It's Not All About You
How do we train a ministry team to be self-sacrificial or service oriented? I am working on a lesson for the teen ministry team for tomorrow. I am really trying to get over the hump of "I want to go to camp and hang out with my friends".
- What key texts would you go to?
- What learning initiatives would you use?
- What images or illustrations would teach these truths best?
- What homework practical applications would you like to send them home with?
Objectives:
K: Ministry requires ministers to seek the good of others, considering others better than themselves -- like Christ did.
F: Selfless in ministry opportunities; Content to allow God to meet the needs/desires of their hearts.
D: Minister with a Christocentricity that causes incarnational ministry to happen.
Help a brother out here! :)
Mike
Labels: discipleship, humility, ministry
posted by Pastor Mike Paris @ 10:55 AM
7 Comments:
I hate to break it to ya but my uneducated, real-world experience tells me that teens do their best work when they're "hanging out with their friends".
Maybe try using their need for "hanging" as a tool to boost their ministry capabilities instead of trying to change their minds to think what you think they should think.....
Thanks for your help, Thad.
I would beg to differ with you on the issue of "hanging out with each other" as a need.
If you say that hanging out is the teen equivalent of fellowship, then I will say that fellowship is not about your feeling appreciated or loved. Fellowship is partnering together to accomplish a goal, aka teamwork.
I need more dialogue to figure out what you really mean.
BTW -- what's with the education slam right out of the gates?
My 2 cents. You have to have at least a couple of teens that are already other centric. The emphasis of serving can be caught more easily than taught.
Maybe "Have to" is a little too strong. It definitely helps.
Dad,
Thanks for that comment. It is one of the things that I love about youth ministry. Change is inevitable. The all eventually graduate and the process starts again.
The spiritually mature/sensitive servants are in the middle (10th-11th graders). The seniors are focused on "will it be fun?". And the jr hi'ers are well jr hi'ers and boys to boot.
Mike
Nobody actually answered the question... just gave their opinion. But I tend to be overly critical. I would do what a wise old youth leader of mine did back-in-the-day, make them memorize Phil 2:1-11 before they can go.
Maybe you could get them to complete the statement with their ministry intent.
"I want to go to camp and hang out with my friends and..."
I just read the original post again. Jesus' incarnational ministry is "hanging out" with his disciples. But their hanging out was not just to tell knock-knock jokes or to chug Mt. Dew and belching! It was for transformation. I believe in hanging out with teens but not to be their pals!
Thanks for helping me to work through this issue. Keep commenting!
Mike
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