Youth pastor, do you love church? Specifically, do you love your church? From what I hear, some youth ministers who are serving in churches don’t love church. Youth pastor, is that you? That would be like working on cars and hating cars. I’d be miserable, and that misery would show in my job performance.
I’m working through 1 Thessalonians and read this: “But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-10).
Paul is expressing how important it is for the church to love church. People who sit in the pew week after week should truly love the church God has placed us in. Not just as members but also as leaders and staff and volunteers. If I love church, the results show in how I do my job in the church, whether I’m a volunteer or staff member.
My thoughts then turned to 1 Corinthians 13. I read the chapter with my church in mind. Pastors and teachers can teach and preach with great eloquence. But if they don’t love church, then it’s just a bunch of noise. It’s like the teacher speaking in the Charlie Brown cartoons: “Wha wha wha wha…”
Without love, what we do in ministry amounts to absolutely nothing. If we give and sacrifice in ministry but don’t have love, we have gained zero.
Why We Need to Love Church
Love must be the motivational force behind what we do in youth ministry and in serving. If love isn’t present, we’re just spinning our wheels. We’re accomplishing nothing for the Kingdom of God.
Love is a powerful motivator. When I fell in love with my wife, Misha, more than 30 years ago, I was motivated to do whatever I could just to spend time with her. I wanted to be around her.
