Hope in Jesus

Without a doubt, one of the highlights of my life is having the privilege of being a volunteer leader in the Student Ministry at my church. The community of amazing high school students that I and my co-leaders serve has really changed my life for the better. Even though I’ve raised three of my own kids through this age, it’s been different experiencing these students’ lives more as a mentor and friend. Being a part of their journey of spiritual and emotional growth these last few years has increased my faith. I’ve learned a lot about myself through these relationships, which has made me a better Mom, friend, and Christ-follower.

The Bible is clear that we who follow Christ have a duty to raise children in the way that they should go (Proverbs 22:6). Leading by example, teaching them how to love by loving them unconditionally, helping them serve others, sharing our faith with them through scripture, and praying with them. Parents & ministry leaders can partner to lead kids to flourish in God’s plans and purposes. When you love God and His ways, when you have been transformed by His love, you want to share that good news with others.

But in our news-saturated world, it’s common to hear about teens who are wayward or in mental health crisis, without a solid family for support, chronically breaking the law or worse, willfully hurting other students or adults. This is happening to kids in and out of church environments.

These reports can create a view that tempts us to think youth are too far gone. Can what is happening to our kids be turned around? If we allow it, fear can cause us to retreat from proclaiming God’s life-changing message. We can lose hope. Thankfully, through God we have a better report. Thankfully, we have the greatest tool to change the tide of hopelessness—the Good News of Jesus Christ.

For nothing will be impossible with God (Luke 1:37, ESV).

Let me share with you some of what God is doing in the lives of these students:

• A senior girl has a desire to study the Word of God in a small group setting so she plans and leads a small group Bible study open to other students.
• Many students choose to come to a weekend conference and leave, excited to go from there, letting God’s light shine brighter than their own ego.
• Students’ lives are so touched by the conference; they choose to stand in front of their peers and give testimony of what God has done.
• High school students are leading middle school students during Wednesday Middle School Ministry. Lives are being changed!
• On Sunday, high school students in small discussion groups are growing together as they share openly about what God is doing in their hearts from what they learned from the weekly teaching.​
• A group of high school seniors is committing a year to intern as ministry associates in the student ministry area.
• Students are excited to come to church on Sundays, Mondays, and Wednesdays to continue to be taught and share with their peers what God is doing in their lives.
• Students coordinating with parents and ministry leads to offering weeknight house churches in their homes, where students can come and worship and learn more about faith in Jesus.

God is doing amazing things in our midst and our faith is being built. At the same time, we realize there are students who are with us who are struggling. We are praying for God’s will to be accomplished in all of these precious lives. Social pressures are still tough, but living in the social media vacuum brings new challenges. As leaders we hold fast to God’s truth. We set our hearts firmly in the knowledge that without Him we are nothing, and we lead from that place. And we are encouraged by Paul’s example and keep this always in mind:

What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor (1 Corinthians 3:5–8).