A Place Students Bring Their Friends

The desire to reach more students can sometimes mean bigger and better events.  We may duplicate the event someone else did but doesn’t mean we are being faithful to what God has called us to. Love is enough to get students through the door. When we can offer an unqualified love that is pure and holy, then that becomes contagious.

When we fall into the trap of ‘bigger, better, faster’ events, we fall into a trap where we see fast growth and when the event is over, we find it was simply just an event. But through time, when we love people, when we love hard (patiently, kindly, unrelenting) we see real growth taking place and not just a fast growth.

When we are loving people and we want to implement this type of love in our youth ministry, here are 3 points to keep in mind:

1. No history, no problem

Love doesn’t need history, it just needs a choice. The good Samaritan makes a choice to love the beaten traveler. When students walk in through the door do they feel loved?

2. Differences? That’s okay

Just because there might be differences doesn’t mean that’s a problem. We must be able to love the students from all types of backgrounds when they come in through our doors because in the Kingdom, you don’t have to believe to belong. “But do we deal with sin issues?” you may ask, yes of course we do.

3. You haven’t chosen me? Well I choose you

The beaten traveler on the side of the road wasn’t able to choose the good Samaritan. Instead, the good Samaritan chooses him. There are students walking in our doors waiting for us to choose to love them. They walk in, awkwardly waiting for us to say hi, so we need to teach our leaders and ourselves to go and choose them. Get in kids lives before waiting for them to choose us.

1 John 4:8 “God is Love”

We don’t need to worry about feeling the love. We choose to love at the moment and therefore it becomes our lifestyle.


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May 23 – 25, Join Us! 

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