“Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought [them] to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that [was] its name.So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.” Genesis 2:19,20
Have you been wondering how you can release more ministry to your students? God shows us, by example, how to release ministry. Here are a few points I take from these verses
- God is not worried that Adam will some how screw up His creation.
- God has no ego. He was not afraid that Adam would steal his thunder.
- God trusts Adam even though he is new in town.
- God did not go back and change the names He didn’t like (he didn’t say “Aardvark, that’s a stupid name.”)
- God empowered Adam over the creation.
- God gave Adam a task He believed he could handle.
- God did not do for Adam what Adam could do for himself.
God shows us by example, how to trust students. Each of these steps are something we can do with our students
- Let students altar, throw away, or tweak your perfect plan.
- Put away your ego. It’s their ministry. Most of them will be there longer than you will.
- Put kids on the path to lead. Show them the path and lead them.
- Live with some of the decisions they make even if you don’t agree.
- Give kids a vested interest in their community of faith called the Church.
- Give tasks to students that set them up for success. (did you notice God did not expect Adam to name all the fish in the sea)
- God could have named the animals and then told Adam what they were. Adam probably remembered the names of the animals more because he named them himself.
Students will own their youth ministry more if they are naming it themselves, and I don’t mean just naming the youth group but putting their names on the whole ministry. The question is whether you will let them.
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