Student Ministry

There's a wide range of areas where people serve at my church. Greeters, the first time guest tent, parking, etc. There are those that lead small groups, do counseling, and mobilize people to go on mission trips domestically and abroad. If you jump over to the Annex though, you'll find one of the more unique, and sometimes challenging ministries: students. Student ministry is challenging, rewarding, confusing, and incredible all at once. I've been working with students for the past 6 years, and I never cease to be amazed at how God works in people's lives and how little I will ever know about pop culture.

There are certainly unique challenges to doing discipleship with high school students. You're not generally going to convince teenagers to get up even earlier to do a bible study before school. They don't have the flexibility in their schedule like college students. Many times, outside of small group, it looks like lunch after church, Cookout on a Friday night, or playing video games online (they get really hype when I do well because I'm mediocre at best). Of course many of them cannot drive yet either.  In addition to logistical challenges, there's just the challenge of doing discipleship with students. They're young believers if believers at all. They don't always get the value and joy of knowing the Father. Peer pressure seems a lot more overwhelming to many of them than to adults. High school drama is well...high school drama. Sometimes students come from incredibly challenging home lives. Divorces, emotional distant parents, rebellious siblings, and even situations much more hard than those. With a larger student ministry, I've seen a lot of it. Every time I think I've seen it all, I'm proven wrong. It can be draining balancing all of it.

However, despite the challenges, I've witnessed the Lord do some incredible things. Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is able to do far more than all we could ask or think. That absolutely summarizes what I've seen. I've seen God grow young guys into men who desire to put God above all. I've seen students learn to value the word of God and place their hope in Him. I have seen God redeem impossible situations and bring peace into some of the most difficult circumstances. The more I serve with high school students, the more I learn to never doubt what the Lord is capable of doing in the lives of others. It makes some of the challenges absolutely worth it.