I had the honor of speaking at Hume Lake Winter Camp this past weekend (if you are near the area, you need to check them out, they are fantastic) and my week there I got to be with some churches that were scholarshipped to come. Meaning, many of the students who came it was their first time at a camp like this. It was awesome to see. I got to chat with multiples pastors while up there and in those conversations, all at different points of the weekend, they all said the same thing.

Looking back, chatting with people at different conferences or in meeting them, a lot of pastors say the same thing when it comes to ministry. It always seems to happen when the numbers of the youth group get brought up (by the way, can we all stop asking when we all first meet, “How many are you running?” My answer is always, “It could be more.” Sorry, sidetrack, but I really don’t like that question right when people meet). Yes, I happen to be at a bigger church. Yes, 99% of all youth groups will have a ministry somewhere that is bigger than they are…

But here is what so many pastors said, “I ONLY brought 20 students.” Only. Only. Only.

Comparision is a thief of joy.

What if we began to replace ONLY with MY.

“I brought MY 20 students.”

The Lord has gifted us with the students we have and I think a lot of times, myself included, I let numbers make me miss out on who’s there in front of me. If we began to switch the thought process of ONLY with MY I think we can continue to put our heads down, do some work, continue to pour into OUR students in hopes they continue to grow closer to Jesus and in turn, reach more students.