Youth Worker BOOST: Running The Race

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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Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. --Hebrews 12:1

Athletes who run track and field are always looking for any advantage they can find. Many times that means using light weight shoes and clothing. At the highest levels of competition even an ounce of extra weight can mean the difference between a first and second place.

I wonder if the writer of Hebrews was a runner? It seems like he totally grasped the importance of “running light.”

The imagery in Hebrews 12:1 speaks to the idea of ridding ourselves of the distractions that get in the way of our pursuit of Christ. In our day to day life we get bogged down by the weight of quite a few things: schedule, family, work, culture, and of course, sin, among others. The weight of all of these can keep us from successfully running and/or finishing the race God has put before us.

To be an effective youth minister is to stay focused on the task of following God, uninhibited, each day.

To stay on track we must daily confess our sin to God, fight the fight of staying on course, and keep our eyes on the calling God has placed in or hearts.

Our prayer for you: Our prayer for you today is that you would do the heart-work to remove those weights in your life that are slowing you down, and trust God to give you the spiritual strength to move forward with new energy.

Last Week's BOOST: Living Your Teaching

Next Week's BOOST: Affirmation

Get more BOOST articles HERE!