Youth Ministry and the Kingdom

Matthew 19:14
"Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

You know, I am not quite sure how old these "little children" were that came to Jesus. From the pictures in Bible story books, they were little toddlers. BUT you never know. ha. All that to say, when I started thinking about what I would like to write about today that verse came to mind.

Cause in youth ministry, I think it's tempting for some (probably more so for those who aren't IN youth ministry and are just on the outside looking in) to think that because the people we are ministering to are young, maybe they are not going to retain everything and things just aren't that important.

But THE KINGDOM BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE.

Speaking as someone who has just recently got out of actually being in the youth group, I know that the times I was impacted the most were the times that my youth pastor didn't "give it to us easy." When he spoke the truth just as if we were mature people who needed to be CHALLENGED I received it much more.

Teenagers enjoy being challenged. They like to prove adults wrong. And sometimes this takes on a negative tone but as Christian teens most of them want someone to challenge them and then to be given the opportunity to rise up to and exceed that challenge.

Some practicals...
Service...challenging them to serve the Church or community or certain individuals in some capacity.
The Word...challenging them to read or meditate on and memorize certain passages of Scripture.
Prayer. Fasting. Giving. Yeah, you can challenge your kids in ANY area and if you show them the vision and who they COULD BE and what they COULD DO then most, if not all, of them will want to arise to that vision and will be willing to put the action in that is necessary to get there.

Any thoughts on challenging teens in your ministry to them?

Intercessory Prayer from the WORD.

So I have been really meditating and praying out on some of the prayers in the New Testament. Particularly 3 of Paul's many that he writes out in his letters. Here are the ones I've been hooked on the past week and encourage you to take some time to look at too...

Prayer for Divine Revelation of the Beauty of Jesus and the Bride's Destiny, unto Transforming Our Hearts
Ephesians 1:17-19-"I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,"

Prayer for the Release of Supernatural Strength in the Heart, unto Experiencing God's Emotions
Ephesians 3:16-19-"I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Prayer for God's Love to Abound in Our Heart, Resulting in Discernment and Righteousness
Philippians 1:9-11-"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God."

Praying the WORD never gets old. Because it is living and active and infinitely deep and meaningful. There's always more revelation to receive.

Dive in!