On Being a Influence on this Generation

(A message to our FUSION Youth Leaders)

   Hey guys, this past weekend in NC at YSPalooza got me thinking about what it is to be a leader. And this should go without saying, but an effective youth worker will be able to demonstrate his/her own relationship with God as an example for teens. It's hard to teach someone something you do not do yourself. The philosophy “Do as I say, not as I do,” doesn’t fly with teens. 

  Devotions, daily prayer time, and daily Bible reading will help you grow in your relationship with God and provide support in working in youth leadership.
I truly am proud to work beside some of the best people I know in the youth ministry. You do so much by helping in Fusion - more than you know! Remember I am always available for you 24/7 for talking counseling and just shooting the breeze.
Tom Brokaw said it best: "It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference." Don't ever think you aren't! There are a lot more students counting on you than you think!  

   Adolescence is hard, and Christian teens are no different. Just because they are Christians does not mean that they do not go through the same stuff everyone else goes through. A great youth worker is there for the students. He/she has big shoulders that can handle tears, laughter, introspection, and more. As a youth leader you carry the weight of what is going on in your students’ lives.

  Youth leaders need to have empathy for the students they work with. Empathy means being able to put yourself in the student’s shoes. You also need to be a good listener. It is not okay to just hear what a student is saying. You should listen actively and ask questions. A lot of what teens say is what is not being said.

A youth leader is available for students anytime. This does not mean sacrificing a personal life, as you need to set boundaries, but it does mean that if a student calls you in crisis at 2am, it is par for the course. Ministry doesn't stop at bedtime! 

  And finally, this is what I feel is most important - as leaders, we need to be there for each other!  I cannot tell you how many times I have seen Pastors and ministers and Christian workers fail & fall all because they had no one to talk to.  We go through those valleys as well.  But who do we talk to?  If we are married, our spouse, if not, our dog or cat.  Listen, we need each other to vent to, to tell what happening in our lives, and, just to listen.  I believe that this is where most ministries fail.  Sure we are supposed to pour our lives into the students, but who do we have to support us when we fall?  Our spouses are there, of course, but let's face it...we need to lift each other up and share our own trials and tribulations.  In other words, we need to pour our lives into one another.  It isn't enough to just see each other at church every week and at our meetings.  We are in the battle together so to speak and as such, should lift one another up. THAT, my friends, is what can make us or break us.  I don't want to be broken that way.

Pastor Rob.

rlawler@lifepointtn.com

FUSION Youth Ministries,

LifePoint Church, Clinton, TN

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