If you are like any youth pastor out there ever, you have been busy. In fact, you have been more than busy.

Maybe you even have been overwhelmed at times! I know I certainly have been there before! 

This season of youth ministry has been extremely busy. From wrapping up summer camps, to kicking off the fall, to recruiting new volunteers, taking retreats, engaging in church wide initiatives, attending games, writing multiple sermons a week, on top of just trying to connect with students, it has been crazy busy!

But please understand today that busy is not always bad. Busy can be bad, but it does not have to be. See when we control our busyness, and only allow things that benefit us to make us busy, then busyness can actually be a beneficial thing. However when we let busyness rule our world, that is when busyness can rear it’s ugly head and start to take a toll on us, and those around us.

Recently I have been given some good advice from people I trust in regards to busyness, and I would love to share a few things I have picked up on when it comes to managing the busyness of student ministry. Here are a few tips to make sure your busy is beneficial…

• Be with God, not just around God. 

One of the easiest things to do when things get busy is to substitute being around God, for being with God. This can take place so many ways in student ministry. We think, why do I need a quiet time if I am studying for my sermon? Why do I need to pray, if I prayed four times on Sunday? Why do I need to worship personally when I just sang out in church on Sunday?

Maybe an even deeper observation is, why do I need to address my own sinful problems, when I am helping others out with theirs? Or even, why do I need accountability when I find myself keeping others accountable every week?

Youth leader please understand that there will never be anything in this world that can substitute you spending time with God. At the end of the day, God will not judge you on how many people you prayed with, or how many worship songs you sang, rather God will judge you on the condition of your heart. The only way to regulate that condition is to be with God, not just around Him.

• Do the things that give you energy.

This advice was given to me last week when I was really feeling the pressure of upcoming events and deadlines. I was in a funk. I was tired, irritable, and felt like I had lived in the church office all week. A friend asked me, “When was the last time you spent time with students?” I replied,”A few days ago.”

That answer triggered a response in me that led me to a place of understanding that if I want to be energized in ministry, I must repeatedly do things that encourage and energize me. For me, spending time with students is my favorite thing in the world. If I can spend time with a few students a week, I am setting myself up for a great week. I also enjoy writing sermons for our weekly youth gatherings. If I can set aside 6-8 hours each week for a sermon, I am setting myself up for a solid week. The problems for me come when other things take the place of writing, or time with students.

Each person has that thing that energizes them in ministry. I want to encourage you to make time for those things that energize you in ministry, and don’t push them away.

• Have fun with the people around you. 

I am amazed more and more about what laughter can do to a hard week. When you are able to interject laughter or good conversation into a time that seems bleak, you are on the verge of a breakthrough.

Some of my hardest times in ministry have been coupled with days spent laughing at jokes that weren’t that funny, but in that moment, I needed them. I am so blessed to have great friends at my current church. I know that may not be the case for everyone, but you do have friends…I’m hoping. Anyways, when things get hard, pick up the phone. Talk about life, sports, family, and avoid ministry conversations and just connect with someone on a HUMAN basis.

I have found that when I connect with someone on a HUMAN basis, and not a ministry basis, it grounds me, humbles me, and refocuses my mind on what is truly important in life. Look for the fun around you, even when it’s hard.

Hopefully these things help you this week when you feel busy! Remember, busy doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Don’t let busy dominate your world!

Lead well this week,

-Alex

Recently I read John 9, and it was AWESOME! If you haven’t read it lately…DO IT!

With that in mind, the question of sight, and seeing things clearly has been in my mind lately.

One major question I have been asking myself is, “Am I able to see God at work around me?”

Talk about a hard question right? It’s tough at times to feel God, let alone see Him…but the question still remains, “Am I so in tune with God, and His Spirit that I can see Him at work around me?”

This is an important question for us as church leaders to answer. It’s important because when we see God at work, we get encouraged, and we know we are in His will. It’s also important because when we see God at work we are reminded that we are a small piece of a really cool puzzle, and because we get to continue the tradition of being open vessels for God that was started in the book of Acts.

Can you see God around you? 

I pray that you can…But if not, this post is for you! In this post I want to offer a few suggestions that will help you maybe see God more in your ministry. Let’s get to it…

How do you see God?

1. You look for God. 

Sounds deep right? However the profoundness of this phrase will take you deeper into seeing God then maybe you have ever been before. As church leaders we are always asking the question, what can be better? How can things get fixed? How can I make sure THAT doesn’t happen again? These are all great questions to ask, but they all carry a negative tone.

I think maybe even before we decide what is wrong with our ministry, one of the main things we must do is find out what is right! 

Maybe the first question to ask is, “Where did I see God move today?” When you are constantly focused on things that are wrong, you will become blinded to the things that God is doing right before your eyes. Just like the people in John 9, a miracle could be right in front of you, but if you are looking at something else, you will miss out.

2. Put an emphasis on spiritual talk.

Spiritual conversations are weird, I know. However there is no better gauge to see God at work, then actually having a conversation about it. Think about it…when you sit down with a student, and they open up about God, you are getting a front row seat to learning about what God is doing in their world. So many times we miss out on what God is doing, because we never ask. Don’t let the talk of football, or school, or even parents blind you to those spiritual conversations, but rather ask the harder questions. One of my favorite questions is simply: What’s God like these days? Or what does your relationship with God look like right now? From there students can either choose to share, or not…however you are still putting on the lenes to see God at work in your ministry.

3. Celebrate everything! 

It’s cool to play things off…but I’m not so sure that is a good thing. I would like for us as church leaders to go back, and really think about what following Jesus means for someone in today’s world. IT’S A HUGE DEAL! I think sometimes we see students serve, or bring a friend, or even lead announcements, or share in group, and we think, “That’s what we’re all supposed to do.”

The truth is, what we’re all supposed to do, is be sinful people separated from a Holy God. 

However when we understand what magnificent love God has shown us, it should change how we view people taking steps of faith…even the small ones.

We should be encouraged that students are coming to church on their own will. We should be encouraged knowing that a student shared for the first time. We should be encouraged that a teenage boy could remember the story from your lesson…even if it just happened 10 minutes ago!

I think it’s time we take a step back as leaders and truly try to understand how hard it is to follow Jesus in today’s world. From there we can become more appreciative when we see people growing. Maybe, just maybe, when we celebrate people’s small steps, they will begin to take big leaps.

Seeing God is such an important part of ministry! I pray today that these three things help you see God in your ministry this week.

Alex

Saying no can get a bad reputation.

In fact, saying no can even make you feel like a jerk, or like you aren’t a nice person. I would like to share another a different angle to the art of saying no…

Saying no doesn’t make you a bad person, it makes you a smart person. 

A smart person is someone who knows when they should say yes, and when they should say no.

Today I would like to offer 3 reasons why adding the word NO to your vocabulary can be a total game changer for you, and your ministry.

1. It keeps you sane. 

Saying yes to everything can keep you overly busy, and in ministry often times overly busy is not good. The heart behind saying yes, or wanting to say yes is healthy, however the actions that come along with saying yes are not.

One of the things we have to understand is that when we say yes to something, we are also saying no to something else. 

In ministry, that yes to something else comes at the expense of our family, health, or even our own walk with God. Saying no can keep things in perspective, and allow you to make what is important, stay important. Keep your sanity intact, and learn to say no.

2. It keeps your vision in line. 

The biggest way to introduce sideways energy into your organization is to say yes to too many things. We see this happen all the time right? Think about organizations who offer too many products…are those organizations doing well? Probably not. Why do you think Starbucks only serves coffee, or Chipotle only serves Mexican food, or even why Nike sticks to just athletic clothing?

It’s because they understand where their lane is, and where it is not.

Think about your ministry for a second…where is your lane? What is your identity? Maybe a better question is, what do you want your lane to be? Say yes to the things that help you get there, and say no to those things that distract you from that lane.

3. It allows you to work deeper on what matters. 

Saying no to something, means you are not adding more projects to your list. In ministry this can be super helpful as you now get the opportunity to dive deeper into the weeds on the current projects you have.

What if you could take something off your plate and add another hour to study for that sermon? What if you could cancel a failing program, and focus on the one that is working? What if you could say no to some tasks in the office, but instead use that time to connect more with adult leaders? The word NO will help you dive deeper on things that make you want to say yes.

Saying no is hard, but please understand, saying NO to the right things can be freeing!

How can saying no help you, and your ministry today?

Thanks guys,

Alex.

Hey Everyone,

We are on the brink of something new and exciting!

Each month we will be bringing you a brand new podcast from names that you can trust in student ministry. This month we get to hear from my friend, Mikey Sackrider.

Mikey is the Middle School Pastor at Community Christian Church in Tamarac, Florida. On the show, he shares about life, middle school ministry, volunteers, and setting an environment that students will love!

Check it out below…

If you enjoy the show, please share it with your friends!

Alex Wierda

THIS PAST YEAR HAS BEEN AWESOME! 

It’s safe to say that I have fully transitioned into my new role as Student Pastor at my new church in South Florida. This transition to leave Central Florida, and come down to South Florida was one that was hard, but my family and I saw God’s hand in it every step of the way. We truly felt as if God led us here with a purpose, and this past year has proved that over and over again. In this post I’d like to share 3 different things I have learned about ministry through this transitional process.

1. Mission Matters the Most

When you get to takeover a ministry, there is always some sort of tension between what you want, what the members of the church want, what volunteers want, what your family wants, and even what students want to see happen. The thing that I have been tempted to do, and have been guilty of at times this year, is to let whatever voice is screaming loudest at that minute dictate the direction of our student ministry. The best thing that happened to me and the ministry I get to serve in was when our team sat down, and fully discussed the mission of our student ministry. Now this mission had to fit with the direction of our church and where our team felt led to go.  Once we knew our lane, we were set to run in it, and stay in that lane no matter who or what came towards us. Now, was that an easy task? Not all…but it all started by trying to figure out what kind of ministry we wanted to have in the next 5 years, and from there we essentially boiled down what it would take to get there. From that meeting we decided that we wanted…

• Every student to BELIEVE in Christ.
• Every student to BELONG in a life group.
• Every student to BECOME a part of God’s story.

That mission helped us decide our events, our strategies, what we will say yes to, and even what we will say no to, because again the mission matters the most. The moment something becomes more important than those three things, is the moment we introduce sideways energy into our ministry. So if you don’t have a mission statement, get one nailed down. Think about what kind of ministry you want to become, and from there base all your decisions on that mission.

2. Change can be Slow, but Slow isn’t Bad. 

Coming into this new situation, there were some things that I wanted to change right off the bat. One of the wisest things that my supervisor did was challenge me to move slowly with changes. Going slow with change has allowed students to get to know me, our leaders to begin to trust me, and even allowed me to really evaluate the changes that I wanted to make in the first place. I will be the first to tell you that some changes I originally wanted to do, won’t happen now, because I have had time to see that the change I wanted, would not have been the best. Another great thing about change being slow, is that if you make a change that is slow, and it’s not effective, you have the ability to go back on it. Calling things a trial has been a huge blessing this year, and there have many trials that have become permanent, but many trials that were just that:TEMPORARY TRIALS…and that’s ok! You can learn from your failures, or trials, or successes, but I would advise any leader who is entering into a new ministry to slow down, and view change as a process, not an event. 

3. Ministry is Always about People. 

This new position is an exciting one for me. I get to lead a ministry that is exciting, and growing, and on top of that I get to lead a few staff members as well. It’s really exciting to think about the potential we have on our team, and to see a large amount of students each week. At first I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of ministry that takes place on a given week in our student ministry, but then I got involved, and realized that even the large groups are still about people. Somewhere along the line I fell into the trap and believed that large church ministry was all about what happened on the stage. I thought who was talking on stage was more important than who was listening. I thought who was leading the meeting was more important than those benefiting from that meeting. I thought in our instagram culture that the pictures of the crowd were more important than the people represented in the crowd. I have to be honest, I was wrong. But God worked on me, and I learned a valuable lesson which was…

Jesus spoke to the crowds, but Jesus engaged me. 

Think about that for a second…Jesus was charismatic, and would speak to crowds on numerous occasions throughout His ministry, but time and time again we see Jesus engaging individuals as well. Nicodemus, Zacchaeus, the woman at the well, and so on, Jesus engaged the individuals. He engaged you, and He engaged me. And in the same way, that’s how our ministries should work. There should always be space for you to engage the individuals in your ministry, and the moment you stop making time for the individuals is essentially the moment you begin to forget your calling in the first place…see Jesus uses the church, but He calls us to people. So take that student out for lunch, spend time with that volunteer, pray for the people on your team, and invest in the individuals.

Those are 3 major things I have learned this year, and I hope they encourage you in your ministry!

Alex Wierda

Do you have a vision for your ministry? If not, you should. It’s been said that a ministry without vision is simply a gathering that in time will die out…but a ministry with a BIG vision is something that has the potential to bear fruit for years to come. So, what is vision? Vision is the goal that you are trying to reach. Vision is result that you desire. But as church leaders, we are not just called to follow a vision, we are called to follow a BIG VISION! What’s the difference? A big vision is the thing that God has placed on your heart to accomplish, even though other people may look at you like you are crazy. A big vision is something that stretches beyond yourself, and brings others into the story of God. A big vision is something SO BIG, that it will not happen unless God shows up.

I believe that our churches deserve a big vision. As pastors and leaders of the church, I believe that our vision for our organizations should not just be average…but BIG! The church has the greatest mission on the planet, and it’s to go and make disciples.

Let’s partner that mission, with a big vision.

Now here is where things get interesting. Most church leaders don’t have a vision problem, or even a big vision problem. Most church leaders would agree that they have a big vision they want to see lived out. Most church leaders would state that God has spoken to them about what His end result is for that particular church.

There is however a disconnect between most church leaders who know their vision, and the few that are living out their vision.

So what is the disconnect?

I believe the disconnect between knowing your vision, and living it out is communication. 

It’s communication that drives the vision. It’s communication that gets people on board, and in gear. It’s communication that explains the WHAT and the WHY for the vision. Lastly it’s communication that clears up any fuzziness, and redirects sideways energy. To have a big vision, you must have great communication.

So how do you communicate a big vision well? Here are three keys to remember when communicating BIG vision.

1. Make it Clear

Often times a vision is not lived out because it was not clear. For you to get people on board, and on your side, and moving the same direction, you must first decide what direction God is calling you to go. With that in mind, we must choose to craft a clear and concise vision statement. KEEP IN MIND, vision is different from mission.

Mission is HOW you will do something.

VISION is WHAT you are doing.

So as simply as possible, share WHAT your church wants to do.

For the student ministry that I serve in, our vision statement is simple, “Growing Students in Christ.” That’s it…to grow students in Christ. That includes new students, old students, lost students, found students, etc. It’s easy to understand, shares what we are about, and includes everything that we want to do under one major umbrella of growing students in Christ. So think about clarity when crafting and communicating vision, because if the leader is not clear with the vision, the people will not be clear with it either. 

2. Make it Simple

A simple vision wins every time. The church has lost time and time again in an effort to be cute with words, or rhymes, or even making acronyms out of their vision statements. It seems like there is a resurgence of churches choosing simple rather than cute, and I believe that’s because simple sticks. Often times people just want to know information, and it’s our job as leaders to get that information to people in the easiest ways possible. One way that we as church leaders have made vision information difficult to grasp is by complicating the statements. Vision statements that are too wordy, use insider language, or use words that are different from people’s every day vocabulary will push people away from understanding exactly what the vision is about. Some questions to ask in order to know whether your vision statement is simple are…

-Does this vision statement give a glimpse of what we are about?

-Does this vision statement use unnecessary acronyms, or alliteration?

-Does this vision statement use insider language that would be tough for the new person to understand?

-Does this vision statement have too many words or sentences?

-Does this vision statement use words that a 7th grade student would understand?

A simple vision wins every time. Let’s choose to make things simple, so people can join God on what He has in store for your ministry.

3. Make it a Talking Point…A LOT!

Andy Stanley says, “Vision leaks.” This means that we need to share our vision more than once a year. People often forget the vision of a church or organization due to being sidetracked with everyday life. When people get sidetracked, sideways energy is introduced, and people begin to drift away, and start working on things that do not fit your original vision. So what is the answer? Communicate your vision over and over again. Every time I get the opportunity to share what our student ministry is about, I take it! WHY? Because it’s a good reminder to the people in the crowd of what our vision is all about. People have jobs. They have kids. They have hobbies. Chances are they don’t reflect on your church’s vision everyday. So what do we need to do? We need to share the vision every time possible! Marketing strategists say that the chances of person buying a product go up DRASTICALLY when someone connects with it 7 different times. This can be seeing the product, hearing about it, talking about it, etc. So with your product…the vision God has given for your church, we must provide ways for it to be accessible to people. Hang signs up all over your church that have your vision statement on it. Talk about it in announcement time, and during your sermons. Put it on your website. Make shirts that state your vision and give them out for free. Share about it during personal conversations. Remember that vision leaks, and the biggest way to combat that leaking it to always have different to communicate the vision.

Communicating vision is tough, but it’s worth it! Remember that we have the best mission on the planet, so let’s partner that mission with a BIG VISION…and let’s communicate that vision to the best of our abilities.

Serve Jesus well today,

Alex.

Discipleship.

It seems as if every church these days is speaking about discipleship. In the student ministry that I get to serve in, we believe discipleship primarily happens through small groups. Small groups have been a HUGE catalyst for growing our students’ faith, however there are times where something MORE than small groups is needed. That is why we looked to create a simple curriculum for our leaders to follow. This curriculum is primarily intended for those meetings outside of small groups. This curriculum has been effective when used, and is really easy to personalize. The question was, what are the three core truths we want every student in our ministry to know? From there we came up with these three truths…

1. Jesus is for Everyone.
2. Our Beliefs Affect our Actions.
3. Evangelism is Important.

That is what is this curriculum is about…it’s about sharing those three truths with students. Honestly, it’s been great for our more hesitant leaders to have something intentional to meet about with their students, and from there deeper relationships have formed. I hope this helps your ministry grow students deeper in Jesus, and if you have any different ways that you are discipling students, I would love to hear them!

Serve Jesus well today,

Alex Wierda

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Student pastors are all different. Some of them are loud, and others are quiet. Some are great at organizing, and then some are not. Some student pastors like to be upfront and in charge, while others prefer to work behind the scenes in their ministries. Some prefer to hold office hours and stick to those, while others need to be out of the office and with people. The list could go on and on, however based off of my experience in student ministry, there is no right or wrong, “TYPE” of student pastor. Personally I fall into the upfront type of leader category, however there are times where I find myself enjoying the behind scenes work. There is no wrong type, however whatever type you are must fit your context. Now with that being said, I have noticed 5 common traits among all types student pastors that seem to make them a great fit for their students and their context. I have been blessed to observe and get to know some great leaders in student ministry, and am personally trying to live these 5 out to the best of my ability. Over the next 5 weeks I will be breaking down my observations of these 5 traits on a much deeper level, but as a general introduction, let’s check out what I have observed to be the 5 traits of a great student pastor…

1. Big Vision

An important trait of a great student pastor, or great leader for that matter is having a BIG VISION. It’s hard to miss when a person has a big vision. In student ministry we must have leaders who continually are casting a vision that is encouraging students to live a life that is beyond themselves. We must share about this life that’s all about joining God on this journey we call Christianity. Big vision is scary, and daunting, and tough to manage and even harder to communicate, however sharing that big vision in a simple way is essential to your students if you want to see them grow in Christ. But, it doesn’t just stop with communicating, you must provide opportunities for students to live that vision out. A great student pastor has a big vision, and consistently communicates it in a clear way.

2. Belief in the Next Generation

One of the main reasons most of us got into student ministry is because we believe in the next generation. We believe that students are the church today. We believe that more than anything a teenager full of the love and grace of Jesus can change the world. That’s what we believe…well at least it should be. The next generation is more important than ever in today’s world, and as student pastors we must believe that God is not finished with our young people. Time and time again students are presented with opportunities to live out the gospel among their friends and families, and in this world, it seems like they have everything going against them in regards to them living out their faith. That’s where we come in. We must believe in our students. We must cheer them on.

3. The Desire to Share

A great thing about working in student ministry is that it gives you a sense of purpose. However it’s through that sense of purpose, the student pastor can become, “THE EXPERT”, while other leaders sit on the sideline and watch you lead in ministry. The great student pastors I know are incredible at sharing ministry. They encourage other adults to jump right in alongside of them. They give them leadership in the ministry, and even give them enough responsibility to make them feel as if they are a student pastor…just not an employed one. Great student pastors remember that many hands make light work, and the influence of 2 adults on a students life is always better than one. To be great, we must learn to share the ministry.

4. Don’t take Yourself to0 Seriously

Often times in student ministry the work is with teenagers who are broken and need Jesus desperately. Because of that we can go from task to task to try and create a program or event, or sermon that we believe will change a student’s world. Now this is not a bad thing, but at times we can lose sight of what is important and only focus on things like programs, and sermons. As student pastors we must not take ourselves to seriously so that we miss the fun times in student ministry because we were TOO BUSY or TOO FOCUSED. It’s a great habit to occasionally just kick back with students. Talk with them. Encourage them. Most importantly, laugh with them. Don’t take yourself too seriously.

5. A Life Devoted to Jesus

Probably the most important trait of a great student pastor is having a life that is devoted to Jesus. Student ministry is tough, and at times it can feel like we are,        “PROFESSIONAL CHRISTIANS”…in other words we get paid to follow Jesus. This type of thinking can certainly lead towards apathy in our faith, and an apathetic faith paired with a hectic job in ministry is a recipe for disaster. So what’s the solution? The solution is to constantly chase after Jesus, day after day, month after month, and year after year. It’s from that personal relationship with Jesus that our greatest and deepest ministry flows. So stay connected to Christ. Spend time with Him, and watch how over time Jesus restores your soul and encourages you to be solid in your ministry.

Those are the 5 traits of a great student pastor that I have observed over the past few years. Again, I will be breaking this list down in more detail over the next 5 weeks, and am excited to share more of my observations. However, this list certainly challenges me, as I am trying to get better currently in all of these areas. What about you though…what traits do you think make a great student pastor? I would love to heard from you!

Serve Jesus well today,

Alex Wierda

The phrase God’s Crazy About You is something that several churches have adapted the past few years. About two years ago I visited a church in Central Florida, and their whole theme around their church was simply, “God’s Crazy About You!” …I loved this theme. I loved how they wrapped everything they did around this phrase, and thought I would use this phrase to build a sermon series for our student ministry. I was blown away at the response from our students when they heard time and time again that God was crazy in love with them. Our students began to embody this phrase, and then share it with their friends. It actually became a phrase that was used throughout the entire 2015-2016 school year in our student ministry. There are 4 sermons in this series, and I hope this group of lessons gets your mind thinking about how you can further communicate the ridiculous and unexplainable love of Jesus to the people you surround yourself with! I have attached the 4 sermons below.

Serve Jesus well today,

Alex Wierda

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