How To Stay A Christian While Doing Ministry
Exodus 33:7-11 tells us how Moses used to pitch the "Tent of Meeting" outside the camp. It was the place where the Lord would speak to him, face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.
Don't you long to create your own Tent of Meeting, a place where you can spend some face time with the Lord? I know I do, but I also know I'm going to have to fight for it on a daily basis. For I know, no one will create a Tent of Meeting for me, but me. And, no windows of opportunity will ever magically appear. My Tent of Meeting will only come through sheer determination, a refusal to let anything else encroach upon my time with Him. Without it, ministry will inevitably get messy.
I'm up for the challenge, the fight and the relentless pursuit! Are you? Draw near my friends! For He promises that if we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.
Lovingly,
For the majority of us, we find our families, as well as our closest friends, to be the toughest mission field. We know all too well, when we share Christ with those we love most, the risk of rejection is high for a number of reasons. However, the reward of spending eternity with them in heaven can't be touched. We know this...our students know this...yet sometimes we both need reminded of it.
In this Source, we give students some tangible ideas on how to intentionally love their family and friends in ways that will enable them to both hear and see Jesus through their actions, attitudes, words, and deeds. My prayer for this resource is that our students will be able to cut through all the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings, and stand in the gap for those closest to them.
Fighting for the Family,
It is EASY to question what is real and what may not be. This is especially true when it comes to the topic of our faith. There are a MULTITUDE of ideologies and beliefs out there, and many times it is difficult to navigate between what is TRUE and what isn't.
In this month's source, "Doubters Welcome," I embrace the topic that is often ignored...the topic of DOUBT. I believe this is a good resource for helping students and even leaders help navigate some of the things they may question, which can ultimately help strengthen their faith as opposed to losing it. I think you'll enjoy this one.
Fighting for this generation,
Only 10% of the church body has a functioning gift of evangelism. In fact the very vision of evangelism is made up of Superman stories of dramatic witnessing experiences that scare off the average Christian from making ANY efforts to share Christ. This Youth Leader's Coach, "Equipping Normal Teenagers To Do Evangelism," is geared to mobilizing the other 90% sitting in your youth group. So often we make evangelism a huge intimidating task that they look forward to as much as they do their speech class! Let me help break it down and guide you as you lead your students to say "Yeah, I can do that!"
Still reaching out,
In this Source, join us as we launch our growth initiative program, "Project 4:19." Based on Matthew 4:19, "Follow Me, and I will teach you to fish for people," "Project 4:19" targets God's business...the people business. While we all know it's not just the size of your youth church that really matters, it also remains true that it is impossible to minister to empty seats. So listen in as we motivate, challenge and cast vision for the future of Oxygen.
Still making Hell nervous,
Note: Check out the companion Youth Leader's Coach for this Source. It's called, "Explosive Growth Strategy and Pragmatics of Project 4:19."
Joel Stockstill is not only the lead pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center's north campus, he is the youth pastor of 220, Bethany's youth ministry. Pastor Joel began as the youth pastor in the spring of 2003 with a youth group of 500 and since that time it has grown to over 6,000 in weekly attendance.
We have been sent to a generation that is hurting, crying out, it is desperate, broken, addicted and bound...it has been attacked just like Moses' generation was attacked, because this generation is destined by God to be deliverers. In this session, Pastor Joel stirs up the hearts of his audience for young people and gives practical ideas on how to reach today's generation.
NYLC Breakout Session
Elizabeth Clark has experience leading worship teams, including being the Worship Director of the Student Ministries at Trinity Church in Cedar Hill, TX for two years. In this session, Elizabeth answers questions from youth pastors on how to create a worship team, from the application and audition process, how to handle character and moral issues, though keeping them on the team long term.
NYLC Breakout Session
In this session, Chad Miller, from the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Director of "Dare to be a Daniel Youth Ministries," states; "We have a generation of lost kids who don't know about Jesus and a generation of church kids who don't live for Jesus. In our quest to become culturally relevant, we've become spiritually irreverent." This generation of Christian students are over-entertained and under-challenged. If you are leading middle school students, you will want to hear Chad's session on how we can challenge our "tweens" and equip them as disciples for evangelism.
How do you build a "Sustainable Youth Ministry"? Is your ministry "Stuck"?
Youth ministry expert Mark DeVries knows the answer, because he helps build sustainable youth ministries through his coaching service called Youth Ministry Architects. In this Super Session, Mark gives us signs of a "stuck" ministry and then shares tips from his book, "Sustainable Youth Ministry," on how you can turn your youth ministry into one that will impact the lives of your students and last.
NYLC Breakout Session
Aaron Burke is the High School Pastor of Brownsville Assemblies of God in Brownsville, FL. Though he is a youth pastor, his passion is for evangelism on the public school campus. Aaron says, "The public school system is the greatest mission field in the United States." In this session, Aaron tells the youth pastors present how he shares his passion for campus ministry with his students, so it will also become their passion. He also, shares the steps on how to start a campus club in your local high school that will meet the requirements of a public school setting.
NYLC Breakout Session
What does Joel Stockstill know about numerical growth? Joel Stockstill is not only the lead pastor of Bethany World Prayer Center's north campus, he is the youth pastor of 220, Bethany's youth ministry. Pastor Joel began as the youth pastor in the spring of 2003 with a youth group of 500 and since that time it has grown to over 6,000 in weekly attendance.
God cares about numbers. Every number is a soul and every soul has a destiny. Just like with the loaves of bread and the fish that fed 5,000 in the Bible, God wants to take everything that you have and multiply it...and when the anointing of multiplication gets involved...all things are possible. In this Breakout Session, Pastor Joel teaches about some key elements that have helped him grow and maintain his ministry.
