“Eat Your P’s:
The Diet to a Firm Ministry Foundation”
by Glen Dawursk, Jr., Copyright 1996
Updated
Please
do not duplicate or re-create this material without written permission. Thanks.
The setting is simple. A small group
of people wait for the return of their alien master to take them to the planet Kolaff from which they originated. They believe that Jesus was the brother of
Satan and that we all can achieve the next level of being a god. They have an extensive website and they
actively recruit new members. They are
clean cut, family orientated, and morally seem to be the acceptable and normal
in every way You
may think I am talking about the Heaven’s Gate cult in
If our youth’s
faith is based upon a sand foundation, Jesus said they will shift and change
easily. But if they are based upon the
rock of Jesus Christ, they will be able to withstand Satan’s fiercest
attacks. But how do we accomplish this?
How do we give youth who are often strong willed and desirous of independence
and yet unsure of their place anywhere – how do we give them a strong
foundation when they need it most? The
best offense is a great defense! We need
to give our youth Powerful People, Powerful Purpose, Powerful Praise, Powerful
Programs and Powerful Prayer.
Studies show that this generation is more people orientated than the
past. They consider lasting friendships
and honest relationships to be the most important. For this reason, we need to have youth
counselors, youth leaders, youth pastors, youth mentors, DCE’s,
parents and grandparents who are more caring, sincere and honest than ever
before. We need Powerful or Power-filled
People who have the power of Jesus Christ working in them. These people are excited about the Lord,
focused on youth ministry and seeking God’s blessings. But unfortunately, some people only brighten
up the room when they leave. Mark Spitz who won 7 gold medals in swimming, said that the only
reason he ever succeeded was because his coach kept telling him, “Mark, I
believe in you.” Powerful People bring
out the God given talents in others.
Powerful people are rooted in the word of God and make their faith known
through how they act. They are role
models to youth and represent Jesus to them. Powerful People show Jesus not
only in what they do, but also in how and why they do it. Today’s youth do not
have to see something to believe in it.
They prefer to feel it and they will vicariously feel Jesus through your
actions. Powerful People are guided by the Holy Spirit to live and learn and
love and lead this generation of teenagers through the muck our world has to
offer them. They are constantly fed and
they constantly feed others. It is a
necessary cycle of Positive Re-enforcement for a Christian never attains full
maturity. For Power People are humble
people who do not work with youth expecting to solely teach them something,
instead, they come with the attitude of “Lord use me.”
Powerful People breed Powerful Purpose.
They have high expectations of youth but do not cloud their motives with
self-gratification, self-embellished pride, or deceit. They offer opportunities for service and
responsibility. Rev. Dr. Charles Mueller
says that if we truly want to raise our youth accepting responsibility as
adults in the church, then we should allow them to vote when they are
confirmed. They should be mentored on
boards and committees and developed into the next generation of church leaders
for they are not the church of tomorrow, but rather they are the church
today. Powerful Purpose means setting
seemingly lofty goals, but creating reasonable steps to achieve them. Remember, our God may speak with a whisper
to us individually, but He came in with a loud wind and spectacular tongues of
fire for His church. God does not think
small, and neither should we. Do not
limit His power. Think build, plan big,
and expect God to make miraculous things happen -- and they will! Nothing is impossible with God! Nothing.
We need to give our youth Powerful Praise. Not just a pat on the back, but rather we
need an entire attitude adjustment. You
see, praise to me is more than simply a congratulation or “at-a-boy.” It is an attitude of enthusiasm for youth, an
attitude of optimism of what youth can accomplish and it is an avoidance of the
seven last words of the church, “we’ve never done it that way before!” Walt Disney once said, “If I had an idea, I
presented it to my board of directors, and if they were unanimously against it,
I did it.” If we are
constantly critical and not constructive, if we are pessimistic instead of
purposeful, and if we are pouting instead of praising – then our youth will
emulate our every concern. They
will fulfill the destiny that we set before them. They will fail! In Galatians 5 we are reminded to bear one
another’s problems; to support each other.
Not simply with lip service but with life service, and not timidly, but
enthusiastically. Norman Vincent Peele once said,
“For great things to happen, you need enthusiasm.” For enthusiasm is contagious and optimism is
motivating and when these powerful praises are from God, great things will
happen to our youth and to our church; and Powerful Praise means thanking God
in all things - including changes which we may not like.
Next, we need Powerful Programs.
Today’s youth are confronted with more issues then ever before. In many families, they are expected to be the
children and the parents. They are
hurting and an occasional church Band-Aid will not help. To me, dinner without meat is just an
appetizer and youth want more than just side dish ministry. They want meat, too. They want programs that challenge the world’s
views and still offer fellowship and recreation. They want diversification, with Jesus as the
common focus. No longer will youth
simply join and actively participate just in the “youth group” or Walther
League of the past. They now look for a
youth program that will cater to their specific interests, and if they do not
find it, they will abandon the entire ministry -- just like many post-Vietnam parents
abandoned the church. However, Millenium youth want to be a part of a group. They desire to be inclusive; they just want
the group to meet their needs. Teenage
growing pains are experienced best as a group.
A Spirit-filled Powerful Program will include sports, drama, music
(theirs and the church’s) and technology.
It will be current, relevant, and offer them responsibility. And it will be flexible.
The program is probably the hardest to maintain as it requires many
Powerful People to make it work and it will change often. They MUST be Powerful People who are willing
to challenge the youth through programs which breed responsibility through
active learning. Today’s youth want to
learn, but with the diversity in learning styles, the program must be
multi-sensory. MTV and video games have
molded today’s youth. They will not
settle for haphazard programs. Just like
their parents, they often want to be entertained and they often expect “spectacle” or
pizzazz. They prefer big events to
smaller projects and they avoid long-term commitments except in their
relationships.
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A Powerful Program can NOT be simply “the Trinity Bible Hour” service
organization where we throw a 40 pound Bible on the chest of each youth. On the other hand it cannot be just a YMCA
social club either. A Power “filled”
Program must be a happy medium of both. It
must meet the needs of youth through a combination of both sides and focus on
the cross in between. Some youth may
prefer to only have recreation and may want to avoid Bible study or topical
discussions; but our ministry is one of sharing God’s love to youth and real
love is getting youth to do what they should do, not always what they want to
do. This is the greatest challenge of
any ministry.
A Powerful Program must also be innovative. It must change according to
the passing fad or youth interest, while still maintaining the focus on Jesus
Christ. Unfortunately, this can be
difficult as we are programmed by society to think alike. Take the following quiz. Quickly right down your
answer to the following questions.
Pick the first answer that comes to your mind. Ready?
·
Pick a number from 1 to 10.
·
Write down your favorite basic
color.
·
Write down a piece of
furniture.
·
Write down a flower.
If you took 3, 5 or 7, red or blue, a chair or a rose – then you have
been programmed to think alike and the majority of today’s youth are no
different. They are programmed daily by MTV,
movies, music, peer-pressures and public schools to conform to society’s
thinking. Yet Jesus tells us to be
transformed.
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A Powerful Program encourages brain storming and new ideas. Try this
activity. Below there are three rows
of three dots. On the dots, using no
more than four perfectly straight lines, pierce the heart of every circle. Do not retrace any lines and you cannot lift
your pen or pencil from the paper.
Did you impose restrictions or
limitations on yourself by drawing an imaginary box around the dots? No one said you had to remain within a
certain perimeter. A Power Program will
often times move outside of the status quo and go
beyond our self-imposed boundaries. What
may have seemed innovative in our day is old-fashioned to today’s youth. As adults, we need to be sensitive, flexible
and willing to try their new ideas.
However, despite our best intentions, sometimes a program may fail or
seem to go nowhere. Powerful People just
continue forward in the ministry, knowing that great growth can occur even when
we fail. After all, a Christian is like
a tea bag. He does not come to full
strength until he is put into a little hot water. In youth ministry, it is not how many times
you get knocked down, but rather how many times you get back up that counts. The
first chapter of James tells us how we grow in times of testing. Faithful perseverance always pays off. (By the way, the answer to the dot puzzle is on the last page.)
Powerful programs also must have quality. I always tell my youth, “If you are going to
do something, do it well, or don’t do it.”
Do not settle for mediocre, strive to make every presentation, lesson,
Bible study, lock in, servant event, tournament, youth
service the best. God desires our best,
only our sinful condition settles for less.
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The most important aspect of building a foundation in our youth is
through Powerful Prayer. Prayer by
example; prayer by participation; prayer by just simply doing it! It needs to be in the leader’s life and it
needs to be in the lives of the youth -- but it starts with the leaders. They need to pray specifically for youth
daily. They need to pray daily for their
youth ministry. They need to pray
specifically for additional adult leaders who will participate as leaders,
helpers or mentors. They need to pray
for their program’s continued growth -- both spiritually and in numbers being
reached. Jesus started with a core of
just 11 spiritual babies and with His leading they matured into spiritual
adults who with the power of the Holy Spirit multiplied into hundreds of new
members. Powerful Prayer is a vital
ingredient to spiritual growth in youth ministry.
Just like a triangle with God at the head, leaders on one corner and
youth on the other, if we become closer to God and the youth become closer to
God, then the leaders and the youth will become closer
to each other. It really does not matter
who the other corners are as long as they seek God individually, the two will
prosper as a whole. That means parents
can be at one corner and their children on the other. This is God’s solution for lack of
communication, for dysfunctional families, for peer-pressures and youth
apathy. Prayer is God’s solution to this
generation and any generation of youth and it must be the core of building
their firm foundation. Powerful
People use Powerful Prayer to make Powerful Programs and Powerful Praise and
Purpose Possible! But, Powerful Prayer is
NOT just limited to the youth leaders.
No! The congregation must also offer
Powerful Prayer on behalf of the youth ministry programs. God says that he listens to our combined
prayers. He listens to His people. You must also be one of the Powerful People
who use Powerful Prayer to make Powerful Programs and Powerful Praise possible.
An aspect of Powerful Prayer is worship.
Ministry as is our Christian Life is a continuous worship time with
God. Romans 12:1-2 implies that even our
thoughts give worship to God. From creation He desired for us to have a
relationship with Him. This relationship
brought praise to Him. If our personal
prayer and devotional life are in sync and in relationship with Him, then our
ministry will also become worship to him.
Think of youth ministry as being worship and Sunday services will take
on a new perspective.
I have recently added another essential “P” to my ministry diet. It is Powerful PR. I have found that the youth generally do not
read the monthly church newsletter and only checkout the bulletin inserts when
the sermon is boring them. They require
innovative “in their face” promotion. A
monthly or quarterly youth newsletter mailed to their homes is one approach,
but the use of personal calls through a mentorship or chain calling approach
also works. A youth group website
updated regularly by the leaders and youth can also be a great way to inform
them. Getting the e-mail address of each
youth is a way to quickly share prayer requests, give directions, and inform
then of upcoming events and Bible study opportunities. It allows you to keep in contact with your
college youth and servant events. Plus,
E-mail also allows for immediate response.
PR doe not just mean “Promotion” it also means “Public Relations.” It is essential that the congregation know
what is going on in youth ministry. It
builds support for the leadership, the program and most importantly, the youth
of the church. The youth may not read
the monthly church newsletter, but their grandparents do. They become the prayer, moral and financial
support of the ministry. If you are new
to youth ministry, I suggest that the first three people you befriend are: the secretary, the custodian and as many
grand parents as possible. Their
perception and their representation of your ministry to others will contribute
greatly toward its success or failure.
A few years ago, a cult of 39 people committed suicide in
So, get out there and let God use you in His ministry to youth and as
always, “Don’t forget to eat Your P’s.”
Answer:
