Youth Worker BOOST: The Dream Team

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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But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.--1 Corinthians 1:27-29

The year was 1992 and the International Olympic Committee made what was, at the time, a rather remarkable decision that professional athletes could play in Olympic sports such as basketball. Up to this point it had only allowed amateur athletes. The US was supposedly tired of getting whipped by other countries. So, as you older youth workers will certainly recall, USA Basketball put together "The Dream Team."

The US went from fielding a team of college students to running out future Hall of Famer's Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, "Magic" Johnson, and Michael Jordan, among others. Needless to say, the Dream Team dominated the competition and won the gold medal without much of a test. The interesting thing is that the basketball teams from the other countries almost seemed in awe of the Dream Team. The look on their faces at times was simply, "Wow."

Have you ever caught yourself looking at another youth worker--maybe a friend, or that guy or girl down the road--and being in awe of their ability to communicate or connect?

It's OK to admit it if you have. It happens to a lot of us at one time or another. Sometimes we as youth ministers think God is in the business of putting together a spiritual "Dream Team" to carry out His purposes. We look at our own gifts and abilities and sometimes feel very inadequate. How awesome is it that God doesn't work that way? (What a relief!)

God isn't as interested in your ability as He is your availability.

When we admit and embrace our weakness, His power shines.

Our prayer for you: Our prayer for you today is that you would realize that you are who God made you to be. You have the exact blend of passion and talent to do the job He called you to. We pray that you would see that your weakness can and should be your biggest strength.

Last Week's BOOST: Separation Anxiety

Next Week's BOOST: Reconciliation

Get more BOOST articles HERE!