Game Time Defense
Today we move to our second week of an 8-part series on developing a game plan for your Student Ministry. We move into talking about having a successful defense within our ministries. Last week was about having an offense that leads to winning, but it is not enough for us just to read about forming an offense or a defense. We must begin to implement successful game plans within our ministries weekly.
Your Defense
In ministry, our defense can sometimes be overlooked or possibly joined together with other areas in ministry. Over the last few months, I have been studying defense and looking at the importance of building your ministry equally centered on offense and defense.
What is your defense? Throughout the rest of today’s article, I will define three strategic areas of your defense. Still, I also want you to examine the health of your ministry to see what areas of your defense can shut down unwanted items from entering your ministry. Let me share that your defense should exist because you are protecting your students from wandering away from the faith or being caught up into buying into the lies of this world.
Discipleship
I know what you are going to say here, “Of course you put discipleship on here! Every church must disciple and help its members grow spiritually.” Yes, I agree with you in that, but I have seen discipleship become a fad within churches and lose its energy or effect on the church body. Discipleship must exist beyond fads and trends in the local church. We must be putting together a discipleship game plan that helps our teenagers walk closer to God daily.
Looking throughout the Old and New Testament, I see an argument to be made that discipleship is pivotal for the local body of believers to develop and grow spiritually, which leads to an unwavering faith in God. We must be developing our leaders in the local church to walk side by side with our teenagers to grow spiritually and to implement their faith in God. I believe the power of discipleship within the church is far greater than anything we can ever imagine.
Mentoring
“Hold on, Scott; I think you messed up here! You just had discipleship before this, why is mentoring on here, isn’t it the same thing?” Mentoring is completely different. Discipleship exists to make us look more like Jesus; mentoring helps walk among students to help them through life choices and circumstances.
We must be doing discipleship and helping our students go through the process of sanctification, and at the same time, we need to have our adult leaders mentor and coach students through their teenage life. I had a mentor in my life who I was able to talk about life choices, and they helped me through some tough years within my life. Our defense must build in mentoring as our students face relationship struggles, academic battles, and face unforeseen choices before them daily.
Student Leadership
Lastly, I see the need for leadership amongst our teenagers within our student ministries. I have battled over what to call the last step of our defense. I fought between leadership and ownership. For our student ministry to win and have a successful defense, we must have our student leaders buying into our vision and leading daily within the ministry. When our students lead and buy into the ministry, they help pick up fallen brothers and sisters who have gotten tied up into the worldly ways of the Christian walk.
I have a firm belief that leadership and ownership of teenagers within the student ministry leads to students not deserting or leaving their faith after High School. When students create a ministry that is their own, it leads to them staying in the local church and owning their faith long after they received their High School diploma. I daily ask our students to own the ministry and be missionaries on their school campus. The result has led to our ministry seeing spiritual growth and students leading in ways far more significant than anything I could have planned.
Build your defense and help lead your students to their full potential in Christ.
