Talk is Cheap! Bring on the Giraffe Spit!

If you're afraid of making a mess then student ministry may not be for you. If you have a hard time admitting when you're wrong, stay out of the student ministry fish bowl. If you can't imagine going to court with one of your students and defending their new found identity in Christ, you're not an innovator. You'll know what I mean when you feel the giraffe spit running down the back of your neck.

In this picture alone, one of these students has been kicked out of school twice for bringing a knife and being stoned, one has a brother practicing homosexuality, another has alcoholic parents, yet another had to postpone baptism to avoid being disowned. Four out of five come to church and student functions without their parents. Life is very real for these great kids. Some are still struggling (you know who you are), while we celebrate one who has accepted the Lord's calling to ministry. If you are going to build an effective student ministry you have to be messy, transparent, and bold. You have to be authentic in your relationship with Christ if you want to earn the time and attention of today's teens.

That said, you're not a spiritual cowboy either. Hell is just as real. Sin is just as real. And the precious redemptive blood of Jesus Christ is absolute truth. If you want to rise above the MP3 you must be innovative and creative in the way you present the truth of the Gospel, but never, ever, change the message to appease the sinner.

Watch yourselves, that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. (2 John 1:8-9)

Being an innovator isn't about some artificial "cutting edge." It's about being yourself and being absolutely true to the calling God has placed on your life. God doesn't use the wrong tool for the job. If He has called you to student ministry He will also equip you for His service and His glory. If you're in a ministry where kids get CompUSA gift cards for their birthday, you will need to know what a video iPod and a Sony PSP are. Or, maybe it's more typical for one of your students to recieve their grandfather's Ruger Red Label Over and Under. In that case, you better know the difference between a Merganser and a Pintail.

All ministry is contextual. Student ministry requires you to excel in two contexts; the student's, and their parent's. Sometimes that means you are a liason, and sometimes an evangelist. Many adults have come to the Lord through experiencing a spiritual tranformation in their child.

Remember innovators are messy, transparent, passionate, disciplined, and bold about Jesus Christ. You can't possibly prepare for everything, so stay prayed up and expect a little giraffe spit. It's all good!

Student ministry is a great litmus test. How authentic is your innovative spirit?

There is a great divide in perception between teenagers and adults today. In a 1998 survey the Barna Group looked at how teens perceived themselves. Teens described themselves as “happy” (92%); “responsible” (91%); “self reliant” (86%); “optimistic about my future” (82%); “trusting of other people” (80%); “very intelligent” (79%); and “physically attractive” (74%). The chasm results from how teens perceive adults would describe young people: "lazy" (84%); "rude" (91%); "sloppy" (70%); "dishonest" (65%); and "violent" (57%). Student ministry pastors and volunteers must be able to see teens as they see themselves.

There is also a gap between perception and reality in teenage spirituality. In a Gallup Youth Survey (2003) 92% of teens considered their religious beliefs to be very important to them. American teenagers actually resemble their grandparents more than their parents in regard to church attendance. The Gallup survey revealed that 50% of teenagers (13-17) attend an organized religious service once a week. That is 10% higher than all adult age groups. Don't break out in a chorus just yet! That number drops to 35% after graduation. Of the 88% of teens that describe themselves as Christians, 26% say they are "absolutely committed Christians." Only 33% of middle and high schoolers are "born again" believers, and of that 33% only 56% feel a personal responsibility to tell others about Jesus Christ. Finally, when it comes to believing in absolute truth, only 9% of born again teens believe in moral absolutes and just 4% of the non-born again teens believe that there are moral absolutes. Student ministry pastors and volunteers must be able to see teens as they really are spiritually.

So . . . We must be innovative in how we relate to the students in our ministries through the leading of the Holy Spirit. Or . . .
Talk to the hand!

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