Who I Am To Them

A trick that Satan likes to play with me is to make me believe that the positive words I use have no weight or impact on a teens life. In fact there are times where I feel that I’m being more of a negative influence than a positive, but if that were the case I don’t think I would be in a job. With that said our words and actions are so important when it comes to student ministry. At all times we are being watched, observed and probed by young minds who are trying to figure out whether or not they want to be like us when they get older. I’m not always sure whether or not I want someone to be like me when I’m older, because of all the mistakes I’ve made and the struggles I’ve endured to be the type of person that I am…I don’t want them to have to make the same decisions.
There are a lot of churches and youth ministries that are “me” focused, which means that the teens aren’t connected to Christ and that the community will rise and fall with the youth pastor. Constant humility, a heart for God and the willingness to listen is what needs to be focused on, it’s what we need to remember. Taking time to allow God to work in us and through us to destroy any fears, doubts or evil is something every youth pastor (or church worker) needs to focus on. Satan is going to tell us some pretty bad things, we are going to trick ourselves into denying God, every moment is an opportunity to stop ourselves from forgetting that God is bigger than that.