What Stories Motivate Your Ministry?

Over the past few weeks I have been considering the topic of motivation.  I recently had the opportunity to sit down with our student ministry leaders and discuss where we are and where we are going as a student ministry.  I found that as I discussed the direction of the ministry, what really impacted me were the stories of change and transformation that had been written in our group over the past year.

For me, and for most people I would guess, stories motivate people.  When I dream about what we can become as a student ministry, I prefer to think of the stories that will be told rather than thinking up statistics or numbers.  It’s not that setting numeric goals is unnecessary, but if I want my heart and the hearts of others to be captured by our mission, I go to stories.

When I think about the value and mission of next generation ministry, here are the three stories that I see in my mind.

1. First, I see a young boy who is nine years old and desperately wants to feel loved and valued.  His home life is rough, and he does not have many friends nor does he feel very special.  I think about how powerful a role a church could play in his life by giving him some godly people to love him and share a message of the ultimate form of love found in God.  I think about how the direction of his life would be changed by his encounter with God and God’s people.  I see him growing up understanding his role in the church and his calling to make disciples.  I see him starting a family that is full of affirmation and love.

2. Second, I think about a young couple who has just had their first child.  These two people are just recognizing that they don’t have a clue what to do with this new life.  There is a pang in their hearts that is reminding them of the churches that they used to attend.  As they look at their child they realize that they want her exposed to the teachings of the Bible that used to be foundational for them.  As they pull into the church they are surrounded by people who welcome them and their child, helping them navigate their way through parenthood and the way back to God.  Their child grows up in the church and at an early age comes to an understanding of the gospel.  The family routinely prays together and goes on mission trips together.

3. Third, I see a teenager who wants nothing to do with God.  This student has seen Christians, but has no desire to live the way that they live.  He is too cool for it, and truthfully isn’t even sure if there is a God or whether or not all religions are basically the same.  He wonders what the point of life really is, and is longing to know if there is a reason for any of it.  I see a young adult creating a relationship with this kid, maybe by routinely visiting him at work.  This young adult befriends the kid and begins to share what he thinks life is all about.  As the teenager listens to the man and sees how he lives his life, the teenager begins to become open to the things of God.  After a few months of reading the Bible that the man gave him, the teenager asks the man how he can become a Christian.  Soon after that the teenager walks into a church and is greeted by students who he knows from school who celebrate with him that he has begun a relationship with God.  Together they grow in the knowledge of what it means to be a true follower of Christ.

These are the stories that motivate me each day as we make disciples of the next generation.  These stories are not far-fetched.  In fact, in God terms they are pretty mundane.  God can do all of this, and he allows us to be a part of these stories.   As you consider your ministry whether it be to inmates, students, or your own household, what stories motivate your ministry?