In youth ministry it is always good to step back and do some self evaluation of your ministry. This is because as student pastors we often can fall into two traps. One is that we fall into a rut because we feel things are working. Maybe you are reaching your attendance goals or maybe the same students are always present. Or maybe you have not gotten any complaints in a while. These things are not bad but they do not necessarily mean that we are reaching the high standards that we should set for ourselves or that we are accomplishing all that God has for us.
The other trap is comparing our ministry to others. Maybe we have higher attendance, less issues, or cooler toys than the person down the street so we think that we have it all figured out. Again, these things are not necessarily bad in themselves but they are not the ultimate barometer for a successful ministry.
That is why we need to dig deeper and stop and do some real self-evaluation from time to time. In the next few days I will give you some things to look for in that self evaluation. Today what I want you to look for is does your youth ministry look like your community? Look at the make up of your community. What cultures are present? What are the socioeconomic levels? What schools are present? Then look at your ministry. Does your ministry match up with the broad spectrum of what is present in your community? If it does, great. And I applaud you because you are miles ahead of other ministries. But if it does not you need to ask yourself why? You also need to realize that while you may be doing great work you are not necessarily truly reaching your community.
Because when we are truly impacting our communities our churches will look like them. And as student pastors we have a unique opportunity to lead the way in this through our midweek services and other events. We can reach out, lead the way, and set an example for the church of what it looks like to truly reach all of our community, not just our corner of it.
So take a few moments to evaluate your ministry. Then let us know three things:
1. How are you doing at reaching your community?
2. What is one reason why you believe your ministry does not look like your community? Or if your ministry looks like your community, what is one thing you have done to make this happen?
3. How can we pray for you moving forward as you impact your community?
Let's get honest with each other and see our ministries grow and change out of that honesty.
The other trap is comparing our ministry to others. Maybe we have higher attendance, less issues, or cooler toys than the person down the street so we think that we have it all figured out. Again, these things are not necessarily bad in themselves but they are not the ultimate barometer for a successful ministry.
That is why we need to dig deeper and stop and do some real self-evaluation from time to time. In the next few days I will give you some things to look for in that self evaluation. Today what I want you to look for is does your youth ministry look like your community? Look at the make up of your community. What cultures are present? What are the socioeconomic levels? What schools are present? Then look at your ministry. Does your ministry match up with the broad spectrum of what is present in your community? If it does, great. And I applaud you because you are miles ahead of other ministries. But if it does not you need to ask yourself why? You also need to realize that while you may be doing great work you are not necessarily truly reaching your community.
Because when we are truly impacting our communities our churches will look like them. And as student pastors we have a unique opportunity to lead the way in this through our midweek services and other events. We can reach out, lead the way, and set an example for the church of what it looks like to truly reach all of our community, not just our corner of it.
So take a few moments to evaluate your ministry. Then let us know three things:
1. How are you doing at reaching your community?
2. What is one reason why you believe your ministry does not look like your community? Or if your ministry looks like your community, what is one thing you have done to make this happen?
3. How can we pray for you moving forward as you impact your community?
Let's get honest with each other and see our ministries grow and change out of that honesty.
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