Three Thoughts on Student Ministry
Written by Garth Farmer – Minister of Youth
Student Ministry is an amazing and wild place. It carries with it unique opportunities and challenges, but student ministry is something I love. I love observing the work that God does in the lives of students as they study the Bible, grow in knowledge, and develop deep Christian friendships. I love the unique challenge of applying the truth of God’s word to a shy sixth grade girl and an outspoken boy in his junior year at the exact same time. I love Christ and how he works in the lives of students.
Student ministry is incredibly unique and I’m grateful for how God has moved in our church and in our youth group over the last three years. But as we continue to strive for faithfulness, I believe it’s important to be clear on what our desire for student ministry is and how we think about the role of student ministry in the life of our church. I recently gave this a lot of thought and shared my view on our student ministry at a Men’s Ministry dinner. These are three ways that I think about student ministry.
1) A Parent Partnership
The primary way in which I view student ministry is as a partnership with parents. I think it is critical that we never forget the primary means by which students are directed to Jesus and instructed in a knowledge of God is within the context of the family. This happens primarily from parents to children, and I think it’s clear that God intended for it to be this way. Listen to what we read in Deuteronomy 6:4-9 as God instructs the nation of Israel on preparing to live in the promised land.
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
God has designed it so that parents would educate their children about God! What a wonderful thought! And the way I view the role of student ministry at First Baptist Church Fairdale is as a partner alongside parents and families to help point students toward Christ. The most important people for the spiritual development of our students is not our student ministry team, but the families of our students. We have the privilege of coming alongside parents and reaffirming the truths of Scripture and beauty of the Gospel to their youth.
2) Consistency over Entertainment
I greatly desire for our students to have fun when they attend our church. One of the joys of student ministry is observing the happiness and enjoyment kids have as they participate in games, activities, and events. Whether it happens through crazy ice breaker games, late afternoon basketball, or walks to Dairy Queen, I desire for our students to enjoy our ministry. Creating a fun and welcoming environment really is critical in student ministry. But the reality is that our students don’t need more entertainment. They can find plenty of that outside the walls of our church, whether that be through video games, YouTube, sports, reading, etc. That list could go on and on.
There have been many student ministries over the years that have attracted tons of youth by means of entertainment. Tons of food, loud music, giant door prizes, and crazy games is almost guaranteed to draw a crowd. The problem is that none of those things are ultimately sustainable, and when they’re gone will the students be gone with them? If the reason they were showing up is because of the entertainment then the probability that they leave when the entertainment is gone is high.
But if our students come to church knowing that the priority is Bible study, worship, and prayer then a real ministry is starting to take place. What our students need when they come to church is to be reminded of the goodness and mercy of God, to be challenged to repent of sin, and strive for holiness and faith in Christ. And they (along with myself) need this consistently each and every week. We don’t gather on Wednesday nights so that our students can be entertained while the adults do Bible study and prayer meeting. We gather on Wednesday nights so that we can study the Word of God together as students and apply the truths of Scripture and the goodness of the Gospel to the lives of Middle and High school students. Having fun will always be something we strive for, but it will never be the most important aspect of our ministry. We want our students to be consistently loved and directed to Jesus, not simply entertained.
3) Student Ministry is a Marathon not a Sprint
According to several different sources the average tenure for a youth pastor is around 18-24 months. While this certainly isn’t always the case, this was actually my experience is a student. Over the course of my middle and high school years at the church I grew up in, I had six different youth pastors over the seven years that I was in youth. This is in no way an indictment on any of those men. I actually praise God for them! I remember each of them fondly and am grateful for the things I learned from them. But I also remember the difficulty that came for our youth group each time our church had to transition from one leader to the next. It’s incredibly difficult for any sort of true and consistent ministry to be built in such a short amount of time.
Effective student ministry is a marathon and not a sprint. It’s built over years of discipling and preaching to the same students week after week. Its consistent prayer together week after week. It is being able to discuss interests and life with someone when they’re in 6th grade and still when they’re entering their senior year of high school. I really believe that genuine God-honoring student ministry is built over time. It would be incredibly difficult for a church to maintain health and effectively make disciples if the Senior Pastor left every two years. We certainly can’t expect for Student Ministry to somehow be different. Shepherding students alongside their parents takes time. Earning credibility with a student (and their parents!) takes time and effort. We have to be invested in student ministry for the long-term.
I’m incredibly grateful for how gracious God has been to FBCF student ministry. Over the course of the last decade we have only had two youth pastors and we are both still at the church. What a unique experience it is for our students on any given Sunday to see their current and former youth pastor in worship at the same time! This is a gift of God and I believe that God will continue to work in our student ministry if we remain committed to being faithful for the long haul.
In Psalm 71:17-18 David says this,
“O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
I regularly pray that this would be true of youth that come through our student ministry. I desire for them to know the mercies and greatness of God. I want their faith to be one that lasts them a lifetime. I want them to desire to make disciples. I hope that in old age they feel as though God really worked in them when they were students at FBCF. May God use our church and our student ministry to accomplish this.
