Many of you have something that is burning inside of you!  That dream is the way God will use you to touch the world.  When God’s heart comes in contact with a person’s dream the enemy shakes with fear.  Because the enemy knows your dream will be an avenue to release God’s heart into new places!  Don’t forget, stifle, or quit on your dreams.  It’s very easy to become frustrated with the process of carrying the dream. We all have preconceived time tables of when “it” should happen.  But God is good and He directs the steps of people who are in right standing.  Psalm 37:23

Dreams demand time if they are going to mature into something useful. It’s important for us to remind ourselves there is a process.  It’s like a woman who finds out she is carrying life through pregnancy.  She can fill the kick, the discomfort, pain, and is every bit aware of the growth happening inside her.  Be encouraged your dream is moving, alive, and developing!  When you hear a sermon…does the dream kick?  When you pray…can you feel it move?  When you see an injustice does your dream…experience the pain?  If so, then praise your God because it’s still there!!!  It’s alive!!!  It’s coming!!! Don’t you dare quit or get discouraged!

Your dream will have to be nurtured and developed to produce life. Be careful not to disregard the dream that’s in the womb of your heart!  Start moving in to the next stage.  Don’t allow anything to hurt the dream. The goal is not to stay pregnant never producing what is inside of you.  Feed it, take care of it, and get ready for it to come!

Until next time..

Be the One!

In my last blog, I talked about vision.  Before I get into a few details, I’d like to share a story I came by Lee J. Colan, Ph.D called Vision is Greater than Sight

About 350 years ago a shipload of travelers landed on the northeast coast of America. The first year they established a town site. The next year they elected a town government. The third year the town government planned to build a road five miles westward into the wilderness.

In the fourth year the people tried to impeach their town government because they thought it was a waste of public funds to build a road five miles westward into a wilderness. Who needed to go there anyway?

Here were people who had the vision to see three thousand miles across an ocean and overcome great hardships to get there. But in just a few years they were not able to see even five miles out of town. They had lost their pioneering vision. With a clear vision of what we can become in Christ, no ocean of difficulty is too great. Without it, we rarely move beyond our current boundaries.

 My prayer for youth ministers and leaders is that you continue moving forward in all that God has for you!  Don’t be content!  Keep the vision alive and active! Below are three clear ways to keep your vision in front of your ministry.

1)      Be deliberate. Our time with young people is short; we must be deliberate about what we pour into them.  Whatever your vision is for them, find ways to break it down. That way they don’t just hear it, but they become a part of it.  You may have a vision that you choose to break down into six steps.  This could be something you impart over the next six weeks, months, or years so that you can really produce something in them.  Your vision is a seed. For a seed to grow, it must get deliberate attention. Put the vision on the web site and flyers. When young people walk into the door, they should see it.  Remember, a vision is on life support if your kids don’t know it. Always find ways to merge the vision into your messages. A recent study found that 61% of young adults who were once involved in church are now spiritually disengaged. This is why our vision must be deliberate. Ecclesiastes 9:10

2)      Continually Demonstrate. As a youth minister, keep in mind how much of an example you are.  Youth will not become what you teach; they will become what you are!  Are you the vision you’re trying to impart? If it is service, do you serve?  If it is leadership, how are you leading?  If it is discipleship, who are you mentoring?  If it is evangelism, do your kids see you evangelizing? Yes, I know we should do all of these, but I also know that you have a gift to do one of these more exceptionally than the others! For a vision to catch, it must first be demonstrated.  Young people are looking for examples, not preachers! Anyone can preach a good word or pull off a good event, but not everyone can be an example. Remember, you mean more to your kids than you will ever know. Demonstrate to them your vision to walk in integrity, authority, mercy, understanding, purpose, and love! 1 Peter 4:9-11

3)      Always discuss. Effective vision casters speak the vision! Jesus was always speaking the vision.  Every time He got the opportunity to speak, He made known the importance of doing the will of his father! Regardless of the size of the crowd, Jesus was speaking vision! Where is your ministry headed?  Who knows it?  Talk about it one-on-one, in messages, in blogs, on Facebook, and on twitter.  Keep sharing the vision that God has given you to accomplish! Spend time finding new and innovative ways to communicate the vision. Get your leadership team on the same page. Your assignment is very important, and it must be shared!  Habakkuk 2:2

Thanks for reading. I would love to hear some feedback! Until next time!

As youth ministry continues to progress it’s obvious that styles will change.  I mean if you’re still rocking campfires and singing Kum-By-Ya as the best event ever then you might want to upgrade your idea folder. With so many ideas in circulation it’s never been more fun to serve in the role of a youth pastor/leader. However we must be very careful not to run our groups on great ideas rather than vision.

Every leader is responsible for where they are taking those who follow them.

The word vision isn’t to be just a catchy buzz word.  Vision is a word used to define where you’re going. Vision is the precursor to get you where you want to be. Vision along with planning and action equals dreams fulfilled. Having a vision of what kind of young person you’re looking to produce has to be intentional.  Every youth pastor will have to give account for what they produced in their kids.

Jesus was very intentional about developing his disciples. He trained them and then sent them out fully confident they would train and develop others. Jesus’ vision wasn’t to be the coolest, have the biggest crowds, raise super spiritual people or just entertain. Jesus was building something that would last even after he went away. His goal in ministry was redemption. His mold of ministry was reproduction.

It’s awesome to know that we’re the ones entrusted with communicating his vision. Who are the young people you are training up to take your position?  What is your vision for your youth ministry? Remember a God-ordained vision that has been birthed in prayer and backed up by scripture will always live longer than you.  Yes, part of our ministry is to bring fun, excitement, with a little bit of crazy, but that has to fit inside the overall vision.  When you do an event…what is the vision or goal behind it?  When you prepare your message, does it motivate them to obtain the vision you have set for them.

Changes are inevitable so you might want to put away your DC talk and Switchfoot cd’s but remember this…some things don’t change and VISION is one of them. In the next few days I’ll share three ways to keep your vision out in front of your group. Until next time!

There are several youth leadership conferences that I’ve gone to as a youth pastor.  While many have been good, and very refreshing, most focus the majority of their time on how to stay relevant in a ever changing youth culture. There are new perspectives to gain, ways to communicate, hairstyles (lol), methods to try, and countless “how to’s” that one MUST do to be labeled as an effective youth minister. Does all of this make one a good youth pastor?  Well, I don’t know about that, but I can tell you that there are a few concepts in youth ministry that don’t change.  Today let’s take a minute to look at some core elements of a youth minister.

Youth ministry is about relationship!  Mentoring and inspiring young people to become Christ-followers are the goals of a youth pastor. It’s important that all the details don’t steal  our attention away from the young people we are called to develop. While it is a fact that organization in ministry is very helpful, young people are looking for access to their leader or leadership team – not just a well thought out service. You can have a technically great service (set up, ice-breaker, lights, awesome worship, hilarious video, small groups, and an interactive sermon) and still miss a life becoming transformed. Youth pastor/leader, who are you making time for?  What young person has access to you? Don’t forfeit relationships for effectiveness. Remember true effectiveness is measured by the influence you hold.  The greatest thing you can do in this youth culture is producing a strong believer who commits to be the one and model your example.

There is no better time than now to be the one in your schools, churches, job sites, companies, or homes. Remember, God is looking for someone to stand out, trust Him, believe big, and speak life into their surroundings. 1 Peter 4:10-11 says,  “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.” NIV

Whatever your giftings are, (and you have some) commit to start using them to the glory of God.  We don’t have time to waste or to battle intimidation. Our lives should be about His business which is changing lives and helping people. You where born with a purpose and it is huge!  If you are reading this blog and you haven’t read Be the One, let me encourage you to get it.  Yes, I know it’s a investment, but I can assure you that it will prepare you to live ready to be the one! Until next time!