Discipleship Ministries has created a series of articles on building a ministry team. Read Bishop McGhee’s Four Team Concepts here.
The next few articles in the series will focus on the various ministry portfolios under Discipleship Ministries (Adults, Students, and Children) and the goals for each of these teams over the coming months. Check out the tag “team” to read the entire series.
Student Ministries Team
In 2015, Discipleship Ministries created the Student Ministries Advisory Team. The SMAT consists of multiple team members with varying skill sets, spread across the United States. Student Ministries team member Kaleigh Bishop explains, “By developing a diverse team of dreamers, designers, and doers, we can more effectively meet the needs of our denomination.”
The Student Ministries Team will be focusing their efforts on developing a successful approach to lifelong faith in students. We want to see a generation that has an active relationship with Christ, and has a passion for helping others develop that same faith.
Develop a Network of Student Leaders
As Team Leader Stephen Jones says, “Those who are most effective in ministry are the ones who are deeply connected with others in the same journey.” We believe that to be truly successful, we must work together on the local, conference, and national levels.
The Student Leadership team is creating mentor and accountability partnership opportunities to help develop community and idea-collaboration within the Student Ministries of the IPHC. Whether you are a pastor, a parent, a team member, or a volunteer, we encourage you to sign up for Profile, our online Student Ministries network, and help us develop a community that works together.
Listen to our podcast on Family Ministry and building community here.
Create Community Events that Build Spiritual Momentum
Events will always be a part of Student Ministries, but these events should be used as stepping stones to the next phase in our discipleship; not a “spiritual high” to enjoy periodically throughout the year before going right back to where we were before. The Student Ministries team is dedicated to creating opportunities for spiritual development and ministry training.
All Student Ministry events will be created around this primary question: “Does this event offer discipleship training and development to our attendees?”
Provide Resources for Students, Leaders, and Parents
We feel that an integral part of building momentum is equipping our students, leaders, and parents to be spiritual leaders. Whether that is in their schools, in their ministries, or in their homes, we want to provide resources that will help develop a faith that is lifelong. Our team is constantly researching the best Student Ministries resources including curriculum, small group devotions, study guides, and books.
Search through our Resource Library for the top resources from Student Ministries.
It’s a Marathon, not a Sprint.
George Barna says in his book Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions that, “Every dimension of a person’s experiences hinges on his or her moral spiritual condition.” Michelle Anthony says it this way, “What you believe and where you aim your heart determine the direction and outcome of your entire life through eternity…What is more relevant than that?”
We understand that we are not going to see change overnight. In fact, we don’t want to because we understand that true change starts in the heart. It is a slow process, but what is worth doing is worth doing well. We believe that we will see true transformation, not only in individual lives, but in our denomination as a whole. We want to see Student Ministries become a movement, not just a program.
