Student Pastor, Stand Against Evil

by Chase | Leadership, Ministry

In the wake of the Charlottesville protests  – and the ongoing racial turmoil our country has been in since its founding – it is time for more student pastors to leverage their influence to lead young people toward spiritual reconciliation.

Student pastors, you cannot avoid the conversation about race inequality. Look at the pictures of these white supremacists in Charlottesville; they are young men – not the older generation that everyone assumes still has racists roots.

These men were teenagers in a student ministry less than a decade ago.

If you passively sit back, waiting for your senior pastor to speak about hard topics, you are creating a culture of uninformed and spiritually weak Christians.

It is easy to feel lost as to what you can do to make a difference.

Being detached geographically doesn’t detach your ethical and spiritual responsibility to denounce evil and advocate for change.

What should a student pastor do to make lead change?  

Have ongoing conversations about race, reconciliation, and Jesus’ model of ministry.

Offering up a prayer the Sunday after a racial tragedy isn’t going to change our culture. As a spiritual leader, you must constantly denounce hate and oppression and lead your people to live as citizens of Heaven – the hands and feet of the Body of Jesus Christ.

Theologian Karl Barth said, “We have to read the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other.” Student ministries cannot be detached from culture. The Spirit of God hasn’t give us a spirit of fear but of courage and power (2 Timothy 17). You must lead ongoing conversations about the injustices that are happening around the world and how the power of Jesus, extended through the local church, can radically change our world. 

Expand your students’ worldview by ministering cross-culturally.

If ignorance breeds racism, then we must expose our students to the cultures that exist beyond their cul-de-sacs.  They need to see that people are people and that the need for Jesus transcends race, social status, and gender. Ministering cross-culturally has to be an ongoing aspect of your ministry. Serving one time in that one area will not shape your students’ worldview to minister to others.

Don’t tolerate hate in your church.

Love isn’t silent. Our student ministries can’t be silent about evil. Jesus wasn’t – He constantly crossed racial and social barriers to heal broken people. It is time for you to speak up and use whatever platform that you have to influence change in your community. Your students will follow your leadership.

Lead by example. 

At the end of the day, you have to help your students become doers of God’s Word. We need to cultivate Christians who act in our passive culture. Connect students and parents to the tangible steps to fight evil. Those steps will look different in each community. Christians have the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). Student pastors have the responsibility to equip students glorify Jesus.

In addition, here are a few passages you can reference as you continue to stand against evil and encourage your students to be the salt and light of the world.

Bible Passages To Reference As You Speak Against Racism:

John 4 – Jesus’ Encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well

Luke 10:25-37 – Parable of the Good Samaritan

Ephesians 2:19-20 – “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.”

Revelation 7:9 – “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”

Matthew 22:37-39 – “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

1 John 2:11 – “But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.”

2 Corinthians 5:14 – “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.”

7 Tips For An Incredible Fall Semester

by Chase | Leadership, Ministry

Students have spent their entire summer waiting for school to be back in session.

Ok, that statement isn’t true.

Honestly, they are probably dreading school, structure, and homework.

But the fall semester is an incredible time for ministries to get back into a normal routine and do some awesome ministry.

Now that the summer sprint is over, it is time for you to fall back into a sustainable rhythm of ministry.

Below are 7 tips for an incredible fall semester.

7 Tips For An Incredible Fall Semester

Bring Your Adult Leaders Up To Speed

This is the perfect time to remind your leaders about the importance of serving families. Leaders need encouragement to continue serving each semester. Nothing is more compelling than showing how their service is transforming lives. Go ahead and communicate when and where you plan on meeting the rest of the semester. 

Create a Fall Calendar

Seriously. Spend an afternoon and outline all of the major events and deadlines that are coming up this fall. Your students will get excited about future events. Your leaders will think you are an administrative genius. The parents will appreciate you stellar communication skills. Once your calendar is completed make sure it looks sharp before you print it. Pull in someone else if you aren’t great at graphic work. Then print them on VistaPrint.

Send Out Your Small Group Leader Lessons

Back in the day the only option for curriculum were printed books we bought for our leaders. Now with the option to go paperless, I see many children and student pastors send the lesson out only a few days in advance. Sure, some of your leaders are slackers and won’t look at the lesson any earlier. But for your organized and invested leaders, the earlier the better they are prepared. Send out the trendy looking PDF with the semester outline that is provided in your resources so leaders know the spiritual direction for the semester.

Meet With School Administrators

Your local schools need to know that you are invested in their success, not just taking students from their schools. Meeting with school administrators early in the fall semester allows you to see what needs are present, talk through ideas you have to serve on campus, and ensures the administration knows who you are.

[Read: Why Youth Ministries Must Be Advocates In Their Local Schools]

Meet With Non-Profit School Groups

FCA, Teens For Christ, YoungLife, and the like need your help. And to be honest, you need their help. These groups are the missionaries serving your local schools. Each group tends to know the needs of the school better than the area family ministries. Partner with them, serve alongside of them, and back them with your budget by buying food for their events.

Send Students A Card

Mailed cards connect with students in an age of digital noise. Have you already created the fall calendar? Great! Mail that and write a two sentence blurb about how stoked you are for this student to be involved this fall semester.

Communicate Your Weekly Routine

The summer came at you like a wrecking ball and now it is time to get back into your rhythms. Sit down with your direct supervisor and layout your schedule for the fall. Don’t make your supervisor create your schedule – that is your role. Simply talk through the shifts and communicate where you will be each day. This saves your neck from looking like a slacker with no office hours. Don’t forget to communicate when you are taking time off.

Now What?

There are huge opportunities to minister in the fall. What else are you focusing on?

14 Characteristics of Incredible Small Group Leaders

by Chase | Leadership, Ministry

God hasn’t called us to be mediocre spiritual leaders.

Churches around the country are filled with leaders who more closely resemble warm bodies than spiritual leaders.

Small group leaders have an incredible calling to impart practical spiritual truth with a group of people who are on various levels of spiritual maturity. This is an incredibly difficult task!

It is well known that the best leaders are self-aware to their limitations, issues, and shortcomings. The list below reflects 14 qualities of incredible small group leaders. None of us match up with every one of these. We all have gaps. However, it is important for us to recognize where we are, where we need to be, and who we can bring into the mix to help us fill the gaps of our leadership. 

Take your time and pray through this list and see where God is leading you to grow as a leader.

14 Characteristics Of Incredible Small Group Leaders

Spiritually Mature
What right do you have leading others to Jesus if you are not following Him?

Small group leaders must be spiritually mature. Does this mean they have to be perfect? Of course not! Maturity doesn’t mean you are perfect. Maturity in Jesus means that you are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus through spiritual disciplines. Spiritually immature people are incapable of being spiritual leaders. The great news is that we can all, by the grace of Jesus and application of spiritual disciplines, grow spiritually. 

Attentive
Great small group leaders are attentive to the needs, spiritual condition, and personalities of the people that the are serving. It isn’t enough for a small group leader to know the bible study material – they must know the people they are serving.

Transparent
Transparency is essential to build relationships. Relationship is essential for discipleship. Every person in your small group doesn’t need to know every aspect of your life. Instead, they need to know that you are a real person with real struggles. Groups that are transparent are led by leader who are transparent.

Patient
Small group leaders are not responsible to “fix” people. There are too many negative ways you can take that statement, so I will move on. Some leaders become increasingly frustrated that the students in their group aren’t maturing as quickly as others. Be patient. People are different. People come from different backgrounds. People have different stories.

Person Of Integrity
This one is a no-brainer. Leaders have integrity. Without integrity you lose influence. Integrity comes from practicing what you preach, both publicly and privately.

Encourager
People are willing to follow someone who encourages them. Everyone feels inadequate in some areas of their spiritual life. Encouraging your small group can be as simple as praying, sending text messages, or remembering to follow up with a question.

[Read: 3 Ways You Can Be A Leader Who Encourages Others]

Relational
The love for people is an essential characteristic of great small group leaders. The best small group leaders are actively participating in other’s lives.  The best small group leader’s are not the greatest Bible teachers – they are often the best relational leaders.  

Positive
I find it hard to read the Bible and walk away with a negative attitude. God has repeatedly done the impossible for His people. Small group leaders need to approach their groups with a positive attitude. After all, God promises to provide for His people – both spiritually and relationally. 

Servant
Jesus’ life exemplified the power present when we assume the role of a servant leader. Your small group doesn’t exist to serve you, but for you to serve them. 

Available
The most encouraging person can still make for a bad small group leader if he is unavailable to his group. Time and energy are essential to disciple others. Small group leaders understand that at times they will sacrifice their schedule to minister to their group.

Intentional
Spiritual growth doesn’t appear magically. Growth takes intentionality. It is a small group leader’s responsibility to intentionally lead each person in his or her group.

Expectant
Do you believe that your group members can do incredible things to build the Kingdom of God? Healthy expectations can spur growth more so than wordsmithing a perfect open-ended question.

Each Jesus follower has been given spiritual gifts and talents to leverage in their mission to share the Gospel. Great leaders help their people set healthy expectations and paint a picture of what God may have for them in the near future.

Enthusiastic
Enthusiasm is contagious. It is important for you to enjoy spending time with your small group. The leader is the one who sets the pace for this. If you dread attending small group meetings your group will dread it as well. Add elements that will connect the team to one another and spark their enjoyment for life and Jesus.

Facilitator
Your small group is not a platform. Your small group is not your audience. Don’t lecture to them for an hour. Be a leader that facilitates conversation. Facilitators steer the conversation without controlling the conversation. Facilitation, when done well, incorporates strong Biblical teaching and ensures there are practical steps for each person to walk away with.

4 Habits That Are Killing Your Ministry

by Chase | Leadership, Ministry

Are you impacting your community for the Gospel of Jesus?

I didn’t ask if your church has ministries that serve the community.

I’m not concerned with the number of service projects you have completed.

Are you impacting your community?

It is easy for us to believe that since our church is ministering to the community that must mean that we had a part in that as well. While that is partially true, you can’t sit on Sundays and never serve but call that investing in your community.

4 Habits That Are Killing Your Ministry

You use your social medias to further your agenda instead of spread Jesus’ love

Your friends and neighbors see your social media posts long before they see you. How do I know? Because people are going to check their social media news feeds before they leave their house in the mornings. Stop filling your social medias with hate speech, pointless arguments, and posts that make you look awesome. Be real on your social medias and start to connect with your alleged “friends.”

Don’t be pushy, but be real about the love of Jesus.

You don’t serve your community

Sure, you sign up for a service project every year or so. Is that investment? Are you getting to know people? Imagine if Jesus performed one miracle per year. We would have a whopping three miracles from his ministry! There are plenty of needs in your community that must be meet more than once or twice per year. Relationships are built by spending time with others. And discipleship is impossible without relationships.

How are you, not your church, serving families and spreading the hope of Jesus?

You don’t attend a local church, you drive to another town

How far away is your church from your house? More than a 25 minute drive? Unless you live in an area without many people or churches, something might be off about this. Most people are attending church because they like certain aspects – the music, the preaching, the children’s ministry, etc. But answer this. What will happen when the church changes it’s worship style? Or if the pastor is called to another church?

If we base our decision to attend church on our likes and not where God wants us to serve, then we aren’t ministering to our community. What if God has called you to be the only young adult at a smaller church so that you can be the one who reaches young adults?

[READ: Stop Shopping For A Church]

You are only concerned with bringing people to church, not taking the Gospel to people

There isn’t anything wrong with bringing people to church. There is everything wrong with failing to taking the Gospel to people.

The difference? Jesus didn’t command His disciples to “bring” people to the temple, Jesus instructed His disciples to “go” into the world.

Sitting back and waiting for people to find your church is the equivalent to sitting back and waiting for drowning swimmer to find his way back to the shore. The time is too short and the need is too great for us to live removed from the spiritual and physical needs of our communities.