The goal for student ministry shouldn’t be random, spin-the-bottle, haphazard teaching. It should be intentional. We are training teens to be adults and raising them in their faith in the Word.

“Teachers are trained and seasoned to lead people and teach people, to guide people and to counsel people, to minister to people,” Jeff says. “You’re learning skills that translate from spiritual truths, like go make disciples.”

“I wanted so desperately to be involved that, as I got older, I became overextended without even noticing it. But I want to be laser-focused on making disciples that make disciples.”

Youth Director Mason Wilson writes about his earliest years in ministry.

Sadly, like Israel, believers and local churches alike, are tempted to ditch God after He has so richly blessed. While His blessings should reciprocate in praise and obedience to Him, instead, memory loss and confusion about how and why these blessings came about sets in. Subliminally, certain leaders in the ministry will conclude that their genius and efforts were and are the reason for the success being experienced.

People are always spouting off their reasons why they can’t submit to the word of God. They express their caveats, saying, “The word of God can’t have total authority in my life because I’m a democrat/republican/libertarian/this/that first.” In this post Pastor Sam Miles responds by addressing who we really are, who we have been made to be…in spite of all our excuses.

The world can never have peace in their lives until they have peace with God through salvation. The scripture is not giving us a suggestion to seek peace with “some men”, but rather with “all men”. I was making excuses based on my situations, but the scripture was crashing into my world because I was not sharing my peace—Jesus—with all men. I was saved, but I was afraid to declare Jesus, as it would separate me from the world.

Believe it or not, the Lord isn’t as concerned with how many people you are influencing as he is with your willingness to obey Him with all your heart. Pastor Beau Green discusses the perceived expectations verses the true expectations of leadership in God’s economy.

For 2,000 years, growing Christians have been looking to Timothy as a model for what their own personal faithfulness should look like. His testimony is particularly significant to young people because of his age as well as the manner in which his spiritual growth is displayed. We see the pattern of his life from one faith proposition to another, growing from a spiritual child to a developed pastor and leader at a young age.

For young adults, it is important to recognize the challenges the age with the intent that we choose to pursue the great commission regardless of culture’s obstacles. While notions about your generation may be pervasive, it is important to recognize that the Christian isn’t obligated to be in bondage to them. Because of biblical truth, the millennial Christian can live without being controlled by other people's thoughts.

This article is part of a three part series that discusses the need for our leaders to invest in the lives of future generations. Making Missionaries of Millennials pt 1: The Prejudice calls us to be aware of our own generational bigotry and points to a biblical philosophy to combat it.

I am passionate about one-on-one discipleship because it pointed me to follow Jesus and not my pastor. I am passionate about discipleship because I had some deep-rooted beliefs that were challenged and corrected through the word of God. I am passionate about discipleship because it directed me to see the freedom in submitting to the authority of scripture… not just believing what the bible said, but also submitting to its truths. I am passionate about discipleship because I have seen many lives changed because of it.

Over the years the Lord has been gracious to mature me to a place where I can recognize the things I struggled to understand as a young man. Wisdom isn't limited by age but by your willingness to obey God's Word and be sensitive to the work of his Spirit. I pray all of the young people in our church learn to recognize their own spiritual blind spots and weaknesses and pray God lead them to mortify those things in light of his leading.