Featured Voice: Ryan Prater, Junior High Pastor of Matrix Ministries at Clear Creek Community Church, League City, Texas

Topic: Remembering and Celebrating Easter with Students

There seems to be a lack of emphasis in Christ’s journey to the cross in student ministry.  Why do you think it is this way?  How can we engage students with the whole Easter story?

I have always tried to be intentional about obvious things on the calendar (Christmas, Easter, the start up of school, etc.).  In most of these cases, society is our best friend.  They make sure through their marketing that everyone knows a few months out that Christmas is coming or that Easter is coming.  People are talking about it (at least about bunnies) and are making Easter plans.  I see it my responsibility to give them the “why” behind the holiday.  The Passion week—with the apex being the Resurrection—is the most important week our world has ever known.  Paul tells us that if there is no resurrection then our faith is useless.  That is why it is on my calendar every year.  If some student ministries are not emphasizing the story of Easter it is possibly a lack of intentionality.

With the holidays of Christmas and Easter, I like to connect the history and forgotten traditions of Christendom with today.  Talk about the torture of scourging, crucifixion, and the historicity of the Resurrection.  With some research and some creativity in presentation, you can make a familiar story come alive. 

How can youth ministers make Easter and the time leading up to Easter meaningful for students? 

One of the most meaningful things that The Matrix (Middle School Ministry at CCCC) does every year is the observation of the Passover Feast on Maundy Thursday.  Jerry and I instituted it when we were a tandem at Pioneer Drive, and I have carried on with me here at Clear Creek Community Church.  We often partake in the Lord’s Supper, but few of us know about the meal and its ritual that gives the Lord’s Supper its context.  It was a meal observed by the Jewish family.  The meal itself told the story of the Jews—mainly their slavery and exodus out of Egypt.  The climax was the eating of the Paschal lamb.  It’s a meal that takes about an hour and a half to complete.  It is a sensory overload of tastes and smells and touch that we are not used to.  But as Christians, our story is woven throughout this meal.  Our heritage comes from the Jews.  So that part of the story should resonate with us.  But we see how through the meal Jesus puts the pieces of the puzzle together.  Jesus is our lamb, the bitter herbs can remind us of our past slaver to sin, etc.  And the end of the meal is where the Jews would wait (and still do to this day) for the second coming of Elijah.  Jesus said that John the dipper was the second coming of Elijah.  It is amazing.  For our students it helps connect even more their heritage from the Bible today.  It will make the subsequent Lords’ Supper observations you do mean that much more as well. 

What are some creative ways, practices, and Easter observances that we can incorporate into our youth ministries? 

1. Maundy Thursday observation.
2. Stations of the cross/prayer labyrinth.
3. Sunrise service on Easter.
4. Good Friday service.  Jerry and I had this idea of having a service on Good Friday.  In order for there to be a celebration of a resurrection, there first has to be a death.  For us to really appreciate and live in the resurrected life, we first must go through a death.  Paul says that we must die to ourselves.  The idea was to structure the service to where at the end, it was very solemn and dark and you basically “died” to yourself.  No fanfare or show.  Kind of a quasi-funeral.  Sunday would be the celebration of your new-found resurrected life in Christ. 

How have your students responded to these? 

Our students love the Passover Feast.  They ask for it every year.  They walk away saying, “I never knew that is what happened.”  It gives them a deeper appreciation for the Lord’s Supper part of the Feast and for what Jesus has done for us.

Is there any value to returning to Christian tradition in order to better understand the Easter story?  Why?

Most traditions (if not all) that are worth anything started off with purpose.  It’s when we forget about the original purpose and do them for the sake of “Well, we have always done it” that they become a sacred cow.  I think it is worth looking at the traditions that Christendom has passed down throughout the years and asking “Why did they do it?  What were they trying to teach us?”  I think that when we can see how we fit into the bigger story it is incredible.  When we can connect ourselves to people hundreds of years ago who did the same thing, there is power in that. 

What are some things we can give students for personal reflection as Easter draws closer? 

I hope that we can give students ownership of their faith.  If we/they miss the Resurrection and how that reality is to impact our lives forever, we’ve missed everything.  Jim Collins begins the book Good to Great with a poignant line that I cannot get out of my head: “Good is the enemy of great.”  I sense that our culture as a whole is satisfied with our students being “good kids.”  Usually the qualifier for good is that they get good grades, come to church, volunteer some, stay out of trouble (for the most part), etc.  Though these are upstanding qualities, there is more to it.  I want students to be great.  (When I say great I am thinking “godly.”) 

The resurrected life is the greatest challenge that any of us will face.  To leave the old life to “take up our crosses daily and follow” Jesus is a tremendous command.  The fact that Jesus was resurrected makes everything else that He said true as well.  And if true, then I must be obedient to all that God says in all areas of my life.  I cannot settle for “good” but must see it as the enemy to truly becoming great—the follower I am supposed to be. 

If our students could be challenged and brought along the process of owning their faith and living the resurrected life, we would see the moral climate of our schools and culture slowly change.  The next line in the book is equally compelling: “That is one of the key reasons why we have so little that becomes great.”  Chew on that for a bit. 

 

Featured Voice: Jimmy Smith, Minister to Students, FBC Allen Texas

Topic: Disciple Now Follow Up

Disciple Now is one of the biggest events on a youth minister’s calendar each year, yet follow-up with students and parents is one of the things we do a poorly.  Why is it this way?

We don’t plan for it.  We’ll work for months getting ready for the weekend but we rarely give any thought or attention to “after the event”.  The sad thing is, that means we’re giving little attention to one of the most important elements of the weekend.  Follow up helps students solidify their commitments.  They become less about emotion and more about determination.

How can we ensure that this is not a regular occurrence?

As I mentioned earlier, we just need to plan it.  Develop strategies and materials that will help the students take their next steps.  It will take more time but without it then it’s just good event that doesn’t produce lasting change.

When you have a number of students who make decisions (about salvation, rededication, or surrender to ministry) during Disciple Now weekend, what are some of the next steps you take to follow-up with them?

I always make contact with them…letters, emails and personal visits.  I try to help them develop a strategy to continue on the new journey they started during DNOW.  We also pass on their names and commitments to their small group leaders (in our case, Sunday School teacher) so they can follow up as well.  It’s important that their small group leaders know so they can be aware during their teaching times and communication with the students.

How do you inform the entire congregation of all the decisions made over the weekend?

We encourage our students to “go public” with their decisions.  Going up front can be intimidating for a student but it provides some tremendous accountability for a student to know that his/her church will be praying for them.  Part of DNOW experience is a celebration time with the church where our students get to share a part of their DNOW experience.  It’s important that the church see the fruit of DiscipleNow.  We try, as much as possible, to make the DNOW experience a church-wide experience.

Each Disciple Now weekend has students who are new to your church.  How do you follow-up with those students?  How do you incorporate them into your youth ministry?  

One of the things we ask for when a student registers is where they normally attend church.  If they are regular attenders at another church then we thank them for their participation, help them to know we are here for them, and encourage them to continue to remain involved in their youth ministries.  For students who do not have a church home we encourage them to get involved in a small group Bible study (Sunday School).  We have Bible study leaders contact them and follow up with them.  We send them material about our student ministry and let them know they have a place in our ministry.

From leaders, to host homes, to cooks, to drivers and so on, there are so many people who are involved in Disciple Now.  What are some creative ways to thank them for their commitment to investing in the lives of teenagers?

I’m pretty simple with this one…I thank them publicly any chance I get.  I want the church to know that DNOW would not happen if it were not for their sacrifice and hard work.  I especially am grateful for our host homes.  One way I try to take care of our host homes is by not slamming them with 20 kids in their home during DNOW.  I’ve done that before and it’s not always a good thing.  My goal is 10 to 12 student per home.  That’s a good manageable group.  Anything I can do to help make their DNOW weekend as smooth and easy as possible.  Plus, let’s be honest, you need them again next year!

How do you bring closure to your Disciple Now and youth ministry?

We don’t really try to bring closure…we want to build on what was started.  We work hard to try to address things that came from the weekend and keep pushing the things that God got rolling in our ministry.  We may not say “DNOW” much after the weekend but it’s woven throughout all we do.