Man, my legs hurt. I’ve spent four hours in the evenings of the last four days at our city-wide Vacation Bible School (VBS). This year’s theme is sports. I’ve been playing flag football with 4th and 5th graders all week and my video-game-toned body is struggling to keep up. VBS is such a big deal to us here at Destiny that we even canceled all Wednesday classes to support the event.
“But Derick,” you say. “You are a youth pastor! What are you doing canceling your time with your teens and playing with 4th and 5th graders? Slacker!?!”
Well. The name calling is a little over the top, but I will answer your question. Here are three reasons why I firmly believe that youth leaders should be LOUDLY involved in VBS and other such children’s ministries.
1. I can connect with future youth students.
I know I write this a lot, but ministry is all about RELATIONSHIP! Just last night I told one of my youth students who is a group leader at VBS that his greatest ministry this week wouldn’t be the teaching time but would be the relationship time. I told him that 10 years from now, he wouldn’t remember the sermons that I preached but he would remember the week he and I spent working side-by-side at VBS. By spending time at VBS this week I am able to have relationships with future students ahead of when they join youth. They will feel as they already belong to the group because the have a relationship with me.
2. My current youth students have an opportunity to minister.
Not only that but by not having youth they aren’t torn between missing youth and having that opportunity to minister. What good is spending all of our time teaching them the importance of sharing God’s Word and showing the love of Christ to others if we aren’t going to encourage them to do it every chance we get?
3. If we want our youth groups, our student ministries succeed, we MUST support children’s ministries.
The time of drawing hard lines between Children’s ministry, Youth ministry and Adult ministry is quickly coming to an end. It is time that we blur the lines. The more I sow into children’s ministry the more I sow into the youth ministry for the future. The more that adults sow into the youth ministry, the more they are sowing into the future of adult ministry. We must not have the segregated view of church. The us-and-them mentality must go! We are a FAMILY! By taking this week and pouring myself into this VBS, I believe I am doing just that. I am sowing (in one way or another) into all facets of not only my church but all the churches in the city, even into the city itself.
What do you think? Agree? Disagree?
Posted on June 24, 2011 by Derick Brown
0