As a junior high and high school student, I wasn’t involved in my church’s youth group. I saw youth ministry as a waste of time. I didn’t feel the need to go play basketball, hang out with people I saw all day at school or pull funny pranks on poor, ill-prepared souls, which is all I felt youth ministry was. Plus, I felt like I could do all those things without diving into the clicks of youth ministry.
I was very cynical towards anyone who was involved, even the people who politely invited me to join. As a small child, my family went to a small church where 30 people attending was considered heavy traffic on a Sunday morning. Needless to say, the church didn’t have much of a youth program, or even a youth pastor. So the only contact I really had with youth ministry was from afar: A visit here and there to other churches or events I would hear about from friends at school. The only thing I saw was surface level, trivial, advanced babysitting sessions. I saw youth pastors who seemed to hate their job or volunteers who weren’t properly prepared. Obviously, that was mostly just my perspective, but often times this wasn’t far from the truth. I never imagined ever having this perspective changed either. It wasn’t until I was a senior in high school that I had my world rocked. And it wasn’t because of some outstanding, modern, fast-paced youth program.
I was 16 years old when my family moved to a different city, and we started going to a church that had a decent sized youth group. My sisters became involved immediately, but I was reluctant to come even amongst continual persuasion from them. Two years went by without me ever getting involved. But for one reason or another, I decided to take them up on their offers one Sunday night. I learned it was a new Bible study for the youth, and this was the first night. I didn’t have the highest expectations and my “know everything” attitude was in full effect going into that night, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. What I saw there was something I believe God used to change the course of the rest of my life, and I say that without a bit of exaggeration.
The Bible study that night focused on “digging deeper” and learning to defend your faith. This was something I hadn’t heard many people talk about, and it intrigued me. The kids were fun and very open to me being there, and I enjoyed every aspect of the night. However, none of these things were reasons for why I kept coming. The most profound thing that happened that night didn’t involve the awesome Bible study material, the friendly atmosphere or the cool evangelism tips we were given. It was simply seeing a youth pastor who was sincerely honest in one of the most humble ways I ever witnessed. This influenced me as much, or more, than any youth event or trip he ever planned.
As I got to know him even more, I saw someone whose life was unapologetically real. He was honest when he didn’t have an answer to my questions. He told me to pray about things I didn’t understand instead of conjuring up an answer that even he didn’t believe. His life was an open book, and I never once questioned his motives. There are few people who I have trusted more, and I am not the trusting type.
We’re taught all too often in our culture, whether indirectly or directly, to hide our faults and shortcomings. We learn at a very young age that people don’t always like who we are so we tend to adapt and hide those tendencies, sometimes even subconsciously. But what are we really accomplishing? Whether we know it or not, we’re telling people to just keep things bottled up, fake it when you’re really hurting, and everything will be okay.
However, few things will affect your students on a more profound level than you being real with them. Trust me, I know how uncomfortable and hard this can be at times, as I can be the world’s worst at opening up to others. But I know with all my heart that there is something to this. God used one man’s sincerity to alter my entire view on ministry, and I believe He can do the same in many of your students’ lives. Pray that the Father will give you the grace and courage to accomplish this. I truly believe lives will be changed through this prayer.
Written by Cannon Earp.