Youth From Ground Zero... What is Youth Ministry.

I have heard it said that youth ministry is baby sitting. It has also been said that youth ministry is just being an activities director or an event planner. I say that youth ministry is building the future of the world! That may sound a little dramatic but it is true! Those other ideas have been tried and have failed miserably! All that resulted were tired out ineffective youth leaders and a bunch of spoiled youth!
Youth ministry is more than just entertaining kids. It is more than providing a place to keep them out of trouble “because they are all juvenile delinquents with no hope of becoming or accomplishing anything productive anyway!” Youth ministry is loving, caring and pouring yourselves into lives that are bright, vibrant, full of potential and are all diamonds in the rough! Youth ministry is spelled W O R K it is Spelled T I M E and it is spelled L O V E! It is not easy; it takes a whole lotta time and a whole lotta love! Youth Ministry is building the future! It is listening to a broken heart, it is giving hugs to all in need, it is mending broken relationships with their parents and their friends and it is bringing hope to a person who has none! Youth ministry is loving youth!

What you will need: A place to meet, a Bible, a leader, a plan and a heart for youth. Working with teenagers is probably the most and the least rewarding calling in the world! It is the most rewarding because to see just one young man or woman get it is amazing! To see their eyes light up, to see it click in their hearts, that is what it is all about! It is the least rewarding because they don’t know that sometimes you need a pat on the back. They don’t know that you would occasionally like to hear, “Wow that was amazing, when you explained the discourse of Job and what made Solomon sing, it made my heart do flip flops!” They have never been told to tell you how good of a preacher you are and they really don’t know what a holy handshake is! So you may never get all the sweet talk that other ministers may get but God knows who and where you are and He knows exactly what you need! If nobody else recognizes you for the work that you do and the hours that you spend on loving kids. If nobody else acknowledges that you are truly a mighty, valiant man or woman of God who is making a difference and building the future leaders of the world, I am here to tell you today that every other youth leader, Pastor, worker and helper in the world does. So to you we say thank you!