In a letter to a friend in 1951 Francis Schaeffer wrote: “I do think that our movement will never be what it could be under the Lord unless the leadership learns to be quiet in the presence of God…. I am more and more realizing that Scripturally none of us are ready for leadership until we come to the place before the Lord where we are really ready for His will – regardless of what it is – and therefore, of ourselves, we would prefer not to have the leadership, or at least be neutral concerning it. It is out of such stuff that true Christian leadership can come.”
I used to think “I’ll just leave campus ministry up to great organizations like Youth For Christ and Young Life who specialize in working with schools.” However, in the past few years, as our culture has been shifting, I have realized that in order to be effective in youth ministry, I had to be more active and intentional in supporting students on campus as a major aspect of our church’s youth ministry. In addition to attending their games, concerts, plays, etc. (which I have always done), I have sought to encourage and support the student-led Christian Clubs that meet at schools. In doing so, I have realized that YFC and Young Life actually want youth pastors from local churches to be involved. Here are 10 ways I support Christian Clubs.
Pray. Whenever I think of students throughout the day, I pause to pray for them. When I drive by their schools, I pray for students by name. I pray for Christian students to be faithful in their witness for Christ so that kids (and teachers and administrators) who don’t know Jesus will come know God’s love through them.
Attend. I love to attend Christian Clubs and just be a fly on the wall. Currently I attend 3 clubs in our area each week, and I visit a few others throughout the year. It’s interesting to observe how each one functions. They’re all similar, but all unique.
Speak. Occasionally a club will invite me to speak, which I always enjoy. I love the opportunity to share the gospel with those who are seeking, and to encourage the Christian students.
Food. Kids love free food. Sometimes I randomly show up with pizza, tacos, or donuts. (Note: Always communicate with the club leaders ahead of time in case they already have food planned.)
Fundraisers. Each year one of the clubs does a pizza fundraiser. I use some of our youth ministry budget to buy a bunch of pizzas and donate them to the club. I have also done things like printed materials for them. (Important: Don’t give them money as that can cause unnecessary questions and problems for the club.).
Transportation. Here in New York, most of the Christian Clubs meet after school. Sometimes kids need transportation in order to participate. I offer to take kids home if they need a lift. (Note: Follow your church or organization’s guidelines for transporting students in accordance with insurance policies and safety practices.)
Feedback. As I am a fly on the wall in the clubs, I can observe things that they do well and things that they can do better. After the meetings, the club leaders usually meet together to debrief and plan ahead. Sticking around for these meetings is an opportunity to help them think through things strategically.
Soul Care. I really enjoy meeting with the leaders, not just to talk about the ins and outs of the clubs, but to talk about their own soul care. It’s not just about having a cool club, but about ministering out of the overflow of their own hearts, and that begins by cultivating their personal relationships with Christ.
Resource. What do clubs need to succeed? Bibles? Mentoring? Leadership training? How can I provide that for them? Recently my own daughter had the dream to start the first ever Christian Club in her middle school. I networked and connected her with my friends at Youth For Christ who met with her, provided her with a manual to help her with all of the logistics, and met with her to mentor her. A Youth For Christ staff member and I both accompanied her when she met with school administration. We have sought to give her everything she needs to get her club going and build it for success.
Leadership. Hands down the most important thing that student leaders need to be reminded of is the importance of developing other leaders. It’s easy for them (and all of us) to get caught up in the now. The club may be going awesome, but what will happen next year when you graduate? The one flag that I am constantly waving before club leaders is a long-term vision for the club. When they graduate, who will take over the club? How will they be selected? Will they be ready to lead when you leave? What are you doing now to encourage and empower them to lead? This is the hard work of leadership. Helping current leaders identify future leaders, and equip them to lead once they leave is of utmost importance.
Ever since seeing my dad’s as a kid I had wanted one.
A Stanley 1.1 quart Classic Thermos.
They’re not cheap as thermoses go, so I have often passed them up. But while I was in Walmart shopping for our trip, there it was. Spotlight from heaven shining down upon it. A vision of baby angels in diapers sitting on clouds was seen, and the sound of them singing and playing harps was heard. I knew this was God’s appointed time for me to finally spring for one. And so I did. As I drove home all I could think about was how great it would be drinking Starbucks Via from my thermos in the Canadian wilderness.
I packed my supplies for the trip and was excited about all of my gear, my new Stanley 1.1 quart Classic Thermos chief amongst it all. I took an earth science class in high school, and one of the things I took away from Mr. Moore’s class, when talking about survival in the outdoors, was to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. As I looked through my gear I was sure I had everything I needed.
But then something happened. I picked up my luggage. It was heavy.
No problem. My suitcase had wheels. But my suitcase wasn’t going into the outdoors with me. All of this stuff was going to go into a pack along with my share of team supplies, including food and a tent, all of which was to be carried on my back. And so, I took the painful measure of going through my gear and lightening my load. Some things that I really liked and wanted to take didn’t make the cut because I realized they were not essential.
I went through the process several more times, and each time I made the hard choice to leave things behind. One thing that kept making the cut, however, was my Stanley 1.1 quart Classic Thermos. As we were making final preparations before getting into our canoes and setting out for the week, Greg, one of our experienced team leaders saw me struggling to fit everything into my pack. I had crammed as much in as I could fit. I sat on my pack and squeezed out as much air as I could, but my thermos was not in the pack. Greg asked, “Do you have a cup?” I assured him I did. “If I was you,” he said, “I would leave the thermos. You’re not going to need it.”
What?! O no he didn’t! No way! This thermos was coming with me! I found a couple of carabiners and hooked the thermos onto my pack. Heavy? Yes. Necessary? Do you really have to ask?
By day 3 … I had not used the thermos … not once. I forgot I was going to be up so early each day and would have my 2 cups of coffee in me before 8am. I also apparently neglected to consider that I would be busy paddling all day and wouldn’t have time to sip coffee anyways, even if I wanted to. Plus, one of the carabiners broke and I had to deal with the thermos clunking around while I was struggling to carry my pack along the trails.
Sometimes we need to leave behind things in order to get where we want to go. Sometimes it’s obvious and easy. They may be things that we know are not good for us. They might be sinful things. But then, there are other things that are not as easy to identify and let go of because they are not bad. They are not sinful. But the issue isn’t whether or not they are bad, it’s a question of whether they are essential and helpful in getting us where God wants to take us. The hard thing is letting go of the good things that God tells us we must leave behind in order to reach the great places He wants to take us.
The Apostle Paul put it this way in 1 Corinthians 6:12: “Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be brought under the control of anything” (HCSB).
The writer of Hebrews said it like this: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:1-2, HCSB). Notice the two different things: 1) every incumbrance, and 2) the sin which so easily entangles us. Not just the things that will entangle our feet and trip us up (sin), but also the things that will encumber us and weigh us down, making if difficult to move forward.
What are the sin issues that God is calling you to lay aside in order to fulfill His plans for your life? What are other things – maybe even good things – that you know are not helping you in your journey – that God is calling you to let go of?
Two weeks ago we traveled down to Yorktown, Virginia for the Mahaffy Family Reunion. The last time all of our families were all together was 21 years ago (we’ve come close at a couple of weddings) , and that was before any of my generation were married. Each family was assigned a different color t-shirt, and the numbers on our t-shirts represented the order in which we joined the family (really cool idea!). There were 55 of us in total from 83 years old to less than 2 months. In addition to the obvious joy of being with everyone and catching up, few highlights for me personally:
It was the first time my parents and all of my siblings were together in 5 years.
It was the first time I’ve seen my only brother in 3 years.
Seeing my parents with all of their 11 grandchildren at once for the first time ever.One night all of us “older cousins” and our spouses went out together (There is a 14 year gap between my grandparents’ oldest 3 children and their youngest 2, so those of us born to the older 3 all grew up together, and the children of the younger 2 are in the age range of my daughters.)
Seeing my daughter walking with her great-grandmother.
Seeing my grandparents with all of their 5 children and spouses, 17 grandchildren and spouses, 18 great-grandchildren. What a legacy!
A month and a half ago I went on an awesome trip with some friends to the Canadian wilderness of Algonquin Provincial Park. When I returned I had to really put my shoulder into our missions trip. Now that I am past the trip, I wanted to share some lessons I learned/was reminded during that experience.
The first lesson is this: Nature nurtures the soul. I need nature. I need times of detachment from the busyness man’s creations to be present in the serenity of God’s creation. The impressiveness of mans creativity pales in comparison to the beauty of God’s creativity. There is just something about being out in nature that is healing, life-giving, and centering. One day, while on the trip, I opened my Bible and spent time meditating on Psalm 23:1-3 which reads, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.“ There is a lot of beautiful metaphor here, but I would suggest that there is tremendous power in literally being in green pastures, quiet waters, and traveling along paths. Being in nature contemplating God and life makes the metaphors come alive.
While I can’t always go up into the Canadian wilderness, I can find time and space during my weeks and days to spend a day at the beach, go for a walk in a local park, or even just sit on my porch for a few minutes and look at the trees and flowers and bugs. How about you?
We are so proud of Natalia who has had it in her heart for quite some time to start a Christian Club at her school. Yesterday we went out for lunch to discuss her vision and strategy. When we got home she put together her proposal which she took to school to present to her principal today. Please pray for favor as she is making history in her school!
Last weekend we took our Bahamas Mission Team to iFly Trapeze for a team-building experience to learn about faith. Our team did a great job and we had a lot of fun. Here’s the video of two of my flights. Super fun and highly recommended.
My oldest daughter Claudia is so awesome! Yesterday I had the privilege of listening to her speak at her high school Christian Club. She is a great young speaker, and shared her story so clearly, courageously pointing her peers to Jesus. God is doing good things at Roslyn High School, and we are so proud of her!
Tomorrow is all about love. My wife and I are super excited to celebrate our relationship. (More on that tomorrow!) But we also wanted to send special love to the people who are the backbone of youth ministry: our Volunteers! To show our love in an inexpensive, simple way, I sent each of our team members a card with a coupon for a free Krispy Kreme donut and a little poem of appreciation.
What are some creative ways you show love to your volunteers, not just on Valentine’s Day, but throughout the year?
Ever since seeing my dad’s as a kid I had wanted one.
Two weeks ago we traveled down to Yorktown, Virginia for the Mahaffy Family Reunion. The last time all of our families were all together was 21 years ago (we’ve come close at a couple of weddings) , and that was before any of my generation were married. Each family was assigned a different color t-shirt, and the numbers on our t-shirts represented the order in which we joined the family (really cool idea!). There were 55 of us in total from 83 years old to less than 2 months. In addition to the obvious joy of being with everyone and catching up, few highlights for me personally:
One night all of us “older cousins” and our spouses went out together (There is a 14 year gap between my grandparents’ oldest 3 children and their youngest 2, so those of us born to the older 3 all grew up together, and the children of the younger 2 are in the age range of my daughters.)
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