You are okay with the status quo of your student ministry right?

No? That is what I thought.

If you are anything like me, you are constantly looking at what you have and are trying to improve the experience of services for your students, making sure the systems you have set in place are working properly, and thinking of what is the next step your ministry should take. This is something that I feel like I am constantly thinking about and dreaming about. It’s not that I don’t like what we have, I love it. I love it so much I want to continually push myself, our team, our volunteers and our students to the next level on how to help them better disciples of Jesus.

So how do you do that? How do you effectively push past status quo and move to the next level? There are lots of things you can do, but here are some things to look and conversations to have as you begin to process what this looks like for your ministry.

Here are some things to TAKE to move forward:

TAKE a few minutes with your pastor: Yes you are ambitious and want to move something’s forward. That is awesome. You don’t want to move and push past status quo without a talk with your pastor. The last thing your ministry needs to stray away from the vision of your senior pastor and church. Have a conversation about where you want to go, what you’re wanting to do and make sure everyone is on the same page with it.

TAKE a few hours with your volunteers: Your volunteers are the ones who are your boots on the ground and can help give you a better understanding of where your students are at and where they need to go. Spend some time getting info and thoughts of volunteers of where THEY think you should go and what direction you take to move forward and move past status quo. Their input could be huge!

TAKE a few days for yourself to go be with God: One of the best things you can do for yourself and your ministry is to get away by yourself with the Bible, a notebook, a few good books and spend a few days away relaxing and spending time in prayer before the Lord asking Him what is the next step for your ministry. You don’t want to go anywhere where He is not leading you just because you want to go there. Spending some time asking for direction from the One who we call on for everything happening in our ministry is something not to be overlooked and taken for granted. Write down whatever comes to mind, pray about it, and come back refreshed and ready to have whatever conversations you need to have.

 

@justinknowles3