Students - Next Generation Ministry

I don’t believe I have ever used an entire post on my blog to address students. After all, most people who read this blog are either leaders, parents, or educators of the next generation. However, I feel that time has come. If you happen to be a ministry leader, parent, or Christian educator, don’t stop reading now. You may just find some material for your next lesson, lecture, or sit-down.

Dear Christian Student,

You are living in unprecedented times. Culture in the form of media, technology, and even education teach you sex education and gender ideology from kindergarten on. You are taught through social media and public school that gender is fluid, not connected to biological sex, and that you can choose to be whatever you feel like being. Many of you lost your childhood when you were given computers and or smartphones and saw things on them you should never have seen. Covid and subsequent government mandates that followed have only helped to delay your holistic growth and development. You feel like you are behind in home, school, and church because you are. You have been discriminated against in society at-large and are continuing to be discriminated against today.

Yet, know this—there is hope! Though you may feel like you are the least of the least, God says that with him, you’re the best of the best!

In Judges chapter 6, the Midianites are oppressing Israel when God chooses to raise up an unlikely hero:

14The LORD turned to him [Gideon] and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” 15″But Lord , “Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” 16The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together.”

You may feel just like Gideon: How could God use me? I am only a youth. I am weak and puny. This sounds like the excuse the prophet Jeremiah came up with when God first told him he had been appointed as a prophet unto the nations:

6 “Ah, Sovereign Lord ,” I said, “I do not know how to speak; I am only a child.” 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a child.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord . –Jeremiah 1

You need to understand that God often chooses the most unlikely to pull off God-sized feats. In 1 Corinthians 1, we find these words penned by the apostle Paul who himself claimed to be timid in action and ineloquent in speech:

26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God–that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

You may feel like God doesn’t want to use you or that God can’t use your generation, but oh contraire! As the story of Gideon continues in Judges 7, you will find God raising up an army for Gideon to lead into battle. However, God isn’t looking for a large number in this army, but rather a faithful few. Left to our flesh and human reasoning, God’s wisdom doesn’t make any sense. First, God allows 22,000 soldiers to take off. They were afraid to fight and God allowed them to leave. Then in verse 4, God says, “There are still too many men.” So Gideon follows God’s further instructions and the army is reduced from 10,000 down to 300. Verse 2 tells us why God chose to use only 300 Israelites to defeat 135,000 Midianites: “In order that Israel may not boast against me that her own strength has saved her.”

God chooses to uses the least, the weakest, the inferior so that through less, he can gain more glory. A big God deserves glory for himself! May we not boast in our strength, but only in Christ’s. We are saved through the strength his grace provides and not our own (Ephesians 2:8).

You may look around and see less people in your generation following the Lord. You are no doubt experiencing more peer pressure to conform to the world’s standards than the generations that came before you. But again, what you need to understand is that God often chooses to do more with less. His thoughts are not our thoughts and his ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8). Throughout the history of revivals and great awakenings, God has often used the young to spark the fires.

Just like the Hall of Faith mentioned in Hebrews 11, I don’t have time to mention all of the examples in the Bible where God used ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary feats. Goliath looked down on David when he was a youth but you know the end of that story. Paul told young Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:12: Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. The suffering and persecution you and your generation of Christ-followers have endured today has only served to make you stronger in the Lord. Though there may be less of you out there, your fortitude and resilience has increased.

In the words of the band Unspoken: “Keep fighting the good fight, Keep letting your light shine, ‘Cause I’m never gonna leave you
Always gonna see you through to the other side”

Run the race God has for you and never look back!

In Christ,

In light of last week’s horrific event, I thought it a good idea to write about the importance of protecting our students in an increasingly dangerous world. If adults, especially congressmen and women of our great nation, need security while playing baseball, how much more so do our children and youth? Protecting our young should always be a first priority in next generation ministry.

Students are used to practicing lock-down drills at schools. Students are all too aware of bomb threats and the protocols that go along with such a threat. In fact, not only is there a password given over a school intercom to notify teachers of a threat, there are different passwords given for different threat levels. And students know all the procedures that follow as they have rightfully been forced to incessantly practice for any given situation. With all of the hassle, it’s a wonder that students ever have time to learn anymore.

But in today’s world, the hassle is necessary. It may take longer for parents and students to enter in and exit out of school, but safety has to come first. The same should be true at churches and for next generation ministry. Security starts with protecting infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Parents should be required to sign their students in and made aware of the policies concerning drop-off, pick-up, and emergency procedures. Many parents of preschoolers are given beepers, so that if something happens to their child in the middle of the worship service, they can immediately respond.

All next generation leaders (volunteers who work with children and youth) should undergo a background check. This rule applies for leaders who work with the next generation every week (small group leaders, preschool workers, etc.) and for leaders who infrequently work with students (i.e., leaders who just help with summer camps, mission trips, etc.). Most churches have a policy in place requiring new members to have belonged to a church for six months before they are allowed to work with any of the church’s children or youth.

Next generation pastors aren’t CEO’s who are trying to run a student enterprise. No, first and foremost, next generation pastors are shepherds of their sheep. They are willing to take all necessary measures to protect their flock and that includes dying themselves. Thank God for the Capital Area police team that was willing to lay their life on the line. If they had not, twenty to thirty congressmen would have been massacred. There is no greater love for one than to lay down his or her life for his or her friends (John 15:13). Churches represent easy targets for terrorists and other like-minded crazy and deranged people, such as last week’s shooter in Alexandria, VA.

Last week, I did some kingdom-building work by helping a local church (not my own) conduct a mega-sports camp. I was impressed with the high security measures that the church put in place for the event. Some students might have thought the measures to be extreme, but we pastors and leaders understand that times have changed. On the last night (parent night), it was comforting to see a cop car parked in front of the church. Not only do parents feel comfortable about dropping their kids off at a church that takes security seriously, kids feel safe, and that is really what matters. Not to be overlooked, security measures also impact spiritual results. Last week, I saw eleven kids come to know Jesus for the first time in their life!

This weekend, I get the privilege of helping to work a block party event hosted by another church that I am not a member of. Will they have taken steps to guarantee the safety of all in attendance? I do not know, but I do know security matters.