Student Ministry - August 2021
Dear Church Family,
Summer time is drawing to an end, and it is time to start preparing for the normal routine of the school year. For some, leaving the Summer behind can be a sad prospect. But for many, the idea of jumping back into a normal and predictable routine is a welcome comfort. Don’t get me wrong, the Summer is an amazing time… but it’s also a crazy time, especially if you have kids. The school year brings with it plenty of its own craziness, but it usually has a regular ebb and flow that you can predict and know is coming. Maybe that’s just me. But as I already mentioned, the one thing that the transition into the school year means for the Student Ministry is preparation.
August is the time of year that we position ourselves to disciple our students through the Fall and the Spring. It’s a time for recruiting, a time for planning, a time for curriculum prep, and especially a time for prayer. There are many things that the Student Ministry needs to do, but there are at least a couple things I would like to ask you to do as well. The first is to simply pray for the Student Ministry. Please pray for the adult leaders. We need God to help us love students well and be committed to them and their spiritual growth. Pray for new adults to feel the call to serve in the Student Ministry. We need God to send younger and older adults to participate in the discipleship of the younger generation in the Student Ministry. Pray for parents. We need God to continue to unite the parents of our church in one accord in raising the younger generation of the Church with hearts fully abiding in Christ and not in the world. Pray for your pastors. We need God to help us equip parents, leaders, and the students to grow in their faith and do the work of ministry. Without God, the builder builds in vain. So pray He would bless all these things and lead us in His will.
Secondly, I ask you to consider God’s calling in your life. What has God called you to do by way of service to the body of Christ, the Church? The Bible tells us we are all a part of the body of Christ. And as each part works according to its purpose there is great harmony in the body, and God is glorified (Eph. 4:16; 1Cor. 12:12-26). Are you walking in loving obedience to His call on your life? If so, then praise the Lord, excel still more! If not, then may I politely ask, what is stopping you? Is it fear? Is it laziness? Is it a lack of knowledge of His will? There could be any number of reasons why we haven’t headed the call of God in our lives. But may I encourage you, there may be reasons, but those reasons are not excuses. We must confront whatever it is that is stopping us, and we must take it to God in repentance. If fear, then turn to Christ and pray for faith. If laziness, then turn to Christ and pray for a renewed heart. If there is a lack of knowledge, then turn to Christ and pray for diligence to read and learn His Word. That is how we discern His will. If finding abundant and eternal life comes only from abiding in Christ, then we must put aside anything that stops us from following Him and His call in our lives.
Lastly, may I exhort us all; If we know what it is that we are to do and do not do it, we are sinning (James 4:17). So if you know what God wants you to do, be encouraged! You can do all things that God has called you to do! So today, make no more excuses and take just one step of faithfulness toward the Lord. He will lead the rest of the way. All you have to do is keep stepping.