A simple question with a bit of background.
As you know, teenagers are lost. You may have a few in your youth group who are on fire for the Lord, but the overwhelming statistics don’t lie, Teenagers are lost. They are broken, hurting, and in need of so much that we as Youth pastors hope to provide.
So what is your motivation?
I would challenge that if you are doing ministry to make them Christians, you will have a subpar ministry.
If you are doing ministry to them because you are a Christian, that will make all the difference.
Yes, I believe that salvation is the hope of these students of today. But if I am loving on them to make them Christian, if I am getting out of bed at 11 to go pick up a student from a bad situation because I want to make him a Christian, if I am staying up until 3 talking to a student after a bad break up because I want to make them a Christian, they see through it.
If you don’t think they do, take a closer look. It’s that classic saying “People want to buy a product, but they don’t want to be sold a product.”
Students know when we have expectations of them. They can read when we are doing something because we expect something back. They can tell if you are trying to simply get them to youth group. And I urge you, if you are going to ministry to them, do it for nothing else than the fact that you are already saved. It will speak much louder to them than anything else.
