You(th) Ministry

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to You(th) Ministry! We're so glad that you've joined us on this journey. In fact, don't think of this as a book; it's your roadmap, your field notes to becoming a better youth leader/pastor. Use this book as an advisor. It will guide you on your journey to becoming an effective and truly productive youth worker. This book is designed to focus on the driving force of your ministry: you. True change can only come from the inside. Your youth ministry will only be as healthy and effective as you are. Hence, the title You(th) Ministry.

There's a new workout program that's taking the world by storm. It's called CrossFit. A total body workout program, its main goal is to produce functional fitness. In essence, its specialty is that it doesn't specialize in anything. It hits every area of your body to make you faster, stronger, more explosive. This is the toughest form of training you can do. CrossFit is the antithesis of bodybuilding. Bodybuilding is about aesthetics; CrossFit is about performance. It's not about looking good. It's about being good.

This next example may seem like an odd illustration for youth workers who have been called to bring the peace and wholeness of God to the lives of troubled students. But the truest example of where functional fitness comes into play is the fight game. Really, there is no other sport that is more like ministry than the fight game. You are not trying to score a touchdown or dunk a ball in ministry. You're trying to win a war. You are locked in a cage with culture and your own sinful nature. The dude staring at you from the other side of the octagon is the guy the Scripture describes as the devil. He wants nothing more than to win and destroy God's creation. You're not fighting for a belt but for students. You need to be able to grind it out and to beat him up if you want to win. There is no decision; you are either going to knock him out or you're going to submit to him, or else he's going to do the same to you. Therefore, you cannot afford to look flashy; you've got to actually be a good fighter.

This example is not an endorsement of any one sport or organization, but it's a statement of fact. Youth ministry is a fight. You are in a fight, and our goal is to make you strong so that you can win this fight and gain more students for Christ.

Adam: I remember the first time I tried working out with functional fitness. I had been going to the gym for about three months. I'd lost some weight and was starting to post up what I thought were pretty good numbers in my weight training. As part of my membership, I was eligible to receive a free session with a personal trainer. I was pretty stoked to show the trainer how good I was and how much I knew about working out. If he thought he was going to break me, he was wrong. Well, let's just say I was the one who was wrong—really, really wrong, some may even say delusional. As this behemoth of a human being tortured me through a battery of squats, sprints, cleans, pushups, and burpees, I became painfully aware that heavy squats didn't amount to, well, squat. Bad puns aside, halfway through the workout, my face turned an interesting shade of green. Long story short, I turn to “trainer from former Soviet bloc country” and declared that I needed to use the bathroom. He finally relented, and I sprinted toward the locker room. No sooner did I burst through the stall door when what I ate that day began to be wildly ejected from my body. It was bad. See, my problem was I was really good at a couple of things, but when it came time to put them together and use my fitness in a functional, real-world way, I failed.

Most everyone is given a set of skills, talents, and abilities; however, they are not always the keys to having success in youth ministry. There are a lot of practical habits that even the most skilled and talented youth workers must obtain to maximize their potential and be effective leaders.

So, You(th) Ministry is designed to be read one “challenge” at a time. Read each Bible study, and then begin the process of executing the challenge posed at the end. That's it. Sounds simple, but if you will make your way through this entire book, you will not be the same youth leader you are right now.

This book is short, but that doesn't mean it's easy. We are going to hit every area of your life: your relationships, your creativity, your management. We want you to partner with us and go on a journey to transform yourself and your student ministry.