Hi guys. I’m a long-time reader and first-time blogger. So, some things you may need to know about me: I don’t do words — I’ve just never been good at reading them, putting them together in sentences or speaking them. I left class for speech until the 7th grade and then lost my front four teeth in college. Words are hard… but at least I have nice handwriting? I’m a carpenter, a wannabe craftsman, a former welder and former Display Artist for Urban Outfitters. I went from the church janitor to a pastor. I say all that to say: praise the Lord for the Words of God! Without them I would have nothing worth saying. There will be Bible principles below — praise the Lord for that! The rest are words from a simple man (who has served the youth for 17+ years) trying to live them out.
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
So what are the top three things to remember as a youth minister?
1. Position. Youth ministry (and also children’s ministry) is not a babysitting program. It's not designed to separate the adolescents from the adults so adults can worship in a perfect live-streamed environment free from teenage angst. We must understand the humble position God has placed us in as we open the Word of God with the souls of the greatest among us.
Matthew 18:1-3 At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 18 starts with humbling ourselves (as a child). Youth, in particular, are on a seven-year bridge from “child” to “adult”. They need gentle care and attention. They are our fruit. They are the next generation of leaders. They are the Church. Jesus is the vine, and they are branches that deserve our resources (Pro. 22:6 and Psa. 71:17).
But let’s take it one further; Matthew 18 continues with the most sobering reality of youth ministry.
Matthew 18:6 But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
To avoid this pitfall, we have to be prayed up and walking in the Spirit. Just this last Sunday, I wanted to put that millstone on an adult's neck that was severely disrupting our Harvest Kids classes. I know pastors aren't supposed to say that, so don’t worry, guys. I took a deep breath, cast that imagination to the Lord and didn’t let my anger become sin. It was a close one, though. In all seriousness, praise the Lord for our senior pastors because they have to deal with those adults. Speaking of looking into the mirror, that brings us to #2.
2. Pattern. So, if I don’t want a millstone around my neck, how do I create the perfect environment for our youth? Well, you’re asking a good question today. Command “C,” Command “V.” You copy and paste. At Harvest, our youth ministry is just a mirror of how Pastor Alan runs our discipleship ministry. Pre-pandemic, the youth used to meet in the only part of our church that was on the 2nd floor, so we went by the name UpperRoom. The name was not as important as the process we would partake in: #MakeReady.
Mark 14:15 And he will shew you a large upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for us.
Our mission matched the pattern of our discipleship ministry. One version of our class logo contains four square steps that match the pattern of the four goals of discipleship. Youth ministry is the mission field that God has entrusted us with, and at its core, it’s no different than that of the church. The pandemic changed where we met — we had to leave the UpperRoom as the adults moved into our gymnasium. We also had to change when we primarily met — our church was now “out of room” on Sundays, so our ministry had to move to the auditorium on Wednesdays. We even had to change who met — we combined middle and high school to adapt to the other changes. Yet, despite all these “changes,” nothing changed. Our community remained consistent. We flexicuted (we adjusted) but still stuck to the four goals of discipleship. We have:
Praise - We are established in worship. God is worthy of our worship, so we pray for 15 minutes. God is worthy of our worship, so we praise for 15 minutes. (Seriously, praise the Lord for our youth-led praise team! I am rich, and they outshine my 30 minutes of preaching every week.)
Preach - We are established in the Word of God. It doesn’t return void (Isa. 55:11). As youth ministers, if we are not expository preaching what the Bible says, then what are we even doing? Please, step away from the millstone, pick up the Bible and preach from the Bible dispensationally. Despite our ever-looming millstone, preaching from the Bible is the most freeing act. Even simple men like myself can preach because we don’t have to create anything. We just expose the Truth that the God of the Word has already provided.
Play - We are established in fellowship. We are unified in one accord — we can even go against each other in friendly competition. (Show me an adult athletics league that maintains its testimony as well as kids do.) Yes, we hand out a lot of sugar to fuel nine square, gaga ball and frisbee. Yes, we eat a lot of pizza during Friday Bible studies. Yes, we are so sore after youth camp. But to watch relationships with the Lord grow and friendships blossom is the greatest gift.
Participate - We are established in the work of the ministry. We “make ready” so the students can reach out to their friends. We "make ready" so they can serve among the Body. The youth are an important part of the Body, and there’s tons of ministry collaboration as we integrate with the church. (For example, our college and career class serve and train the youth with us on 5th Wednesdays, and the youth serve and train in the children’s ministry on 5th Sundays.) And that brings us to the final thing to remember as a youth minister — Provision.
3. Provision. The youth minister has to let the Lord provide. He must rely on the toolbox that the Lord has provided: the Word of God, the Holy Spirit and the church. He can’t be a lone wolf and operate in the flesh.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
Personally, this is hard for me. I am a patient, hard-working Ephesian Christian that has not fainted, but I must not leave my first love. If you lose your devotion to and the provision of your daily bread, well, you’ll lose your devotion to the Lord and the ability to walk in the Spirit. I don’t care if you have to read your Bible on your phone while you are on the toilet in the morning — DO IT! Leading your flock of “the greatest among us” in the flesh leads to shipwreck. I’m fortunate that I lack skill at leading, that my brain only loves the words that come from God, and that I am deathly afraid of public speaking. To complete just one week of ministering requires complete dependence both on the Lord and on the leaders he’s provided to me.
1 Samuel 1:26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.
I’ve made plenty of silly mistakes, and God has used the people in the church to lift me up. I’ve run my mouth in LFBI, and Pastor Sam still loved me. I told Pastor Alan how it should be done, and he still showed me mercy. I’ve made bad decisions with the youth, and my co-laborer, Jesse Bowman, built me back. I’ve not been able to finish a task, and my help-mate, Alison, showed me grace. I have to stop myself from focusing on the extras, the details and the dressings. They are important — especially to a vain person like myself — but they are not the main thing. I’m fully aware my capacity is limited, so I rely on my volunteers; together we partner with parents as we all minister to these kids with an open Bible (just as Jesus, the Word made flesh, sat with the children).
For more, take LFBI’s 8 week class Children’s and Youth Ministry. Pastor-Doctor-Mr. Best had me crying within the first 45 minutes. (Praise the Lord I was watching at my church and on the front row so no one could see my face.) There’s just so much. “Making Ready” is not for the faint of heart.
1 Peter 5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
Brett Kesinger is a pastor leading the high school ministry at Harvest Baptist Church in Blue Springs, MO.
