Youth Worker BOOST: A Shining Light

ym360 knows youth workers. We know what an incredibly rewarding, yet incredibly challenging job youth ministry can be. There are days when your spirits are sky-high, and there are days when you could use a bit of a “pick me up” from God's Word . . . That's why we're happy to offer Youth Worker Boost, one of the many valuable resources on the ym360 Blog.

Boost is a short, weekly piece of encouragement designed to, well, “boost” your spirits and encourage you as you minister to students. We consider it yet another great opportunity to serve you and your ministry.

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"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."--Matthew 5:14-16

The people in Jesus' day understood what it was like to walk around in darkness.

When the sun went down there were no lights from business or homes to light up the night. No street lights to guide you on your way. In this environment, even the smallest light, such as an oil-burning lamp, could be seen for miles. The effect magnifies when the light is a collection of lamps in the houses of a city.

We have a small idea of what this is like. When the power goes off in our houses, we light candles or fire up the flashlights. In the absence of electric lights, it's amazing how much light a candle flame or the beam from a single flashlight can create. It doesn't take a lot of light to drive away the darkness. 

As ministers to teenagers, we grapple with the spiritual darkness of the world our students exist in. We challenge our students to "be a shining light in a dark world." But more than anything, our lives must display the same "light." We need to heed Christ's teaching, as well. As much as anything, our students desperately need to see us living out our faith, not only at church, but in our day-to-day lives.

By letting your light shine, you might just be the encouragement your students need to be a spiritual light in their world.

Our prayer for you: We pray that you would heed Christ's call to be light in your world. We pray that you would be a bold example for your students of what it looks like to follow Christ in our world today.

Last Week's BOOST: The Big Crowd

Next Week's BOOST: Why Is Life Unfair?

Get more BOOST articles HERE!