Proper Focus
When my youngest daughter was 12 she went with me to a regional Teen Talent (now Fine Arts Festival) and Bible Quiz competition. There were several hundred students at the same motel, so she wanted to stay and swim while I went to eat with the other District Youth Directors. (D-CAP as it was called then)
On the way back to the motel, I stopped at McDonalds to get her something to eat. It was dark when I arrived, but I could hear the students still playing in the pool. The lighting was dim, but I started in direction of the pool. I was focused on finding my daughter in the pool. In fact I was so focused that I failed to see the “kiddie pool” that was between me and the regular pool. Consequently, I walked right into the middle of the kiddie pool.
Of course the students all got a good laugh out of that. “Did you enjoy your swim?”
There are times when it is not “healthy” to be narrow in your focus. You don’t always see everything you need to see. Have we in youth ministry been so focused on those students 12-18 that we have failed to see the larger picture of what happens before they get to “my youth ministry” and what happens to them after they leave? Is that one of the reasons we lose so many students when they graduate from high school?
Over the last several years many churches changed the name of youth pastor to “pastor of student ministries”. Unfortunately, for most it is only a name change and not a focus change. Isn’t a second grader a student too? Isn’t a sophomore in college a student? If we are about student ministry, maybe we need to include ALL students under a certain age. (For years the bylaws of the National Youth Department stated it was for youth up to their early twenties)
I wonder what kind of disciples could be produced if the “pastor of student ministries” was the pastor from the time a person entered the first grade until they either graduated from college, dropped out of college or went full time in the work force. Can you imagine the type of continuity of vision and purpose a student would experience?
Maybe it’s time that we in youth ministry expand our focus beyond the 6 years that a student is in the “youth ministry” or is that being to kingdom minded?
Blessings!
Cecil
2 Responses to “Proper Focus”
This very issue came up in discussion recently during a meeting between youth pastors, the DYD, Chi Alpha Missionaries, and me. As we discussed the numbers and statistics that have come to haunt so many of us recently we started to talk about possible solutions. Obviously, it relies upon some of what Cecil mentioned in the fact that a mind shift needs to take place in what we are focussed on. Is our job as a youth pastor to grow a youth ministry to a certain number with discipleship, worship, etc. so that our youth ministry will be considered healthy? OR, is it our job to grow a student that will be healthy not only during the years of youth ministry but also leading up to young ministry and following the years of youth ministry. As we were discussing this mentality during the meeting, it dawned on me that while I was in youth ministry I had a “director” for just about everything. I had a person that did worship, someone who did discipleship, someone who did Campus Missions, etc.; however, I didn’t have anyone that focussed on these important transitions. Honestly, I was thinking about the transition out of youth ministry because that was the focus of our discussion. However, wouldn’t it be a good idea to have people who would oversee the transitions of students both coming into youth and going out of youth. We plan and build strategy for everything - why not this? I’m not sure what that strategy would look like, but I am sure there are guys out there that are doing it already and I’m sure the rest of us could gain insight from their wisdom. Just a thought!
By Kevin Dawson on Aug 11, 2008
There is a church in our district that has merged the two ministries (children & youth). The children and youth pastors have a close relationship where they do ministry together. The childrens’ ministry carries the same name as the youth ministry. They just add “kids” at the end of it. The intention is to raise a person and not a program. They assist each other in minstry and outreaches so that relationships can be established early on. The Jr. high minstry consists of 5-7 graders and they lead it together. This is one model at work.
Good topic cecil.
By Jason Lamer on Aug 11, 2008