Post provided by Joel VanBriggle.
Dodging
semis, cars, and motorcycles, and then leaping from log to log, avoiding the
crocodiles and snakes is no easy task.
For me, ministry to young adults resembles the plight of the old Atari
game, Frogger! The goal of the game seemed simple enough; lead
the little frogs to their home. Each
frog had its place, yet the journey would be unique and filled with many twists
and turns. And so it is with young adult
ministry!
Joel and his wife Gail serve as the lead pastors at Community Gospel Church in Northvale, NJ. Feel free to connect via Twitter, @joelzworld
and on Facebook
Reaching
young adults and helping them find their place as the living Church in their
world is increasingly difficult. The tension
between living “in the world and not of the world” has become more stressful as
issues like relationships, sex, career, religion, and the like are often shaped
by numerous influences, and unfortunately, the Church may barely be on the
radar.
Much
like Frogger, we can effectively
navigate young adults to their respective places in life, but it may require us
to take some childhood advice for crossing the road; stop, look, and listen.
STOP: There are a couple things we need to
stop. (1) Stop feeling guilty. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself
feeling guilty that effectiveness and connectivity with this group can be so
ridiculously difficult at times. The
truth is, we didn’t create the amount of traffic and distractions that may
exist on the road of life. We are simply
called to help navigate, but unfortunately, young adults do not come with an
Atari joystick! (2) Stop relying solely
on creative programming. Success in Frogger is achievable because there is a
clear goal. For a more extensive look at
this, Andy Stanley talks about clarifying the win in his book, Seven
Practices of Effective Ministry. At
times, I’ve sought to have a creative hook to snag the interest of young adults
without an end game in mind. We really
need to stop and determine what we’re actually trying to accomplish. Are we merely attempting to re-church young
adults or are we leading them toward true discipleship? A good follow up question; “What attributes
earmark a Christ-following Young Adult?”
In my experience, young adults are not nearly as impressed with our
creative programming as we are! They’re
looking for simple, practical, yet well-thought out ways to live out their
faith “in the world and not of the world.”
LOOK: One of the known attributes of this younger
generation is volunteerism. Please don’t
misinterpret my statement.
Christ-following isn’t a non-profit, service organization designed to gather
volunteers; however, none of us will deny that fact that Jesus modeled and
called each disciple to serve (Mark 10:43-45; 1 Peter 4:10.) Serving is one of the most natural indicators
that a person understands his or her role in the Body of Christ. Take a moment to think about your
church. How many young adults are
serving in ministry? Too many times our
organizational structures hinder connecting young adults into ministry. Old men are ushers; young moms and “mature’
ladies work in the nursery; children’s’ church is a hodge-podge of parents with
kids; and the sound booth is often vigilantly protected by some 40-60 year old,
obsessive compulsive guy who loves the security of his job and space! This may not be the picture of your church,
but I’ve been around! An effective
discipleship model is helping young adults connect with meaningful ministry
opportunities—they’re often just waiting to be asked. Remember—this is about “look”—Look for creative opportunities within
the church AND outside the church. Talk
with your various ministry leaders to find out their needs and how your young
adults might fill those places of ministry.
Soup kitchens, local shelters and civic groups—embrace this and find
opportunities. Short-term missions trip
and service projects have a unique way of forging lasting relationships and
spiritual bonds. Many times the
byproduct of serving is a heightened spiritual awareness. There will be a Holy Spirit tug for ministry
preparedness and even holiness as God
fine-tunes the heart. Serving has a
wonderful way of inducing spiritual growth.
Stop…Look…and…
LISTEN: As a 34 year old lead pastor that grew up in
the church, I realize that I can be the biggest hindrance at times. I spent the greater part of the first 18 year
of life learning from school teachers, and then attending Bible college where I
paid people to deposit their knowledge into me.
Currently, I teach at a local A/G Bible Institute, and as a pastor,
people come each week to hear me impart my incredibly
vast knowledge and Biblical insights in such clever ways…needless to say, “talking-head syndrome” becomes very
natural and easy! (I hope you perceived
the tongue-in-cheek nature of my previous statement!) Talking-head is a comfortable, yet deadly
liability in ministry to young adults. On the contrary, listening is a powerful
asset! I mentioned earlier that the path
for each frog in Frogger is unique…so
are the stories of each young adult under your care. Begin to listen to each one’s personal
journey. I have found that personal
struggles and concerns leak out in subtle ways in casual conversations. For the
perceptive person, this can lead to meaningful and even life-changing
conversations. Listen to the Holy
Spirit. Listen to God’s Word. Listen to those entrusted to you!
Stop.
Look. Listen. These three will keep you from croaking in Young Adult Ministry!
**SPLAT**
0 comments:
Post a Comment