One of the biggest challenges I often have in student ministry is picking a series for our Wednesday night youth program. There are a lot of factors that go into this midweek program that keep me praying, thinking, second-guessing, plotting, etc. to make sure I have chosen the right focus for our Bible studies.
For one, this is typically our most attended weekly program. Our Wednesday night program is just students, it’s casual, there’s contemporary music, icebreakers, and other shenanigans. Students invite friends and we’ve got everyone from the teenager who could care less about God to the teenager who is going on five mission trips this summer. So I worry about picking a study that will reach these differing levels of spiritual growth.
Students also seem to love topical series and hate walking through books of the Bible. Unfortunately, I am the opposite. While students want to talk about dating, friends, gossiping, and general “how-to” messages for a month, I want to just pick a book and work through it.
And then of course you have parents and leaders emailing you ideas, concerns, and other thoughts for what you should be teaching the students. While I cherish this input, it does become overwhelming to respond to and accommodate everyone’s opinions about student ministry.
Then finally there’s the mental checklist in my mind of everything I want our students to cover before they graduate. And unfortunately my checklist is longer than the six years I have to squeeze it into.
So this year, I have decided to go with my gut (actually the Holy Spirit, my gut always makes poor decisions, especially about food). We are returning to and finishing two books of the Bible that I believe are incredibly important in understanding our faith, the Gospel of John and Paul’s letter to the Romans.
John gives us a clear presentation of who Jesus is and at every point he seems to remind us that this Jesus who is human like us is also the glorious son of God. The contrast in John 1 is incredible. John starts with the Word, the Son of God, eternally existent with the Father, uncreated, holding the universe together and then suddenly tells us this King of the Universe has taken on flesh and become like us. John paints a beautiful picture of just how grand and mysterious the incarnation of Christ really is. John also gives us insight into Jesus’ own concerns for his followers. A great example of this is John 17, where Jesus prays for his disciples and those who would later believe. He prays for our unity, our protection from Satan, our lives to be defined by love and truth, and promises to send the Holy Spirit to help make this happen. While the other Gospels certainly emphasize points that John does not, I believe the Gospel of John is the best starting ground for seeing who our Savior really is.
So if John tells us who Jesus and what he does for us, the book of Romans explains to us how Jesus’ identity and work applies to our lives. Paul explains how we are called by God, saved by grace through faith in the Son of God, justified before God, and released from the wrath of God because this wrath was poured out on Jesus. Romans is a detailed, logical, and deep treatise on the Gospel, salvation, and the effects of Christ’s work in our lives. For instance, after explaining how we who are cursed by sin have been cleansed and justified by Jesus Christ, in Romans 12, Paul says, “I beseech you, THEREFORE, brothers by the mercy of God to present you body as a living sacrifice.” In other words, because of what God has done for you in Jesus Christ, surrender yourself and live this way. Paul connects the dots for us, so that we can see how Jesus’ work changes who we are, where we stand before God, and how we are to live.
I believe if you have a strong understanding of these two books, John and Romans, you will have a stronger understanding of your Christian faith. When people tell me they want to read the Bible and ask me where to start, I always send them to these two books first. So I’m praying for our students that through studying these books this year, they will see Jesus for who He really is and what He has done, and as they see Him, they will love Him and be radically transformed. If you are a teenager, a parent, student ministry leader, or just someone who loves this generation of students, I hope you will pray for the same.
“We all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” (2 Corinthians 3:18)
