Invisible Student Ministry

Josh on November 18th, 2008

Sometimes youth ministry can feel invisible. With adults being the focus of most churches, student ministry can feel like an afterthought. But it isn’t all bad news – there are two sides of the coin being an invisible student ministry:

No one seems to care
Here’s the positive side to youth ministry invisibility – you’ve got a ton of freedom as leadership focuses on other projects or ministries. In some ways, there’s a healthy element of trust when you are off of leadership’s radar. We’ve got the ability to really run with the purposes and pursue what God is calling us to do with students. Even this past weekend we tried some really new things in our high school ministry, and because we’re to a degree “out of sight and out of mind,” leadership trusted us with the risk we were taking. Being out of the line of site can be a very good thing as you can move at light speed and try new ideas without hindrance.

No one seems to care
But there’s a downside to invisibility as well. No one seems to care, which affords great freedom to run, but is also exactly the problem … no one seems to care. You could be doing fantastic ministry with lives being changed, but feel completely alone. Little encouragement. Little celebration. Little fulfillment. Invisibility is a double edged sword that cuts deep after success (or failure) and no one notices. It’s great when you’re running with a new idea, but painful when you’re tired the day after and you’re exhausted.

If you are a leader of adults in your church, encourage your youth worker today. She probably hasn’t heard from you in a while. If you are a youth pastor, know you are making a difference for the Kingdom and are completely visible to God. His eyes are the only ones that truly matter, even when you are hoping for someone else’s pat on the back coming off a big win (or loss). If you are a team leader, cheer them on, as it might not be coming from anywhere else.

Youth ministry cannot be invisible to the church. We need to be visibly united to the church’s vision. Send an email to the elders. Ask for space in the adult bulletin to celebrate the success. Unite as a team and be encouraged in the fight against the Enemy. Do whatever it takes to enjoy the freedom of leadership in your area, be thankful for that trust, but never settle for being invisible.

JG

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brian at 7:53am November 19

This was good. I needed it. I went to bed the other night thinking about this. It seems that teenagers are always disruptive or always doing something wrong in the church’s eyes. This can be frustrating, considering I never hear anything positive about our students from the church. I was reading Esther, “You are here for such a time as this.” I believe God has me where I am at because these students need a champion. I serve Christ and love Him.

Keep it up Josh. You are doing great! God is using you in great ways.