One word: Fellowship

One of the other major thoughts that ran through our heads as we developed the end in mind is realizing that there isn’t an end to be in mind. The goal of ministry is not to do what you can while you have them, but to bond with them and teach them to be Christ followers even when they move away, or grow up out of your particular ministry environment.

Spiritual growth is a community undertaking. That’s what we try to strive for for adult small groups. Yet why what until then. The entire church community can be there long before they become adults to connect with them, speak influence when they don’t want to hear it from their parents, teach them how to serve, and teach them how to walk a life with Christ.

Statistics have been all over the place that highlight 75% or so of youth walk away from God and the church after they leave high school. Maybe that says a lot about why they are there in the first place. Maybe it’s not because they are in love with an amazing God. Maybe they’re there because their parents go there and that’s part of their life unconsciously. Maybe they are there because they enjoy the activities because we spend more time designing and planning activities than creating independent followers of God. Maybe because that’s just the facts of spiritual life, some seed is sown in good soil, but some are not. Jesus says in Matthew 7:14 that the gate is small and the road is narrow that leads to life, and that only few find it.

We never really know who are those few who find it, but our job is to make as many as possible that come into our neighborhoods to love them and lead them into that growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Our student ministry will only be as successful as we make it as well as how successful our children’s ministries are as well as how successful our adult small groups are as well as how successful our parents are in taking their biblical role of training and teaching in righteousness right at home.