By Ted Johnston
Co-director,
National youth ministry development team
By Ted Johnston
Co-director,
National youth
ministry development team
In this column, Jeb Egbert and I have been presenting principles and strategies concerning the development of ministry to children, teens and young adults.
This “GC2” (Great Commandment-Great Commission) ministry, which is represented in our logo, flows out of our encounter with Jesus, where we embrace his love (represented by the heart in the logo) and share in his ministry to make disciples who make disciples (represented by the cross in the logo).
With this article we conclude our series of articles exploring the foundations of a disciplemaking youth ministry that is conducive to making and developing young disciplemaking followers of Jesus.
 Conduct regular ministry team meetings that emphasize the foundations of disciplemaking. |
The powerful principle that underlies the foundations is that the Holy Spirit makes disciples of Jesus. Our job is to cooperate (co-minister) with him. One of the most important ways we do so is by providing a healthy environment for the Spirit to do his disciplemaking work. In this series, we’ve defined six essential characteristics (foundations) of disciplemaking environments:
An atmosphere of love (where we reflect God’s love to all participants)
The adoration of Christ (where Jesus is clearly presented and worshiped)
Prayerful dependence (where participants are being connected to and formed by the Spirit through the spiritual disciplines)
Communication of the Word (where the gospel is clearly and persistently proclaimed through the teaching of Scripture)
A biblical group image (with a clear sense of disciplemaking purpose leading to a community of hope and expectancy)
Commitment to contact (where participants are heeding the Spirit’s call to reach out to one another and to non-believers)
Just do it!
Perhaps you’re saying to yourself, “Good stuff, Ted!” (Thank you.) But let me ask, what will you do about it? May I encourage you to go and live it? “But how?” you may reply. (Glad you asked.) The key is to seek God’s help to be passionate, intentional and persistent.
Let me share with you an important tip: conduct regular ministry team meetings that emphasize these foundations of disciplemaking.
Meetings easily get bogged down in
the stuff of ministry: who will pick up the kids
for the outing, who will bring
food, who will provide worship music and teach the lesson (and this is important
by the way!).
But your meetings should also provide time for what is even more important: developing a disciplemaking ministry team. Here is a suggested format:
Worship. Begin by practicing the adoration of Christ, prayerful dependence and communication of the Word through a time of group worship. Our ministry is useless (or worse) unless we are connected to God. In worship through song, prayer and Scripture, we are building the ministry team’s foundations.
Examine the foundations. Evaluate the foundations of your ministry. You might address one of the six foundations at each meeting. For example, at one meeting the team leader might ask, “How are we doing in maintaining an atmosphere of love in our ministry to children?”
Then each team member would report
and participate in a general discussion concerning this foundation. As you do
this, you’ll be focusing together on what really counts.
Look for strategic balance. Continue the self-evaluation by discussing how the ministry is doing in achieving a balanced disciplemaking strategy (see this column in the May through August 2003 WN issues).
The disciplemaking strategy has four essential and interrelated parts: 1) winning the lost, 2) building believers, 3) equipping workers and 4) multiplying leaders. In your team meetings ask how you’re doing in growing toward a balance of all four.
It’s common to put all the ministry
eggs into one basket—usually the basket
involving the building of believers. But
that won’t do if you’re seeking balance. So ask what the team is doing to reach
out to unchurched kids (to win the lost), and to recruit and provide training
for the youth ministry workers (equip workers) and to recruit and train youth
ministry leaders (multiply leaders).
By regularly (and persistently) emphasizing strategic balance, you’ll reap positive change as more and more of your team members catch the vision for being a balanced disciplemaking youth ministry.
Make assignments.
Eventually you have to get to the work tasks that are vital to conducting the
business of the ministry. But beware of getting bogged down in what is urgent
rather than focusing on what is essential. Make plans and assign work tasks that
strengthen the foundations and promote strategic balance.
Here’s an example of what this means: you have to do more than talk about winning lost kids to Christ, you have to assign programs and people to do something about it. So set goals and make work assignments that relate directly to the foundations and to the four aspects of the strategy. As you do, you’ll see more and more disciplemaking ministry occurring.
And have fun!
A final word of both caution and encouragement: Don’t get so serious about disciplemaking that you wring the joy out of it. Being a disciplemaking youth ministry leader or worker is about being with Jesus as he lives out his passionate love for young people. He reaches out to them with love and joy. It’s a blast to hang out with Jesus as he ministers to kids. So be with him; serve with him—and have fun while you’re at it!
Yes, it’s often hard work with many difficult obstacles. Sometimes it’s discouraging and distressing. What teen ministry worker has not shed many tears over a teen member gone astray? What children’s ministry worker has not been frustrated by lack of parental support? We experience sorrow and frustration in the journey with Jesus—but also great joy.
Thanks so much for your generous and sacrificial ministry to and through our kids. I deeply admire, respect and love you, and Jeb and I hope this series of articles on the ministry foundations has helped equip you for your ministry.
Copyright © Grace Communion International, 2004