I have the privilege of pastoring a church with a large and vibrant student ministry. In fact, they are an incredible group of kids, and I often get asked why. Not too long ago, Adam Whiteside, our student pastor, and I did a podcast on how to create a healthy student ministry. If you haven’t listened to that podcast, I encourage you to do so, it is filled with great wisdom from Adam about what we have learned through trial and error.
Adam speaks a great deal about the process of student ministry, and it is incredibly important. Without a doubt, much of the health of our student ministry is the result of the processes Adam has put into place. But of course that isn’t all. Our student ministry is healthy because we have great adults investing in our students. They pray for our teenagers, teach them, struggle alongside them, and cry with them when necessary.
Even that isn’t the whole story. Our church has a healthy children’s ministry with great leaders who invest in our kids from birth to fifth grade. Much of the health of our student ministry is a result of the health of our children’s ministry.
And, as you guessed, that isn’t the whole story either. Many of our kids grow up in homes where their parents have been discipled here at Malvern Hill and these parents are investing heavily in their kids. These same parents are also investing in their kids’ friends as something like second parents within the church and these parents are discipling their teenagers (as a side note, Christian parents, do not miss out on the opportunity to pinch hit as a Christian parent for teenagers in your church who do not have Christian parents…).
But, what really sets these teenagers apart? What do I see as their pastor? Why are they so special?
I see the tops of their heads.
I see the tops of their heads when I preach to them, because they have their noses stuck in their Bibles and notebooks taking notes and engaging with the sermon. I see their Bibles busting at the seams with sermon notes. I see Moleskins and leather journals filled with notes and lessons.
I get to pastor a church with healthy students, and much of that spiritual health comes about because of their posture during preaching.
Do you want to see students grow in Christ? Teach them to sing and worship. Teach them to enjoy the church. But, more than anything, teach them to savor Christ and his Word. Teach them to devour preaching. Teach them to study God’s Word. Take notes during preaching and teach your students to do the same thing. Buy them journals and pens. Ask them what they write down. Answer their questions and offer a few of your own.
Much can and should be said about the work our entire church has done to create spiritually healthy children and teenagers. But I can think of nothing that has been more influential in our student group or in their individual lives than teaching them to actively hear and appreciate the preached Word of God.
How can you create this posture in your student ministry? Start before they reach student ministry. My 9 year old asked for a new notebook a few weeks ago so that he could take better notes in children’s worship. Why? Because the expectation from our Children’s Minister, Rhonda, is that our kids pay attention to the lesson they learn and they take notes. Before they graduate children’s ministry, they are taking lesson and sermon notes.
How can you create this posture in your student ministry if your kids were not taught it in children’s ministry? Simple: model it before them. I noticed recently that many of our students use the same kinds of notebooks. Why? Because they take sermon notes in the same kind of notebooks their student leaders take notes in. Moleskins abound. Why? Because they see their pastor and student pastor and many of their adult leaders take notes every Sunday in Moleskin notebooks.
What does this mean for you? The students in your church are modeling the posture in worship they see from others around them. The students in your church are sponges soaking up cues from the adults around them. Your posture matters in worship for you, but it also matters because your posture is influencing the posture of others around you.
Do you want to grow in Christ this year? Stop smiling at your pastor. Don’t worry about laughing at his jokes. Buy a notebook. Grab a pen. Start taking notes this week. Talk about your notes with your small group or over Sunday lunch or at your school FCA. Your pastor will be proud of you, of course. But, even more, your spiritual life will explode with growth.
Do you want to change your student ministry? Sit beside your teenagers and let them see you engage with the sermon. Be an adult in worship who takes the Word of God seriously. Encourage them to do the same. They will grow spiritually alongside you. You will be changed. They will be changed, and your church will be changed.
If you ask me what makes the teenagers at Malvern Hill so special, I’m happy to tell you about our great kids’ ministry or the camps they attend or their amazing leaders. But, if you press me on the issue, I’ll always tell you the same thing. I see the tops of their heads every Sunday morning, and that makes all the difference.
Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash
