LEGACY Has Left the Building - January 2019

Despite a number of our students being sick and not as many being able to participate, last night we closed our doors for the night and sent our students to other student ministries...

Yes - you heard me! Yes - we told students last week we'd be sending them elsewhere this week and we did. We had options for them and had them sign up. What? Why? Do we pay our own student pastor to send our students out? YES! And yes, the questions have come in: What if they teach something students don't believe? What if they like another ministry better? What if we lose students?

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah....
We did this last year too &  our students loved it! So why have a night like this? Let me give you several reasons:

- Students need to see the greater body of Christ in action! It's easy to get caught up in our own "student ministry world" and lose sight that there are other ministries that are not only advancing the Gospel but, like iron sharpens iron, we can learn from and collaborate with. I've worked hard since arriving in Castle Rock to network with other ministries to help make Jesus known, encourage each other and work together. Many of these ministries care deeply for students and are sharing the hope of Jesus!

- Students can forget what it is like to be the "visitor." It's easy to get comfortable week after week with the same friends - even ones you bring. But whenever you enter into a new place, a new environment, a different structure, it can be awkward and a bit scary. But, since we believe awkward is awesome, I want to put my students (& adults)  in "awkward" situations!  I want students to know how it feels to be the visitor because it can make them more sensitive to students who visit our ministry. We even had our students inviting their friends to go with them last night and be visitors together - now that's cool God stuff!

- It can help students take ownership. Want students more involved in your student ministry? Send 'em elsewhere and have them come back with ideas to make yours better. Then give them the encouragement &  resources to accomplish it. They can, they will, they do and it works! We had students meet at Chick-fil-a afterwards last night to debrief and share experiences & ideas - they were non-stop talking!!! 

- It will help students verbalize their faith. The greatest way to grow in your faith is to share your faith. And yes, this  happens best with students among their peers. As they attended other student ministries last night, numerous students had conversations about what they believe about Jesus with other students - during lesson discussion as well as while just hanging. Gospel conversations - students with students - Awesome!

- It creates faith-building, discipling opportunities. But what if students attend another ministry where they heard false teaching? Great! I'm not sending them elsewhere every week. The weeks they are in our ministry I guarantee they get solid, Biblical truth and that will help them discern truth from error. And even if this happens, you do what every parent does when their son or daughter asks a question. You discuss it together and it provides a teachable, discipling moment. Doing this helps students take ownership of their own faith which is a must, in my mind, at least before they leave high school. Side-note: The ministries I sent them to last night - I would trust those guys with my life!

- Students usually come back with a greater appreciation of their own student ministry. I heard this from a lot of our students after last night. Don't get me wrong - our students know I have no desire for our ministry to become any type of "club." But we do work hard to create a place in the body of Christ where they feel challenged as well as, loved & accepted with a sense of belonging & mission - because, sadly, for some, student ministry may be the only place where they find that.

So to wrap up, I don't feel threatened a bit by sending my students to visit some of the other great ministries in our city - besides, aren't we all on the same team?!~ As a called minister of God, I want to give my students the best and I work hard to do so. And if our ministries aren't the best (and you have to define best) - then shame on us, let's get them there! But if for whatever reason, a student (and/or their family) finds a better fit where they can worship, love, serve & share Jesus elsewhere - I am totally cool with that too! I don't get paid commission!
Ok, I said a lot. And for now, I still have a job :)

Hizkid, mrbill

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Jesus Centered, Gospel Advancing, Disciple Multiplying

Jesus-Centered, Gospel Advancing, Disciple Multiplying

by Mr Bill

I have had the privilege of serving Jesus in student ministry for over 32 years, the last 26+ full-time alongside my wife, Jean. So yes, that means I’m getting called old now. But there has been no greater joy, no greater struggle and no greater thrill than to watch God transform a life! So thank You Jesus for this amazing honor!

As you can imagine, during this time I’ve watched student ministry “fads” come and go. It’s been great to be a part of so many wonderful ministries: Youth Specialties, Youth With A Mission, Student Venture, Young Life, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Campus Crusade, Youth for Christ, Navigators, Dare 2 Share, SonLife, New Tribes, Group, Simply Youth Ministry, Athletes in Action, National Network of Youth Ministry, Camps, Missions Trips, Service Projects, Local Networks, Etc… all for the purpose of Knowing Jesus & Making Him Known. I’ve watched student ministry & trends evolve year after year. In student ministry, you’ll never make it for the long haul if you aren’t constantly changing. Now my Theology hasn’t changed, but my methodology is constantly changing. My mentality has been the same as that of the apostle Paul when he said, “I have become all things, to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.”

The ministries we’ve been privileged to be a part of have always been relational and focused on Knowing Jesus & Making Him Known. We’ve always discipled students & seen students come to know Jesus. So why am I saying all this? Because it wasn’t until about 5 years ago that we started seeing exponential, explosive growth in our student ministry. What was the difference?

            Five years ago I took a small group of students from Texas to Colorado to participate in a ministry call Lead The Cause. It was a week like no other. It wasn’t camp, it wasn’t a retreat, it wasn’t a conference. The best way I can describe it was a week long missional experience preparing us for a lifelong missions trip where we live. We prayed (a lot), we lived it, we were inspired & equipped and as we left we were deployed to our circles of influence.

Ever read the book of Acts, then go to church and think, “what happened?” Yeah, me too. We looked at 7 values in the book of Acts that were part of advancing the Gospel of  Jesus and prayed for God to show us how to develop those values in our own lives & ministries. Then, using Holy Spirit led stategery, we put together a plan for God to use us to reach those we are closest to with the Good news of His Son Jesus - and it worked! Our group of 8 students grew to 50 in 18 months and we saw 12 students place their trust in Jesus for the first time! In past four years we’ve seen 34 students place their trust in Jesus, just by inspiring & equipping them!
            Because this has been so transformational for us, my next seven articles will be on each of the 7 Values of a Gospel Advancing Ministry: Intercessory Prayer, Relational Evangelism, Leaders Role, Discipling Strategy, Bold Vision, Biblical Outcomes and Programs. I hope these articles will help you as much as these values from Acts have transformed us!

What I Learned from My Son from Last Night's Election

Regardless of how you're feeling this morning regarding last night's election results, it was without question a historical night. I was humbled, encouraged & challenged - but not from the election results, rather from my son Drew.
After we ate an early dinner, my son turned on the TV to watch the results come in from voters across our nation. And for the next SEVEN HOURS he was glued to the TV, constantly coming to our bedroom with the latest results of states won and by whom, filling us in on the House of Representatives, the Senate race and local amendments. It took me a little while, but pretty soon I realized I was being schooled by my son and these were the lessons I was being taught:

1 - VOTING is an amazing PRIVILEGE:
This was Drew's first chance to vote for a president and he was pumped! And why wasn't I? Ouch! Honestly, I wasn't going to even turn the TV on until after 10:00. And even as it went past midnight, I just wanted to go to bed, but not my son. Drew realized he gets to have a say, he gets to play a part in the direction of our country, he knows his vote counts and wanted to see how his participation was going to make a difference. It was at this point I realized that I needed to ask God to forgive me for taking this great privilege for granted. My son's enthusiasm had convicted me, I was ashamed and asked forgiveness.

2 - FORGIVENESS is an amazing GIFT:
Neither of the top two candidates are stellar role models. Both have done & said things that are embarrassing & wrong. Drew knows that, I know that, I think our whole country knows that. (By the way, I've done & said stupid stuff too) Both leading candidates have admitted they've done some things wrong. But last night I found myself wanting to hold things said & done against people for life whereas Drew said to me, "everyone messes up some dad." This is one of the things I love most about my son - when he forgives, it's a done deal for him and he moves on. That is what Jesus does with us (1 John 1:9) and Drew is just modeling his Maker! Again - I was convicted, ashamed and I asked forgiveness.

3 - GOD is in CONTROL: 
I know this one,  I just needed to be reminded of it again. Drew wasn't freaking out over that past few weeks, he didn't let this election consume him. He prayed & cast his vote. Period. I don't know, maybe his Aspergers is a gift in these situations! He knows GOD is the one who puts leaders in office and removes leaders from office because the Bible says so (Romans 13:1-5) and he just literally believes it. And so should I. And so should we all.

So after repenting this morning, I want to publicly say THANKS to my son Drew. Last night you were the teacher and I was the student! Thanks for encouraging me to stay up (ok, I may have dozed off a bit). You Rock Son!
Oh, and lessons learned.
Love, your dad (& proud to be your dad)