December 26, 2023 YM360 Blog

The Top 3 Online Articles of 2023

WE HOPE THAT 2023 WAS A FANTASTIC YEAR FOR YOU AND YOUR YOUTH MINISTRY. WE CONSIDERED IT A BLESSING TO HAVE COME ALONGSIDE YOU AND EQUIPPED YOU WITH ONLINE ARTICLES AND TRAINING POSTS THIS YEAR. ALTHOUGH WE HOPE THAT EVERY POST HAS BEEN BENEFICIAL TO YOU, THERE WERE A FEW THAT STOOD OUT TO YOU AND OTHER YOUTH WORKERS LIKE YOU. TO CELEBRATE THE END OF A YEAR OF MINISTRY, WE WANT TO REVISIT THOSE POSTS TODAY! LOOK BELOW TO SEE THE TOP 3 ONLINE ARTICLES AND TRAINING POSTS OF 2023!

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7 WAYS TO BUILD A CULTURE OF DISCIPLESHIP

It has been my experience in ministry that there is a divide between the “churched” and the “un-churched.” In my opinion, this all comes down to one question. Are we leading them to the cross or expecting to save them ourselves? Our job, my friend, is to lead them to the cross. It is Jesus’ job to save them, not ours. Our perspective on this specific issue makes or breaks the impact of what we, as leaders, call ministry.

I remember being told this on the first day I asked to be a youth leader in my now 27-year-old son’s youth group. At the time, I had a “savior” view on life. My own insecurities led me to desire to be the savior. I wanted to be the rescuer, but that’s not my job – it never was.

“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:45

We can read over this verse and never let it marinate. I know I have so many times. As a Youth Pastor now, I am finally, after years, beginning to understand this, and it is taking my ministry to a whole new level! Why do we need a whole new level, you might ask? Because revival has been breaking out all over the United States in recent months. This is what we, as Youth Workers, have been praying for, some for weeks, some for months, and some for years. So what are we going to do with it? What will we do when our youth rooms are overflowing? What will we do when our old youth couches and chairs are filled with all the teens coming to youth night because they want to experience this Jesus they have heard about? This Jesus who will love them despite their “huge failures, struggles, mess-ups, and deep emptiness?” They’ve been chasing sex, pornography, drugs, alcohol, electronics, and meaningless relationships that will bring them nothing but more emptiness. They will be coming, searching for what we know to be the only true thing that can fill their hearts, Jesus.

Are we ready to receive them? Are we prepared to love them? Are we willing to meet them where they are, in ALL their brokenness, hurt, and failures? Are we ready to lead them to the cross and not take the glory for ourselves? Are we prepared to meet them where Jesus met us? Will we love them as Jesus loved us, with complete compassion, despite their appearance or how they wear their sin? Despite whom they are dating, what they are watching, or if they’re wearing their sin visibly or hiding it. Will we receive them?

So how do we lead them to the cross? This is the question that keeps us up at night. This is no simple task, and it has a lot of weight. So let's get into it!

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CULTIVATING BIBLICAL LITERACY IN STUDENT MINISTRY

I love when our new or younger students are blissfully ignorant and insatiably curious about the Bible. I remember years ago when a student said that Christ would be on the back of Jesus' football jersey because it was His last name! He didn't know any better, and that's okay. I just loved that he was so interested in knowing more about Jesus and was willing to stumble through his lack of knowledge to get there. But as Youth Leaders, we have a responsibility to bring students from a place of ignorance and confusion to a place of clarity and Biblical Literacy.

Biblical Literacy is a person's familiarity with the Bible and his/her ability to correctly and consistently comprehend, interpret, and apply the Bible. Biblically literate people do not have to be able to answer every Bible trivia question, but they are familiar with the Bible's books, genres, messages, characters, and history. They may not be able to teach God's Word, but they have the skills and habits to read and study it for themselves. This is a major goal of Christian discipleship, and student ministry plays an important part in the process. How can we cultivate this crucial characteristic in our student ministries?

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5 TIPS FOR BUILDING BETTER PARTNERSHIPS WITH PARENTS

I’m a parent of a freshman in high school and a 7th grader. You could say that I’m in the trenches of parenting. I miss the days when a lollipop and a bandaid fixed most issues. The issues my kids and most other teenagers face today require much more than a trip to the Chick-fil-a playground (RIP). My husband and I delicately try to find the balance between instructing our teens and letting them form independence on their own. Thankfully, we have a village of people who have come alongside us in our parenting journey, so we do not have to do this alone.

Often, by the time students get into middle and high school, the parent involvement in student ministry has diminished. Students are dropped off at the door and picked back up when the time is over. It’s not uncommon to not see a parent at all. However, there’s something beautiful that happens when parents are engaged in the student ministry alongside their children.

You want the best for the students. You want them to grow in their faith and become adults that love and follow Jesus. So do their parents. When parents and the student ministry form a partnership, parents will view the student ministry as a lifeboat instead of the teen club on a cruise ship.

How can our student ministries bridge the gap between home and the church?

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