by Ryan Haddox
It’s almost Spring time!!! This time of year is exciting because not only does the sunshine and warmth visit us a bit more, but also because it means Summer is just around the corner!! Summer being around the corner means that our ministry for the youth goes into full time! Camps are going on, trips are being taken, and our youth don’t have as many outside influences around them.
While this is an exciting time for youth ministry, this can also be a patience testing time for our parents out there. The kids are home from school and expect lunch to be fixed, want you to drive them everywhere, and the dreaded “I’m bored” come three days after school ends! Although the summers can seem to drag on, we as adults are actively discipling our youth. Whether we’re their parents, youth pastor, head pastor, or just a friendly face in the church, we are discipling these youth!
Summer should be viewed as a time to rejuvenate our youth’s spirits, spur on their relationship with Christ, and strengthen the foundation of their lives. We do this in many ways, but the best way is just being there as a beacon for our youth. Parents; You have more time with your children so make those moments count! Make Christ evident to them and give them every opportunity to meet God. As a youth pastor I have more time with them as well and I have to be intentional about how I share Christ with them. The hope is to build them into better students…better Christians then they were the school year previously.
We must take a vested interest in the lives and minds of our youth. The world is a dark, dark place and we MUST be the light for them to find and follow. If we don’t set the standard of life in Christ for them, then they will find other standards from the world. Our time with them is precious and we must use every moment we can to reach them.