The Perfect Student Ministry is Not an Accident
Matt settled into his Youth Ministry Philosophy 101 class and discovered many of his predetermined assumptions were being challenged. He began facing the realization that “doing student ministry” was more than simply running meetings and activities.
Up until this point his ministry had just happened, now he was confronted with the truth of “Intentional Ministry.” He was open to this approach but it would require a major strategic change in his ministry execution and thinking.
Matt’s teacher said, He went on to suggest three concepts he had gleaned from a book called The Greenhouse Project, Cultivating Students of Influence which provided a strategic template for cultivating students within the ministry:
Tweet ThisEnlist – This generation is attracted to a cause! They follow people of passion whose lives are authentic.
Equip – Discipleship is not “one size fits all”: we must formulate a “growth plan” or strategy for each student.
Engage – It is time to engage students in evangelism and discipleship as culture-shapers.
Matt was intrigued with these concepts and even felt a little guilty. The only student enlistment he had ever done was for activities or youth camps. He was embarrassed to admit he had not prepared the students to be culture-shapers.
Somewhere in the midst of Matt’s deep thoughts about his student ministry he discovered that his hand was raised and he heard his teacher calling his name. “Yes, Matt, you have a question?” Matt swallowed hard, buried his pride and formulated his question: “What does an Intentional Life-Change Ministry Model look like?” His teacher responded…
Intentional Life-Change Ministry Model
- Teaching solid Biblical content
- Developing students to take responsibility for their own spiritual walk
- Training godly adult leaders who do “life-on-life” discipleship
- Creating partnerships between parents and student ministry
- Developing students with a Biblical worldview to be culture shapers
- Answering real-life questions with the truth of scripture
- Focusing on life-change, not life management
Matt’s teacher explained how the class would discuss other components but these were some of the core concepts to be considered. His quest to discover the “Perfect Student Ministry” was well underway.
I will be addressing each of these areas as though I was Matt’s professor. I hope you will follow Matt’s progress as well as make comments on the posts to help with the dialogue along the way. I value your input.
- (12/2/15) A Quest for the Perfect Student Ministry
- (12/30/15) The Perfect Student Ministry is Not an Accident
- (1/27/16) The Perfect Student
- (2/17/16) The Perfect Student Leader
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During January 2016, I am offering a “Free” downloadable tool called, “Beyond the Status Quo: Getting from Desire to Discipline.” This document includes:
- Getting from Desire to Discipline
- Example of a Personal Growth Plan
- Personal Growth Plan Template
- Recommended Books List
- Questions for Self-Evaluation, by John Wesley
I want to challenge you to join me in “Creating a Personal Growth Plan” for 2016. Beginning today you can download this “FREE” tool! Why not decide today to make 2016 a personally productive year?
Is the personal growth plan download still available? The link is broken.
Esther, thank you for you note and yes the “Getting from Desire to Discipline” download is still available. It should be at the top right section of my website. I have had reports of it being intermittent in “Internet Explorer” from time to time. It also will not show on a mobile phone. If you try Chrome, FireFox or Safari, you should be okay. If not, let me know and I will email it to you.