Raising Our Expectations in Youth Ministry
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As I sit here at the Town and Country Resort on the Eve of the NYWC I find myself oddly contemplating a question I was recently asked by a student on the fringe of our youth group. She wanted to know “Why do you expect so much from us?”
This simple yet profound question caused me to reflect on what I see as one of biggest issues or obstacles facing those in youth ministry: the culture of low expectations that exists in our “feel good” and take no risks society. Our society tells us to coddle and protect our students lest we cause them to experience failure and suffer from low self-esteem. Yet even a casual reading of the bible shows us that we serve a God who expects much from His children and is to be the complete focus of every human endeavor. And sadly, far too often we in youth ministry and in the church have chosen to adopt the world's ways over the ways of the King of Kings.
In my opinion it is clear that until we cultivate an atmosphere of high expectations in our ministries we will continue to wallow in a ministry of mediocrity. We will continue to hold our students back from being the tremendous champions for the kingdom our Lord intends them to be and instead produce a generation of underachieving cultural Christians who wander through much of life with a weak or non-existent faith.
What is needed is for more youth leaders to become like Paul and expect more from our students than the world does. It is our duty and call to instruct them, as Paul so instructed Timothy, to “Practice these things; be committed to them so that your progress may be evident to all”. (1 Timothy 4:15 HCSB) Expect them to progress and they will more often then not progress. We must become coaches, mentors, and shepherds in the lives of our students who encourage them to meet the high expectations given by the Lord who called them into His Kingdom as equal partners with us in the Gospel.
It is critical that they be gently yet firmly rebuked when they neglect to meet His expectations. It is imperative that you and I step up and proclaim that we believe in them and that we expect that they will become the kingdom warriors He has made them to be. My answer to this student and every student therefore is simply “I expect much from you because God expects much of you and I believe you can; in the power of Christ meet His expectations!”
To my fellow youth workers I ask: Are you willing to step outside your comfort zone and expect more of the students you shepherd? Will you help empower this generation to be the great men and women of God they are called to be?
