Student Ministry - September 2019
Dear Church Family,
As Pastor Nick recently shared from the pulpit, the gospel is something Christians should always try to give away to others. This is because it is the only source of life. That is what Christian ministry is all about, living according to the gospel and sharing the gospel with others. Ephesians 4:11-12 says, “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” We have many wonderful born-again students at our church, and this verse tells us that it is the responsibility of the church to equip them to live out their faith and reach people they know with the gospel. This is not just an adult calling… this is the Christian’s calling.
Therefore, this fall we will be starting a message series called GO! It will be broken into two main series subtitles: GO! Be a Disciple and GO! Make Disciples. These messages will be looking at Jesus’ call to His first disciples: “And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’” (Mark 1:17). We will expand on how the Bible instructs Middle and High Schoolers to follow Jesus in their context as well as how to help others begin to follow Christ. These are the two major aspects of being a Christian, and it is imperative that we help our students live them out. Students need every encouragement they can get to faithfully follow Christ in a culture that is constantly trying to lure them away. They must see what it looks like to be a true disciple in this generation. They need biblical truth applied to their every-day experiences that will help them continue to keep Christ their priority! But it must not stop there. They also need help to see what it looks like to share their faith with their friends. Many people don’t share their faith because they don’t know how to. They haven’t really thought through what they should say or how to bring it up in a casual conversation. That’s why many students tend to keep their faith segmented from other parts of their lives.
Nowhere is that truer for a student than when they are with their unbelieving peers. In the peer-pressurized culture our students live in, it seems impossible to share your faith. And that is why students need to hear what the Bible has to say about this. If our students buy into the cultural practice of following the crowd and trends of the day, then they will be swayed by anything the world has to offer. But if they are committed to following Christ and being ready to share their faith, then they will be able to sway others to follow Him as well. Instead of trying to find fulfillment in what others have to offer, they will be the ones offering to those in need true fulfillment in the gospel. They will become the dragnet used by God to bring many others to Christ and into the church. Through them, God will “add to their number day by day.”
This is our goal, that our students would follow Christ daily and become “fishers of men” instead of followers of culture. Please pray for the Student Ministry this Fall, that God would use our students to “catch” many more students as they daily live out and share the gospel.
Sincerely,
Brian Van Doren