Yeah, I know, if push came to shove, and the offer was legit, we would try to scrape together whatever money we could from our undersized budgets and make it happen. All of us want to see our ministries improve and do a better job of building the kingdom. That's why we do youth ministry. I mean, it's not for the overload of pizza we are exposed to. It's because we love God, we love kids, and we want to see the Kingdom explode with students and families loving their King.
That's why when Jesus gives us some commands, we try to take it seriously. One of the more memorized and quoted ones is Matthew 28:19,20. You know it. We call it the Great Commission. You've got it down. Go into all the world and make disciples, baptize them, and teach them to do everything I've commanded. We work on that everyday of our lives as student leaders and pastors. It's what we are all about.
Have you stopped recently to evaluate how that is going? No, no, not in a guilt trip kind of way. Just in a "hey, how are we doing?" kind of way. If we don't stop and inspect where we are, we can get way off track. On this pyramid we use, Level 3 is Beginning Discipleship. This is the stuff that helps all of us move forward in our faith. It's the foundational disciplines that we need to grow.
We look at things like prayer, memorizing verses, reading the Bible, giving, living in some type of community where we can know others and be known. It's the foundational stuff. If you've been around Willow Creek, it's the Five G's. If you've been around Saddleback, it's the Purposes. We talk a ton about these things. But how intentional are you about them?
As we help students understand these ideas, we are trying to build a self-sustaining foundation in them that will last way past their days in youth group. I don't want students to memorize verses because they "have to". I want to help them understand why storing God's truth away helps them live today. I want to foster a love affair with the Bible in student's hearts. I want them to learn to give because it sets them free to live the life He has called them to. All of this takes a plan, which changes over time. If you wrote your plan four years ago, it's past time to review it and revise it. Your students have changed, your culture has changed, you have changed. Has your plan changed?
As we put down these foundational building blocks, we allow students the resources and reserves to serve from. These disciplines are not an end to themselves. Someone following Jesus doesn't grow simply from quoting Scripture. The Scripture is the sword and armor that allows them to wade out in the world and serve.
We'll talk about that part next, when we discuss Level 4.
Let me know your thoughts. What has been your experience with discipleship? What's important in your ministry? What is missing?
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