Youth Ministry Spotlight - Church of the Resurrection

What do you find as the most rewarding part of Youth ministry?

As a senior at the University of South Florida I have encountered many people who grew up in the church who have fallen away from their faith (and for a short while I was one of them). More often than not the underlying reason for abandoning the faith (apart from sin of course) is a simple misunderstanding about the basic elements of our faith in Christ. I have personally encountered professors who during class will criticize the historical authenticity of the Bible, the resurrection of Christ, and the existence of God. These doubts trickle down into the minds of the Christians who are weak in faith and more often than those Christians will abandon their beliefs either for atheism or a form of agnosticism.

After witnessing this tragedy not only in my life but also in the lives of others, I began to think that it would be an incredible opportunity to educate youth before they went to college. Soon after praying for such an opportunity I became the Youth Minister for Church of the Resurrection in Tampa. While working with my youth I challenge them to think, ask questions, and become real in their faith based directly on what I find to be the most common issues plaguing young Christians today. This is the most rewarding part of youth ministry for me, knowing that my youth will be better prepared to stand against the storm and stay true to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Describe what your youth "bring to the table" for your church. Another words, why is youth ministry important to your church community?

Youth ministry is important to my church community for the same reason for every other church community, and that is because the youth are tomorrow's church today. No, I am not running for some type of political office with my cheesy catch phrase instead I aim to point out that youth are people too. More often than not I have found a polarization between the adult part of the church and the youth part of the church. I feel that the role of youth ministry is to educate, inspire, and allow opportunities for our youth to become leaders in the church working alongside adults in various ministries.

Do you have an example of a youth who may have gained a relationship with Christ through being in a youth ministry community?

The Parable of the Sower gives us the account of a sower planting seeds on various types soil only one of which produces fruit. However, before a plant can bear fruit it must grow to maturity. As a new youth minister, I have heard other youth ministers use such language as, "planting seeds," or one of my personal favorites, "a time bomb," that are used in reference to a later in life epiphany. Perhaps it may seem as if I am circumventing the question, but although I have not witnessed any miraculous transformations or conversions, I have seen a distinct growth within all of my youth.

Describe for us the desire you both have for the youth in your community? What is your hope for their futures?

As believers we are called to have faith like a child, although more often than not many Christians have what can only be described as a, "childish faith." This is the type of faith that is built upon the sand so that when the storm hits it is washed away. It is my desire for the youth in my community to mature in the faith so that they may be able to have faith like a child. My hopes for my youth are the same for all youth especially YAMiA, that is that they will declare war on secular universities spreading the Gospel and acting out the Great Commission. We must change the trend of Christian youth going to college and losing their faith to Christian youth going to college and making disciples. This is my hope for my youth as well as all youth, that they will become soldiers for Christ and take back the strongholds that are the secular universities.