ideas into action will lead the students to that aim through teaching methods that meet them where they are (their learning style).

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All of the above is incredible and very practical to know as a teacher and it works for all kinds of teaching. But, in the ministry of Jesus Christ we have to have the power of God through His Holy Spirit as our guide. Though we end this article with this section, it should be your first thought in teaching. In fact, the Holy Spirit along with Christ are to be the center part of our teachings. If we do not keep them as front and center then all of the above is temporary earthly knowledge. Jesus promised all believers that, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another helper (Counselor), that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth…” (John 14:16-17a, NASB)

As you teach to groups of any size keep these elements in mind regarding the learning styles of others. You will find that God will give you creative ways to engage people into the lessons. Even as you read Scripture take note of the different ways that God taught His people and how Jesus Himself taught. Jesus Himself was the master teacher and He taught with style, now go and do likewise!

Chris Davis
Executive Director – Global Youth Ministry Network