{"id":2687,"date":"2016-12-12T09:00:41","date_gmt":"2016-12-12T09:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/?p=2687"},"modified":"2016-11-30T20:48:06","modified_gmt":"2016-11-30T20:48:06","slug":"youth-ministry-stops-starts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/2016\/12\/12\/youth-ministry-stops-starts\/","title":{"rendered":"Youth Ministry in Stops & Starts"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s hard to think deeply about youth ministry between stoplights on a Wednesday evening.<\/em><\/p>\n

If we\u2019re honest with ourselves, the last time most of us even thought at all about youth ministry was when our Senior Pastor had a question, or that parent had another complaint. \u2026 \u2026 And since we\u2019re confessing, we may as well acknowledge that when we have enough spare mental space to think about youth ministry, the last thing we want to think about is youth ministry. <\/em><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, it usually takes conflict or failure to force us to think deeply about our ministry efforts. Either a trip ended poorly, or no one showed up at the event they all said they wanted, or that killer sermon was interrupted by someone opening a soda can\u2014it\u2019s usually those kinds of moments when we find ourselves asking the tough questions.<\/p>\n

And more often than not, those tough questions are more about our insecurities than our ministry efforts. Regardless of the antecedent, in my experience, the answers seem to bring my flaws and weaknesses back to the surface.<\/p>\n

I recently attended the Orange Tour and by the end of the first session with Reggie Joiner, I found myself inspired by a single word.<\/p>\n

Strategy.<\/p>\n

Reggie observed, \u201cThe successful person isn\u2019t successful because of their mission; they\u2019re successful because of their strategy.\u201d His observation resonated profoundly in my mind and in my heart. I\u2019m all too familiar with what it means to plan and build a yearly calendar on the basis of my best ideas and what I think will bring a crowd. I know the effort and energy of crafting a new series, pouring myself into illustrations and games and social media posts, only to find very little fruit at the end of the ministry-month. I\u2019ve been away on trips and outings when, for all the momentum and ministry that happened as a result of them, I end up concluding that I would have been way more effective as a minister at home with my family.<\/p>\n

With that kind of time, talent, and treasure invested, it\u2019s difficult to simply shake off failure, or worse\u2014mediocrity. Moreover, it only takes a couple of those ministry-misses before \u201cnormal\u201d ministry setbacks and disappointments can be catastrophic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat am I doing here, really?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAm I doing any good AT ALL?\u201d<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t afford to allow circumstances to bring us to that moment before we ask those questions. After all, in what other pursuit in our lives would we invest that much of our time, talent and treasure without setting a strategy first<\/em>? Why would we ever casually <\/em>pour ourselves into such a monumental task like discipleship?<\/p>\n

We need a strategy in ministry.<\/p>\n

Strategy is the action plan set in place to accomplish a specific goal. It requires<\/p>\n