Challenge to Influence...

Jesus captured the imagination and hearts of his followers by calling them to great acts of faith. "You give them something to eat," he told the disciples when they were wondering if it wasn't time to send the large crowds away so they could grab some grub (Mark 6:37). He invited Peter to join him for a stroll on the water (Matthew 14:29). Zacchaeus responded to Jesus' wild challenge to radically alter his lifestyle when announced his new wealth distribution plan at dinner (Luke 19:8). Time after time in the Gospels, you see Jesus stretch his followers continually, challenging them to become what they never had dreamed possible.

As student ministry leaders we should never lose sight of the importance of challenging students to do more or to do better. If we have a clear picture of what students can become in Christ; if they know we care about them and trust us; and if we're close enough to understand what they need most in their next step of growth; it's wrong for us NOT to see to influence them and challenge them. My challenge to us all is that we stay alert to the transformation that is happening in the lives of the students around us, so we can challenge them to greater depths.

Recharge

Take Time to Recharge from Amp'd Student Media on Vimeo.

Pay the Price

Time after time, success comes down to sacrifice---willingness to pay the price. The same is true of a winning team. Each member of the team must be willing to sacrifice time, energy, and resources to practice and prepare. Team members must be willing to be held accountable. Sacrifice their own desires. And be willing to give up part of themself for the team's success. It all comes down to the desire and dedication of the individuals on the team. Teamwork for a worthwhile vision makes it possible for common people to attain uncommon results. When we are not common people, but leaders, we can take things to a HNL (Hole Notha Level).

Make Note...

Inviting Others to Lead...

When you feel called to lead, and when you discover someone you really want and need to be involved in your endeavor, don’t be coy. Follow the example of Jesus and ask them to join you. People want to be asked and feel needed. Even when they say no—and some will—they will feel good about themselves and about you, simply because you asked. Sure, there will be times when others take the initiative to ask if they can join you in your ministry. This is fine, but don’t wait for it to happen, particularly where key people are concerned. If you feel called to lead, and you see your own Peter, Andrew, James, or John that you want alongside you, step up and ask them to join you, to “follow” you. 

Jesus called his disciples personally. So when inviting a key person to join you, resist the strong temptation to extend your invitation through a third party or some other impersonal means—a letter, email, or phone call. Perhaps fearing rejection or embarrassment, some leaders are reluctant to contact potential followers face-to-face, a true leadership mistake. Real leaders rise to the challenge of personally inviting to the team those persons necessary for the greatest success. No other invitations have the power and appeal of the one-on-one method. Jesus asked people to follow him, and so should we. 

Moving From Non-Essential to Essential...

If you have been in student ministry long enough, you know the recurring statistic that two-thirds of church going teenagers drop out of church between the ages of 18 and 22...that's 70% who leave and only 30% who remain.  Why?

 -Simply wanted a break from church. 

 -Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical. 

 -Moved to college and stopped attending church. 

 -Work responsibilities prevented me from attending. 

 -Moved too far away from the church to continue attending. 

 -Became too busy though still wanted to attend. 

 -Didn’t feel connected to the people in my church. 

 -Disagreed with the church’s stance on political or social 

issues.

-Chose to spend more time with friends outside the church. 

-Was only going to church to please others.

In short, the main reason you see so many churchgoing students dropout of church is because it is not ESSENTIAL to their lives.  Students are more likely to stay in church if they see it as ESSENTIAL to their lives.  While this may seem incredibly obvious, the reality is that most churches in America are doing little to become essential to the lives of their members.  Church shouldn't be looked at as ONE option of many in the lives of our students.  

So how do we become essential?  One way is to SIMPLIFY. Get the structure right.  I believe this initially starts with the core values.  Everything should stem from our values.

What are we doing to create ENVIRONMENTS that relate to the needs of our students?  Are we challenging our students to reach their full God given POTENTIAL?  Are we encouraging students constantly to be in COMMUNITY with one another? Are students being challenged to step outside of themselves, and INFLUENCE the world around them? Is MOVEMENT toward their next steps towards and with Christ constantly being communicated into their life?  

These are all ESSENTIAL values to our church (the people, not the building).  What are we doing to inject these values into the lives of our students?

Fly Like An Eagle...

WOW!!! We just had an awesome weekend here at Barefoot...God spoke and people responded! As we continued on our in FACES series, we looked at the face of an eagle. All of us have a lot to learn from the eagle and Clay brought it home yesterday: Lead With Passion, Be A Great Steward, & Have A Great Vision. Here are some highlights from yesterday's services:

• It is November, tourist season is over with here in NMB, but we still had nearly 1,000 people in attendance here at Barefoot!!!
• We began sharing more about our upcoming Christmas series, people are getting pumped about the REVOLUTION...we had 60 people commit to serve as Pre-Revolution Team Leaders!!! Seriously, you don't wanna miss one week of our upcoming series! We launch it November 23!
• Our goal for this Thanksgiving is to feed 200 families in our area by partnering with North Strand Helping Hand. Yesterday was our first announcement of this and we collected over $2000 for turkey dinners. Let me break that down for you...$25.00 feeds a family of 6...That's over 80 families...nearly 500 individuals...and this was just our first week!!! More to come! Way to go Barefooters...Changing Lives That Change the World!!!
• I had an awesome time yesterday helping with the post-service sign-ups for our new series and Thanksgiving dinners. I seriously think I am gonna serve more often as a greeter and usher for our services...I had a blast!!!
• Oh yeah, 1 more thing...we had fresh made ice cream from the local creamery...WOW!!! Gotta love the birthday cake ice cream!
• My wife returned home last night!!! She has been gone for over a week!!! I can't even begin to tell you how much I missed her and how excited I was to see her!