Student Ministry Frustrations ... 5 Reasons "Salvation" Can Be Superficial

It's that time of the year, in just a few weeks our Student Ministry will be going to camp. Student Ministry has many more joys in it than it does frustrations. Seeing life change, whether at camp or one of our Wednesday nights is the biggest joy in Student Ministry.

As we prepare for camp, I have thought about the biggest frustration in Student Ministry. Many students salvation becomes superficial because of their experience with how they became "saved." It's the student who gets "saved" every year at every big event and we're just praying that it's truly genuine this time. 

After reading a book Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart by J.D. Greear, I have come up with 5 Reasons "Salvation" Can Be Superficial.

1. We are often driven by emotion, not conviction. It's not a bad thing to have emotions, Jesus had emotions. Jesus wept over Lazarus (John 11:35), He was troubled (John 13:21) and He was compassionate to children (Mark 9:36-37). The problem we run into is a our human emotions often replace biblical conviction. Just because someone is weeping doesn't mean they are sincerely convicted.  J.D Greear mentions "Our tears do not wash away our sins, only Jesus' blood does (58)." Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit where a person is able to see themselves as God would desire: guilty, defiled, totally depraved, and unable to save himself. If there is merely emotion and no conviction then nothing will change inside of them. This does not mean we negate emotions, but rather remind people of "And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteous and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you will see me no longer, concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:8-11).
2. Many salvations are based on a "sinners prayer". So many people have asked Jesus into their heart several times by repeating the sinners prayer. What scares me as a Student Pastor is where Jesus says "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness" (Matthew 7:21-23). Saying a prayer does not mean you'll march you way into heaven. Salvation is superficial for you if you do not maintain the confession of faith you've made with Christ.
3. We have had a lack of understanding of true repentance. J.D. Greear says "salvation is a posture of repentance and faith that you begin in a moment and maintain for the rest of your life (57)." Repentance is recognizing, acknowledging, and turning away from the wickedness and deprave sinful heart that we have and turn to Christ Jesus completely to take our sins away and make him ruler of our lives. In too many churches repentance is merely feeling sorry for our sin, but that doesn't get to the point, because we can feel sorry for anything but not act on. Repentance is an action, and unless you actively pursue repentance your salvation has become superficial. Proverbs 27:16 says "A righteous man may fall seven times, and rise gain." Constantly getting back up, and pursing true repentance from God.
4. We try to simplify the gospel, thus we get the gospel wrong. Some argue the way the gospel is presented is too aggressive. Maybe it's aggressive or maybe it's just the truth (the gospel). If we truly love one another as we are called (1 Corinthians 13), then the truth of God's message must be central. Trying to to soften up the words of Jesus doesn't just mess up the gospel, but gives people and students a superficial gospel. I want our ministry and church to built on the rock (Matthew 7:24) so when the rain comes that my church does not fall. Many Student Pastors will say things like "that message is too rough for students," and my thinking is if it's the gospel, then it's critical we get the message clearly correct and accurate if we want their salvation to not be superficial.
5. There is a lack of discipleship. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) is often used as only an evangelism strategy, but it's just as much a discipleship calling. When someone claims to have made a decision, we often just move on to the next person. There is a need and a calling that we disciple those who come to the faith, build community with them and have them walking with other believers. As we do that we will be able to recognize if they are a healthy tree that bears fruit or a dead tree that needs to be cut off (Matthew 7:15-20). This will help establish true genuine faith.

The key is we must let the gospel be the driving force of everything we do and say, and allow the gospel to change lives. If anything else is trying to change lives (sinners prayer, emotions, feeling sorry) then we'll miss the mark every time. Let's raise up a generation of young people who love the gospel for what it is, a life saving decision. 

For His Glory,

Joe Mayes

Bullying and the Gospel

Bullying happens all the time in every single school in our nation. There are probably students at Mount Pleasant and in every other youth group that have experienced getting bullied. Schools and national media seem to be making a better effort to help in this area, but Christians must be doing their part in recognizing bullying and implementing the gospel.

First we must recognize when a student/child is being bullied. Often students are subtle about it and they really don't share much about afterwards. If your student ever comes home and says "I was picked on today", make sure you have follow up conversations, otherwise the child will feel like they were ignored. After a student mentions it once, they usually withdraw themselves from everyone so they don't have to deal with the situation. That's why it's so important to have more than just the initial conversation.

We must have a desire to see a student/child open up about the situation. Now that we recognize there is a problem and we're having follow-up conversations, it's quite possibly might be hard to get the student to open up. Parents and Youth Workers need be able to foster open conversations about what the student is experiencing, and have them put it to you in their own words. And then give them scenarios of how they respond to "if this were to happen to you." This way students are already thinking through situations before it happens. Then, most importantly, point them to the life of Jesus and how He dealt with difficulties of some of the same kind.

Realize the church is here to help. It is our desire to create a safe environment for all the students that attend Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. With that, there will be times where you might need myself or one of our youth workers to speak with your child so they may be able to open up. We're here to help in those situations, so that your student is able know how to open up and respond biblically to their situation. If any of the bullying ever happens at church, please inform us and know that WE WILL NOT tolerate it.

Our goal is to protect students and seek reconciliation with the gospel. In any situation of bullying we urge parents to talk to the authoritative person responsible for the students during the bullying. Do not accuse them of lack of control, but explain the situation and that you'd love to see the situation reconciled. Often that individual will be your biggest advocate. With that, we are showing the gospel in how the situation is being handled. We are showing that we love the individual who is doing the bullying, and we're seeking reconciliation with them. I believe Christ would want that for all of us and that should be your goal.

Hopefully this has helped you think through bullying and the gospel encase this happens to someone in your family. Know that showing the gospel in all things is essential. God Bless, Joe Mayes.

Six Things The Lord Hates, Seven That Are An Abomination To Him

Our church, Mount Pleasant Baptist, since the beginning of the year has been going through a #moveme challenge. The phrase "move me" are the first 6 letters in the word movement which is our desire for God to begin a movement through the people of The Mount. Each movement of God that has ever started has begun within the hearts of people that seek to live for the glory of God.

Part of the move me challenge is to be in the word more together (as an individual, family, and church). The month of January we studied the book of James together, February we studied the book of Matthew, and now we're studying through the book of Proverbs. Last night, our family read Proverbs 6 together and one thing struck me hard. Proverbs 6:16-19 says:

(16) There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: (17) haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, (18) a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil (19) a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among his brothers. 

We often say God hates sin, but think about the specific sins that were listed in these seven items. We all know God hates these things, but we often seek to justify why we practice such foolishness as Proverbs says. These are things that outright offend God and are an abomination to Him:

1. Haughty eyes- Do we realize that Solomon is talking about pride? Those who look down on others like they are superior to them have haughty eyes. I have met people that just being around them makes me feel uncomfortable because they act like they're above me. In Student Ministry, you lose trust with students when you act like that. 
2. A Lying Tongue- This is one of those things Christians try to justify. There is no justification to why you're sinning other than we have a carnal heart and nature that we must dye to daily. A lying tongue does not sit well with God, and this must change in the life of believers. 
3. Hands that shed innocent blood- We understand that this means people who hurt and kill innocent people, but let's take this a step further. This also means those who kill innocent babies (abortion). The Christians who try to justify that a woman has a choice, must understand that shedding innocent blood God HATES, and abortion is just that.
4. A heart that devices wicked plans- Think about those people who try to get even with one another, or put a plan together to get their way. Those people have hearts which are creating wicked plans. God wants his people to be an honest and upright people that can stand on His Word to provide plans.
5. Feet that make haste to run to evil- How often do you run to evil? I know that I have a tendency to sin and sin in particular areas of my life. That's me running to evil instead of running to the cross. May God teach us how to run to Him, with Him, and for Him instead of to evil.
6. A false witness who breathes out lies- Was this Judas, or could this be Joel Olsteen, or maybe one of us? God despises those who pretend to know Him, but speaks falsely about what Scripture teaches. Know God's Word, believe God's Word, and teach God's Word, not that stuff that puffs people up (prosperity gospel).
7. One who sows discord among brothers- This should hit the heart of most churches, especially my own denomination (Southern Baptist Convention). Believers, we can't have heart that sows discord among our brothers, but rather unity. Unity doesn't mean we have to please everyone, but that we come together for the better good of the gospel. Far too often we sow discord which just doesn't please God, but God has hatred for. 

Wow, what a list. I know it challenged me to have a relentless sprit within me to please God with my life rather than God hate the things within my life. I would really like to hear feedback on these 7 items and what you see the Christian church struggling with the most out of these areas.

Joe Mayes

Tidbits From SYMC 2013

This past weekend there were four of us from Mount Pleasant that went to the Simply Youth Ministry Conference 2013 in Indianapolis, IN. I have always been skeptical of any Student Ministry conferences that are geared towards Pastors and Youth Workers for two reasons: (1) Because every time I looked at one, someone like Rob Bell was speaking and (2) The majority of them were new innovative ways to puff up your youth group with silly activities and fluff. I would never go to a conference under the teaching of Rob and I'm not about fluff.

So, I came into the conference a little skeptical, but with mostly an open mind. All the Student Pastors who are like minded as I (and attended SYMC), had shared that this is the one leadership conference to go to. They were right, I absolutely loved it and got so much out of it.

The best way to talk about what impacted me is by down all the breakout sessions I went to and name the top 5 things I got out of each of them, followed by the top 5 things I did not settle well with me at the conference. Hopefully this will give you an idea of things I was challenged with and will help you out in your ministry as well.

Preparing Your Students For Kingdom Work (Jayson French & Chad Monahan)

• Our goal should not be to do missions for our own spiritual growth or self serving purpose, but it's more of a desire to get to know the individuals.
• We must do a better job at teaching students to read the moment on their school campuses'.
• Find ways to cultivate the hearts of students to encourage them to find 1 student and truly get to know that 1 student. This is more than surface level stuff.
• Teaching our students to look for the image of God in others, even those students they don't get along with or connect with.
• There's no reason for us to go to Mexico for a mission trip and hear an American speaker, speak to an American audience, with an American message. 

Leading Through Crisis: Being There When No One Else Wants to Be (Rich Van Pelt)

• Students will go to those who are in relationally positions to help in the middle of their crisis. Never underestimate the power of presence.
• We're not only responsible for creating safe places for students, we need to become safe places for students.
• Always listen with awareness and acceptance.
• Referring some to professional help is often addition not subtraction. We must not feel like we have to deal with everything on our own, the student's issue is what's most important.
• Be prepared for personal & mass disaster, but more importantly be prepared to speak Scripture into these situations. (Training is necessary in this area)

Effective Programing for Middle School Ministry: Celebrating Chaos and Implementing Structure (Heather Flies)

• If there's chaos in your Middle School Ministry, make sure it has boundaries.
• Our structure of Middle School Ministry must be with reasoning and philosophy.
• There is a need for a good mix of chaos and structure. Sometimes students might feel there's chaos, but parents can see the structure.
• There's a need for leaders to learn to be administrative and fun.
• There a ton of activities that Middle School students enjoy, because you're not the normal church.
• Strobe Light Pillow Fight Gut Bombing Night
• Ultimate Water Balloon Fight
• Slipper Formal
• Counselor Hunt (Camp)

Basic Tech Tips: Making The Most of out Today's Technology: (Brandon Early)

• Download Air Server ($15) on both computers that I use so I can show my iPad and iPhone on the screen when necessary while teaching and or playing games and videos.
• Airport Express ($99) will allow me to control music from my phone so I don't have to always go to the sound board to get something muted to make an announcement.
• Evernote is the key APP to keeping all note taking, emails, contacts, and such to stay extremely organized.
• There's a great website www.crowdcontrolgames.com that will give good icebreakers at the beginning of any of our meeting times. You download them and you have them for good.
• Other good resources:
• YM Tech Blog for constant updates
• X Clips for teaching with iPad's
• Eyetve is if you need reception to watch the Super Bowl.
• Pick Punch is where you're able to create guitar picks on the go.
• Catalyst Filter Website (sessions & articles for church leaders) Code:SYMC for $99.
• Right Now Curriculum is a must have for the church

Identifying, Screening, & Training Volunteers: An Innovative Approach: (Jake Rasmussen)

• Mount Pleasant needs to do a better job at identifying, screening and training our volunteers so they are designed to be most effective at ministering to students.
• Implement an application process to be involved in the Student Ministry adds a layer of protection (this includes Background checks which we already do).
• Schedule in-person interviews with everyone who fills out an application and background check.
• Do not feel like you have to use everyone who fills out an application, actually you probably should decline some people as volunteers because they either aren't ready or you don't see where they fit in.
• Be more intentional on sending out training videos to leaders. SYM Tools (if we use that) has 70+ videos prepared to train, all we'd have to do is email them.

Technology to Impact Ministry (Brandon Early)

• There is a huge need to have a parent seminar over the use of social media. The suggestion was to maybe have a cop and/or online security person to lead this.
• Our Student Ministry can do a better job at empowering leaders, and equipping parents. Have leaders write blogs, choose 4-5 Student Ministry workers and 3-4 Children's Ministry workers and have them all write 6 blogs then you have enough resources for blogging for the next year.
• Animoto is a good resource to put photos into a quick video. This is free with non-for-profit organizations. This is all online based.
• A great resources to look for creating resources for parents is www.theparentlink.com ($80/year).
• Some more fantastic apps and resources for Student Ministry:
• Glympse- Parents can know where we're at on the road.
• CPYU (Walt Muller)- Free Website for Parent information
• Clips App- be able to use movie clips to your teaching
• Group Me App-  chat with groups
• Group Games App- An app to play games at the beginning of activities. 
• Over App- Use as promotional stuff on instagram.

Thoughts on Speakers/Worship/Creative Arts

• Greg Stier- Greg was great as always, he challenges me with the way we do ministry every time he speaks. His message over prayer challenged me to be more centrally focused on prayer, and not for it to be just an after thought. I loved is acronym Praise, Request, Admit, & Yield.
• "We need to get into the octagon with God until we have finally dealt with our issue and have yielded ourselves to Him."
• "Stop trusting in our programs, meetings, and gimmicks, and trust in prayer and power of God."
• "Make Prayer the engine, not the caboose."
• Jon Acuff- Jon was a great communicator and one of the funniest speakers I've heard. His message on being real in Student Ministry was good and effective. John wasn't a great theological speaker but was down to earth, practical, and I really enjoyed him.
• Rick Lawrence- Rick was more of a creative speaker, he had us do activities that had us focus on our sins. I enjoyed Rick's message because it made me think about how light we take sin. Sin is a serious issue and we need be prepared for junk flying into our lives at any moment.
• John Stumbo- WOW WOW WOW! I had never heard of Pastor John Stumbo before this weekend and now I want to read all of his stuff. Someone who had a virus he couldn't shake and was told he'd never eat solid foods ever again. God healed him and now he speaks about it. Youtube him and you can see the first time he spoke after he was diagnosed with his virus.
• "God is not only the God that's in the light, but he's also the God that's in the dark."
• Shane & Shane (worship)- They were incredible as always. If you do not have any of their CD's, you must go out and buy them. They are top notch worship leaders.
• All Sons & Daughters- Many of our students rave about them, but I had never really heard them that much, and I really enjoyed them. I will definitely be looking at buying their music and seeing how we can incorporate their songs into our Student Ministry. 
• Jordan Howerton Band (worship)- Never heard of them or their music before this weekend, but really enjoyed them in the morning sessions. They also handed out free cd's that were awesome and they tried to get know the audience which is always good.
• Lecrae (artist)- Hyped as always, although rap isn't my favorite.
• Skit Guys (creative drama)- They are as good as it gets. If you're into drama, buy their stuff and read up on them.

Top 5 Things that didn't settle well with me:

• Schedule- I felt like the schedule could be improved. They should start off with morning worship and end with with evening worship. The workshops should all be in between there, and if I wanted to do a 1:30 session then I didn't have enough time to eat lunch.
• Break Out Session Classrooms- Almost every breakout session I went to, the classroom was overflowing with people. They need bigger classrooms.
• Track Offers- I think they should maybe offer a Track 1, Track 2, Track 3, Track 4 for those who have been some years and just need a refresher year after year.
• Breakout Session Title- One break out session title was "Sneaking Theology Into Every Lesson." Bad name, and bad thinking on that one.
• Artist- Didn't think they needed so many different artists and stuff, same some money on that.

Those were just a few things i see that could be improved, but overall I was extremely impressed. I will go back to this conference and will encourage other Student Pastors to go because it was highly beneficial. I hope this helps people understand some of the take aways I had with SYMC 2013.