I was thinking of doing something slightly different for this youth report, I have realized that many people have come to know Helen and me but how many actually know us? How many of you know my values of ministry and can you trust me?
I know that sounds a little strange but do you know what values in ministry I hold dear and am willing to fight for because they are values that have had a life changing impact on me? I believe them to be biblical and it is for this reason that I hold on to them.
My Seven Values of Ministry
- Intercessory prayer fuels it
- Relational evangelism drives it
- Leaders fully model and embrace it
- A discipleship multiplication strategy guides it
- A bold vision focuses it
- Biblical outcomes measure it
- Ongoing programs reflect it
I will give a brief explanation below as to why I hold to these values. I must say that these form part of a larger goal in terms of youth ministry, that is a Gospel Advancing Ministry. Now a Gospel Advancing ministry is one that continually pursues the mission of Jesus Christ by relationally multiplying disciples, resulting in a radical gospel transformation.
Intercessory prayer fuels it
Intercessory prayer is the engine of a gospel advancing ministry. When you lead from your knees, you see teenagers transformed spiritually, and they learn to leverage the same unstoppable prayer power on behalf of their schools, classmates and communities.
Relational evangelism drives it
Mobilizing teens to lovingly and intentionally reach other teens with the good news of Jesus is core. Teens who engage in relational evangelism get to witness first-hand the transforming power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives of those they lead to faith in Christ!
Leaders fully embrace and model it
Jesus said, “a disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). What’s true of a Youth Pastor is true of youth leaders and teachers. If we want our students to prioritize relational evangelism, us as leaders must consistently set the pace personally.
A disciple multiplication strategy guides it
Jesus took his disciples on a journey into deeper and deeper levels of discipleship. He took them from
Unbeliever → believer → worker → disciple-maker
The same pattern that Jesus followed should be emulated in our group as we disciple your teenagers.
A bold vision focuses it
Establishing a bold vision in our ministry that can only be accomplished in God’s strength inspires your entire group. It gives everyone something to push for, pray for and praise God for.
The biggest, boldest, best vision ever articulated is found in Matthew 28:19-20.
Biblical outcomes measure it
The New Testament is full of examples of how the early church measured outcomes. Measuring biblical outcomes, provides us with a gauge by which we can assess your progress, identify weaknesses, spot opportunities for even more growth (best practices) and praise God for the fruit.
Ongoing programs reflect it
In youth ministry, we program out our priorities. When evangelism and disciple multiplication are real priorities in our ministry, they are consistently built into our weekly youth group program rundown sheet, and become a focus throughout our annual youth ministry calendar.
So now you know my values for ministry, should you ever want to chat about these, my door is always open and I would love to have a good cup of coffee and discuss these and see what your thoughts are on these. (As you have probably guessed by now I am a bit of a coffee addict)
Jordz Theron
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