“But in what way is all this a ministry mutiny?” he asked reflectively, his thoughts returning to their earlier conversations. “On three levels, Ty. First of all, challenging youth leaders to give the gospel every week and use their weekly youth group as a way to reach kids is a rebellion against the status quo. We must make going wide a priority in our weekly youth group setting just as much as worship, Bible teaching and fellowship. If we say evangelism is a priority and only do a once-a-month outreach meeting, I think we are kidding ourselves. Could you imagine telling your wife that she was a priority, and then spending time with her only once a month?” “That wouldn’t work out too well,” Ty laughed in agreement. “You love your wife, so you schedule time with her consistently. In the same way if we love evangelism, it’s going to be programmed in on a weekly basis. Secondly, the mutiny continues when we push our kids to reach out in their Jerusalem, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the world. And I think we discovered today the third way that going wide is a ministry mutiny. It smacks in the face of those who say that salvation is just a process.”
“Once again…wow! You’ve given me a whole lot to think about today. This whole idea of The Great Commission being the engine of youth ministry makes a lot of sense,” Ty admitted, glancing back at the graph Tony still clutched in his hand. “Would you mind if I kept that graph you have there?” he asked, pointing at the paper. “I’ll spend some more time thinking it through before we meet again tomorrow. And by the way, when and where do we meet tomorrow?”
excerpt from Ministry Mutiny…A Youth Leader Fable
Questions:
- Do you schedule evangelism (AKA “going wide”) into your youth ministry every week? Why or why not?
- What are some ways we can program the priority of evangelism into our youth ministry programs?
- Why is there such a strong temptation NOT to do this?
- What are the benefits when we do?
- What is the average teenagers “Jerusalem” or “Judea” or “Samaria”?
- Why is it important to push them out of their comfort zones when it comes to sharing Jesus with their friends?
Comment on the 6 Youth Ministry Principles of Ministry Mutiny
