February reading - Kristie

Reading the Purpose Driven Youth Ministry book does not scare me in fact I am excited to become a better youth sponsor. But, this is what scares me - the blogging - putting my thoughts, fears, weaknesses and lessons learned into type. It is the ‘letting myself be transparent and exposed’. Sharing my fears -we all have fears it is part of being human but do we really know each others and do we want others to know our fears; or sharing my faults and weaknesses, again we all have them; but once you write them down they become ‘in your face fact’ and a lot harder to ignore. I have never been one of many words and even less so when it comes to writing or journaling. However, I pray that God helps me to be transparent in this adventure so that I may become a better servant for Him. If the rest of this book knocks on my heart like this first chapter did, then I have a long way to go and many tears to shed. But I am willing so that the end result is a better me.

• “In the long run, health is more attractive than hype.” When I read this statement; I agreed with it. It only makes sense, it is obvious. But yet this statement tugged at my heart and thoughts. Because I have to admit I tend to lean towards hype over health. It is the doing what ‘I’ can do, instead of what God wants us to do. Thinking about games, concerts, lock-ins, camps and conventions. Do I try to keep busy doing the work of God instead of being a woman of God first and foremost? I naturally want to say no; but, I know that I don’t spend time in the Word like I should and I don’t find myself in a ‘prayer closet’ like I should be. And even as I write this my mind wanders to the upcoming lock-in. So this chapter has been one of self-evaluation.
• I consider myself to have a servants heart and I (especially if I lived in Yankton) would be at every youth event we had - the xtreme study halls, mentoring, drama practice, game and movie nights - making myself more available to the youth and PR. Sometimes I find myself discouraged because I am not at more of the events. So when I read Doug Fields’ personal message (pg 37) “… Kristie, you can never do enough….Don’t allow the work of God to come at the expense of being God’s person.” This hit home, again am I the person God wants me to be? Am I so full of Him that He spills over on those I am in contact with? Am I that living model of a woman passionate about my faith? Is my faith contagious? Do students want what I have or is it even evident that I have something that they should want? I know we need to keep striving to have more of God but I must admit that I am not maxed out.
• Two statements that keep resonating in my mind is 1: Doing God’s work isn’t as important as being God’s person; and 2: It is truly humbling to think about the awesome privilege and responsibility of being used by God.

My prayer is that I may be a healthy woman of God so that He can use me.

February reading

I had to be really honest with myself when it came to reading this book. Part of me felt like I just don't have time to read another book (which lasted like 5 seconds) because I then realized that this isn't about reading a book it's about being a part of something greater. I then had to ask myself if I was willing to be stretched or if I was "ok" with the level I am currently at. I'll admit that I question what I bring to this youth ministry because I don't believe my gifts are physically tangle as that of Annettte (amazing voice) or Jordan (drama). Then in the reading Doug Fields put out the warning about comparing ourselves to others, shouldn't this have been something I already knew???? Oh well, all I can say is that this helped me put things in proper perspective and is giving me a new energy. So now I want to answer some of the questions that Annette posted for us to answer.

• I do believe that we represent Christ to the youth. I know that this is a continual work and there have been moments that I, myself, haven't represented Christ as well as I should have. I believe this is something that we as sponsors could help eachother out with.
• I feel that we do set prayer as a priority with the youth. This is another area that we all will continue to grow in. I think it's been a great addition to our beforehand prayer time by handing the mic off to the students.

There is one more thing that I read in the book that really stood out to me. "I regularly submit to God all that I am and all that I have to offer because I don't have the knowledge, the natural energy, and the ability to relate to teenagers like I did twenty years ago." Wow, I realized that I haven't been good at submitting my leadership as a youth sponsor to the Lord so that He can give me more knowledge and energy to do His work with these teenagers. I need to submit to Him so that His work can be revealed. So with that I would like to end with thanking Annette for asking us to participate with this book and to all of you for your obedience to serve in Ardent Youth Ministry.

February Reading - Annette

I'm super excited to read this book together! The reason I chose it is because Doug Fields has had a looooong running successful youth ministry. He even admits in Chapter 1 that he's out of touch in many ways with youth culture. But that has not made his influence irrelevant. He knows that God has directed him to minister to youth, so he continues to be obedient!

Here are some of the statements that really stuck out to me...

• "A true dynasty is stronger than its one great player." Many churches look for one "great player" - the youth pastor is supposed to be this super Christian who can attract a massive crowd. I'm so glad that our leadership does not think like that. As I've said before - I don't think youth ministry can be done by one person unless your goal is to have a group of about 12 and never grow.
• "Where there is health, there is eventual growth." A HEALTHY youth ministry is my goal! We have to trust God for the growth, and sometimes it doesn't happen as quickly as we'd like. But I think that is because we aren't healthy enough to properly handle all the extra people that come with growth! As leaders, we need to be healthy and reproducing ourselves so that when the growth does come - we're ready and have the capacity to handle it!
• "I don't want to direct programs; I want to disciple students." This is just such a great statement! This is my heart 100% and it should be yours as well. When I get to heaven, I just don't think I'm going to hear "Hey - great lock-in in 2009! Good job!" :o)
• "...a healthy youth ministry doesn't begin with ideas, but with spiritual leaders." Wow - remember the empty cup?? Don't come with ideas - build spiritual leaders!
• "...I would rather have one godly volunteer than ten skilled volunteers who don't rely on God." This is exactly where I'm at! We can find talented people that will impress and attract students. But I want to work alongside someone who relies on the supernatural move of God to reach students! That is a limitless opportunity!

This last point is really where the power was at for me. He talked about being a living model - passionate about your faith. That seems so simple and common sense...but I don't think we can say that we're all maxing out in this area! What do you think about that? Do you agree? We're all believers, and I know you love Christ. But are we living the ARDENT example every day?
At the end of the chapter, he said "good leaders are avid learners". That's awesome! That's why we're doing this! So someone answer some or all of these questions from your perspective...

1. Do your students sense that the youth ministry leaders are men and women of God?
2. What role does prayer play in your ministry?
3. How can we encourage spirituality among the leadership?
4. Where is God's power evident in our youth ministry?

Welcome

Welcome to the pursuit of excellence! I'm praying that this experience will help all of us to be more aware of the giftings that God has placed within us, and stretch us so that we use those giftings to their fullest potential. I believe 100% in each one of you! God has brought us together for this time and for a specific reason. Sometimes it's hard to see what He's doing because we're so close to it. But as we journal about our growth, we will be able to look back and see the awesome things that God has done through our submission to Him. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I am absolutely excited about what He is going to do!!!