Too often, a youth minister gets caught up trying to fill up a calendar, and it overflows onto his personal life. When this happens both his ministry and his spiritual life suffer for it.
ALEXANDRIA – Too often, a youth minister gets caught up trying to fill up a calendar, and it overflows onto his personal life. When this happens both his ministry and his spiritual life suffer for it.
What can be done about it?
Matt Kearns, director of Student Ministry at the Missouri Baptist Convention, says youth leaders should step back, make an honest evaluation of their walk with the Lord, and get their priorities straight.
The featured speaker at the second of two yearly youth ministry forums sponsored by Louisiana Youth Ministry department of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Kearns spoke frankly to a room of youth ministers from across the state.
“You are so fortunate because you get to hear from God,” Kearns said. “Unfortunately, you just don’t how to listen. You shouldn’t feel bad, though because you are not alone. It is the same all across the board.
“Too often we get lost in the numbers – how many did we have Sunday morning, Sunday evening, or Wednesday evening,” Kearns said. “As a former youth minister, I know I would much rather go one- on-one with kids than deal with a large crowd.”
Kevin Boles, LBC’s youth strategist, said, “I think his message really sank in this morning. You could tell because of the holy hush that descended upon the room. Matt really gave them a lot to think about.”
Boles sponsors these forums each year to assist youth ministers, both new and veteran alike. This year the two forums have focused on evangelism.
The one in April dealt with “connecting with the community and campus ministry” while this one dealt with practical applications.
“Sometimes these youth ministers just run out of minutes in a day,” Boles said. “They are so consumed with filling up a calendar they lose sight of their purpose. We’ve all done it.
“As a parent of two teenagers I am deathly afraid of this happening to me,” Boles said. “I know the importance of being compelled by Christ to be about Him, but I also know how your day can be quickly consumed.”
Boles said Kearns opened some eyes during the forum, including those of Brian Crain, a ULM student and youth minister at First Baptist Church in Wisner.
“Matt’s message was intense, but he’s absolutely right saying we – all of us – don’t spend enough time reading scripture or listening to God. He was frank, but the more I listened, the more I discovered how right he was. Scripture can be revealing, but we often let time get away from us, especially being in school,” Crain said. “It definitely has happened to me.”
Boles concurred.
“We need a shift in the way we do student ministry,” the LBC youth strategist said. “Just as Matt said, it isn’t so much about numbers, but about a personal relationship with God. The message hasn’t changed, and never will, but the methodology has got to change.”