So, I've really been thinking about the purpose of the church...what we are here to accomplish and how we do it. I think we, as in the North American church, have gotten very good at programs. We've gotten very good at putting on a show. We've gotten very good at counting numbers. But what I'm finding is that we don't do a great job of discipleship. I was recently captivated, like many others around the church, by the Willow Creek "Reveal" study, where they found (they studied both Willow Creek attenders, as well as attenders from 6 other churches) that numbers don't tell the whole story of spiritual health.
This topic has always been one to peak my interest because at heart many of my gifts are in discipleship, mentoring, small groups, etc. I love to see people, especially teenagers, "get it" and start to "live it". It is my passion that each one of the students who walks through the door of our ministry would have the opportunity to grow placed in front of them. I would hate it if all they saw was a program. Don't get me wrong, we have some great teachers at our church. Our student ministry team is really talented and gifted when it comes to teaching and preaching. But I don't think the messages we give always have the impact we are looking for by giving them. Sometimes students do actually listen to what we say, but if we don't follow those messages up with a conversation where they can really think and act on what was heard, the impact will not be very far reaching.
I believe that we, as student ministry staff and volunteers need to focus our attention on the individual journey of each student. The problem is, and you might agree, that there are only 24 hours in a day and we sleep for at least 8 of those (or at least I do), so how are we supposed to focus on each student when there are so many of them? I am convinced that we are not the only ones who have the ability to do this. I believe that if we focus on a few key students and train them to have these same intentional conversations with their friends, the impact will be much farther reaching. As Mike Breaux so nicely put it, we are looking for a "ripple effect". But it starts with one. It starts with pouring our lives into students in a way that leaves them asking the important questions, challenges them to seek after God, and gives them the resources and instruction to reach their friends. I believe then, and only then, will our ministry gain meaning and purpose in this world and beyond.
