Engaging Students in DiscipleshipPosted by Patrick Scott on November 26th, 2008

Discipleship is a topic of conversation that is a hot topic of conversation.  How do we lead through and how do we engage?  Many churches are failing in the area of discipleship.  It troubles me that I see students make a decision to follow Christ and then a week later they are doing the same things that they were doing before.  A year later they are still doing the same things they did before and we are still doing the same things we did before.  What is going to change?  How are we going to become more effective?

I remember when I was a student and everything I knew about being a Christian was either taught to me through someone speaking or something I read.  I never fully engaged in the practice of being a disciple.  Maybe we should be more engaging in the way we lead others through discipleship.  I see many that try so hard to think outside the box, to come up with new ways, but it ends up being a hop from one box to another.  How can we engage?  A big cultural trend today are that students like to jump on the bandwagon of causes.  You know many of these and if you dont just take a look at Facebook and see all the causes you can join.  There is a passion in students to serve others.  Wouldnt it be wise to take advantage of this by engaging students to not just join a cause but to figure and imaginative way to serve a cause.  It is great to teach what being a disciple is all about but the goal of being a disciple (student) is to ultimately become an apostle (practitioner).   We have to teach and build up and then lead them into the practice of following Christ.  It is very difficult to become an apostle without the armor of God.  The following are ways we need to step up to the plate to develop true warriors for the cause of Christ.

1. Confession

2. Prayer

3. Personal Bible Study

4. Scripture Memorization

5. Serving

6. Perseverance

7. Humility

8. Compassion

9. Leading

10. Evangelism

These are a few things that I see as vital to training.

There were some students from a church in Chicago that took up a cause to provide text books to 1000 orphans in Africa for three years.  They were challenged to raise $25000 dollars over a semester to aid in this mission.  The students were challenged to think outside the box and be imaginative on how they could serve Christ.  This was no little feat but one that could be accomplished with focus.  Some students asked for money for their birthday for this cause, some students hosted a film festival at their school.  The films were created by students and allowed them the opportunity to share the gospel to their classmates.  They raised the $25000 dollars faster than they realized and because of their focus and determination to serve they were also able to lead others to Christ.  This is just an example of students being led into serving.  The impact it had on their understanding of serving was exponential and unforgettable.  The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  We must realize this and act accordingly.

We cannot just teach but we also have to engage students through activity to participate in these activities.  How can we engage students creatively in these areas?

LegacyPosted by Patrick Scott on November 7th, 2008

 I just wanted to share with you some questions I have been pondering this week.

What is the most important thing you want people to remember you for?

What are you doing now to make that happen?

Is the world impacted by your presence?

What would the world say distinguishes you from itself?

Is Your Group Growing Pt. 2Posted by Patrick Scott on November 6th, 2008

It is so easy to get caught up in numbers. Numbers tell us if something is profitable, if someone is winning, or if something or someone is successful. Stop thinking about the numbers. Someone once told me, “If you are responsible in the small things, then you are more likely going to be responsible in the big things.”.

I have been talking about my experiences with small group ministry. I am not an authority and do not wish to be thought of as one. What may work for me may not work for you but experience shared can many times help someone come up with a better idea. Small Groups are about the discipleship and growth of a believer. They can offer fellowship and community, allowing believers the ability to encourage, and be encouraged, confess, and serve. My focus right now is in student ministry and student ministry discipleship.

The other day I talked about experience I have had with high school guys in my small group. We have focused on spiritual growth and numbers have been secondary. Small Groups are never meant to be large and that is why they are labeled small. What if your group only has 3 students? Why do you want more? I have learned that the more I have the less one on one time I can spend with each of them. A majority of us that lead a small group are in other careers and have families and our time is absorbed in those areas. The little extra time we have to devote to small groups should never be about quantity but quality. If you do not have the time you need to be more efficient with the time you have.  I have talked to people that lead small groups and they start curriculum just to start curriculum. They desire to see their students grow but they do not know what their students need. This all goes back to asking your students question to see where they are spiritually and how you can encourage further growth. If we honor God with the 3 that we have then He may give us the opportunity for more.

Once our guys have started to buy in to growing spiritually I have seen them start talking about inviting others. There is nothing more powerful than word of mouth. If your students are experiencing change themselves they will have the desire to share with their friends or will be asked by their friends whats going on.

Instead of focusing on recruitment, focus on retention. Why aren’t students more committed in attending small groups? Why aren’t adults more committed to attending small groups? I have seen students leave because they are confused, challenged, but more than not because they are not ready. How do you get a student ready? You get a student ready by knowing them. Many times we don’t jump on this early enough. Small Groups are not for getting to know students but for developing God Chasers. Know a student and grow a student. Why would they want to be challenged by someone that doesn’t truly know them? If a student is confused about who God is, why would they be in a discussion that they don’t understand? Once we know them then we can lead them appropriately. I only have two guys that regularly attend my small group and my focus has been on using what I have learned about them to formulate a plan that helps them grow with a solid foundation in Christ. The joy I have in this small group is something that I wish every other leader of a small group could experience. If God allows our group to grow, then I am all for it. Don’t judge your success in numbers but in what God is doing in the lives of your students.

Small Groups allow the church’s youth ministry’s core to grow, and develops a healthy spiritual foundation to grow numbers in the overall ministry. If this did not happen then the depth would be extremely shallow. Small groups or any discipleship is the backbone that allows a student ministry to build successfully upon. Your leadership is important in building the kingdom of God.

Is your group growing? Pt.1Posted by Patrick Scott on November 3rd, 2008

We can look at two different aspects of this.  The first, “Is your group growing spiritually?” and the second is, “Is your group growing in numbers?”.  Which of these questions is most important to you?  Does one have a direct impact on the other?

In this first post I want to talk about some things that have worked for me with the student group that I am currently working with.  I want to focus on the first question.  Is you group growing spiritually?  If we cant answer this question then the second question is irrelevant.  I have had the privilege, this semester, to work directly with a small group of high school boys.  The first thing that I wanted to confirm is their understanding of salvation and what it meant to be a Christian.  Once we were able to talk through this and I was confident in their understanding we could move on to determining other things.  This approach not only allowed us to get to know them better but showed them that we cared about them beyond the scope of this world.

Next, we wanted to see what foundation they had to build on.  We spent time asking them questions.  How often do you read your Bible?  How often do you pray?  These are just some questions to help determine discipline and  practice in their lives.  This gave us answers as to the areas, in which we needed to work with them.  Through conversation we were also able to determine how they saw God and how they saw themselves.  We asked them questions such as, “When you die what is the most important thing you would hope people would say about you?”  Some people may say that this is pretty intense but substantial growth cannot be made unless it is intentional.

Now I look forward to working with them to lay the necessary foundation for them to grow.  I want them to know who God is.  I want them to grow up to be the spiritual leaders that their homes and countries need.  If we coddle then we get a bunch of babies, but if we meet them head on with compassion, acceptance, and truth we will build a man chasing after God.  How can we train students if we never ask the questions?  How can we meet their spiritual needs if we never know what they truly need?

Tomorrow, I will be posting part two of this topic and focusing on the question “Is your group growing in numbers?”.  I will talk about the how and the why?

Whats Next ?Posted by Patrick Scott on July 31st, 2008

There have been many times in my life that I have asked God “Whats Next”.  Sometimes it is out of pure despairation and other times it is from pure excitement.  For the longest time I believed that I shouldnt question God.  What kind of relationship is that?  How do you learn if questions are not being asked?  I love it when my son asks me questions and I get excited because he is wanting to learn things.  Is the absence of questions a lack of passion or contentment with complacency?  This question is not a general question but one I have to ask myself in my pursuit of Christ.  Even though God does things for us when we dont even ask for it, I believe, in my own life, that the more passionate I am the more questions I ask.  Is the Bible erelevant if we dont have questions?  What good is the Holy Spirit if we dont have questions?  The Bible was written for direction.  The Holy Spirit was sent to us for guidance.  The only way we will pursue answers is to have questions. 

Many times I feel as if my questions are silly or trivial.  Can I question and still have faith?  Have you ever believed your questions are too big for God to answer or too insignificant for Him to care about?