Student Ministry Must Change or Die! (PART 1)

As I begin this blog entry, let me first lay out some disclaimers to all who will read this.

I was raised in ministry as a preacher’s kid & I’ve seen the good, bad, and ugly from within the church; therefore, I’m somewhat jaded.
I love the church, Christ’s body...but I have zero tolerance for religion.
I speak from 20 years of student ministry experience as a student pastor, worship leader, and missionary.
I was a part of the problem for a long time by repeating what I saw others doing.
Spending time on several continents among the church has convinced me that American Christianity doesn’t work in the rest of the world.
I refuse to remain silent any longer about this issue. I believe we need a 2nd Reformation within the church in the western world....and quick.
I have an intense sense of urgency to sound the call to change, so we can engage the Kingdom Dream of Christ’s agenda to redeem the lost from every nation, tribe, & language.

So....with these precursors, I begin my rant.

There are roughly 30 million teenagers in the US. All evangelical churches, youth groups, Christian concerts, retreats, events, Disciple Nows, crusades, conferences, camps, etc. reach only 12% of them (3.6 million). According to Barna Research Group, out of the 12% that we do reach, 88% of those who spend 6 years in our student ministry never come back to church after graduating high school. That means that of the 30 million teens in America, we are reaching & discipling only 432,000 students nationwide. That’s a mere .014% (not even half of 1%). Pretty pitiful. Ironically, we have larger churches, larger budgets, greater technology, highly trained & paid staff, multi-million dollar buildings to house all our programs, and free give-aways to entice them to show up....Yet, less and less are showing up. We are actually reaching less students per capita than ever before. I say it’s way past time for Student Ministry in America to change! Enough is enough! Students, by a vote of their lack of presence, have declared student ministry a waste of their time.

With these kind of numbers, I’m declaring that we put a death nail in the coffin of our current models of student ministry. It’s simply NOT WORKING!!!! We wouldn’t stand for this type of return on our investment in any other area of our lives. We must move from a a worldly, non-bibilical “ATTRACTIONAL” model, to a biblical “MISSIONAL” model of ministry. Jesus said, “Come follow me, and I’ll make you fishers of men.” (Mt. 4:19). He DID NOT say, “come with me to my church and I’ll give you free pizza and an Xbox 360 for coming.”

The “Do whatever it takes to fill the room, so we can share Jesus with the lost” mentality is a worldly, non-biblical model adopted by an affluent, entertainment-driven culture. And it doesn’t work anywhere else in the entire world except America. I believe our current model is really a reversal of the Great Commission from “Go Tell” to “Come and Hear” and therefore, costly & ineffective in producing disciples that make disciples.

On top of this, many student pastors are killing themselves to get all the church programs done to perfection, while their own families are struggling for time together, their own children go neglected, and the busyness can open doors to isolation, private addictions & ultimately burn-out. I can’t tell you the number of student pastors that pull me aside when I’m leading worship for their events, to tell me they are dying inside, but they don’t know how to get out off the merry-go-round.

There is a better way, which is less expensive, takes less effort, and produces exponential growth & global impact. I will explain how we can make this change in my next blog. I’ll leave you to brew until then, but know this...STUDENT MINISTRY MUST CHANGE OR DIE!

Thank you so much for all your help and prayers as we move forward to Launch the Next Generation Missionary.

Until Every Nation Knows! (Hab. 1:5)

Chris White
President/Founder
Mobilizing Students
WWW.MOBILIZINGSTUDENTS.COM


LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN SERVE YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS IN 2011.


MISSION TRIPS:  7 LOCATIONS ON 5 CONTINENTS
(Puerto Rico, Haiti, Guatemala, Brazil, Romania, Kenya, Philippines)

SHARING CHRIST - the only answer for the human condition
PLANTING CHURCHES - gathering converts around the Word of God to begin weekly Bible Studies
SERVING THE POOR - meeting physical needs

* All-inclusive, fully-staffed, you serve with your students & we handle all logistics,
pre & post trip devos/training, daily pics/blogs uploaded for trip reports, etc.

REGISTER FOR A MISSION TRIP TODAY


TREK-X:   A 4-YEAR JOURNEY FOR THE MISSIONAL STUDENT (18-25 year olds)

COLLEGE - completing bachelors/masters/seminary at the online university of your choice
DISCIPLESHIP - foundations, bible/theology, missions/worldview, personal evangelism/servant
leadership & spiritual disciplines
MISSIONS - travel the world on mission as a team.  (2 years in Nashville / 2 years international)

* Give your students a launching pad to change the world as they leave your ministry - - - TREK-X.
* Scholarships are available to students from ministries that are formally partnered with Trek-X.  

APPLY FOR TREK-X 2011 (Apply early, but you must be 18-25 years old upon entry)
DISCOVER WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR MINISTRY TO BECOME A TREK-X PARTNER


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Welcome to the Fall?

Today is a beautiful day! Crisp mornings, changing leaves, football & hot chili by the fire...which all serve to welcome in a new season we call “Fall”. This time of year is so wonderful, and reminds me that we are no longer living on the surface of the sun as we did this summer. It’s also a reminder that many things go into dormancy (like my grass & flowers), or they simply die altogether (leaves on the trees).

As I’ve journeyed through the scriptures the past few months with our Trek-Xers, I have been so reminded of the seriousness of the “Fall” of man. How at that very point, many things died with such absolute completeness, never to return until Christ returns. Sin in the garden plunged mankind into deep separation and isolation from a perfect relationship with God. It ruptured the God-created order of the universe and birthed a fatal cancer that is still plaguing the human race. It’s called sin! A topic that many pastors, including Joel O’steen himself refuses to preach. But that sin, is what makes Christ’s coming in the flesh such incredible news!! If he came just to help us live our best life now, then he is nothing more than a motivational guru or personal fitness trainer. However, He came to destroy the works of the devil, and set captives free from the bondage of sin and the curse handed down to us from our original parents in the garden...because SIN IS REAL. Sin kills, it steals, and it destroys our lives.

We see it in the more than 50% of marriages that end in divorce in America. It’s why 2 out of 3 students grow up in America without a dad in the home. It’s why we have gated communities, locks on the doors of our homes & cars, and why we have passwords on our computers. It what makes the evening news, and why bad things happen to supposed good people. It’s what keeps entire countries, towns, and villages around the world in grinding poverty. It’s even why we wear clothes. It’s all around us, yet we grow very comfortable with our sin. We manage it. We embrace it. We make excuses for it.

However, our God is greater than all our sin and offers freedom from it’s condemning effect, as well as it’s grip upon our very lives. It is also why we as believer’s and true disciples of Christ must proclaim the Gospel to the nations, bringing light to dark places, and offering the Gospel to those held captive by sin. We are His ambassadors.

Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. (1John 3:7-10)

I pray that we may be marked for Christ as the children of God, throwing off everything and the sin that so easily entangles, so we can live unashamed lives for the Name of Christ...and ultimately be the bearer of good news. That Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God, who has come to set men free and destroy the works of the devil. Sin has lost it’s power, death has lost it’s sting!

I pray we all evaluate our lives as the psalmist did when he said,

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; 
test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, 
and lead me in the way everlasting."

So, this Fall...enjoy the changing of the seasons like I plan to, but I pray it reminds us all of a bigger theme in our world. Man has fallen, and he can’t get up! Will you join Christ in his work of redeeming lost humanity for the glory of God?

Thank you so much for all your help and prayers as we move forward to Launch the Next Generation Missionary.



- - - - - - LET US KNOW HOW WE CAN SERVE YOU AND YOUR STUDENTS IN 2011 - - - - -

MISSION TRIPS: 7 LOCATIONS ON 5 CONTINENTS
(Puerto Rico, Haiti, Guatemala, Brazil, Romania, Kenya, Philippines)

SHARING CHRIST - the only answer for the human condition
PLANTING CHURCHES - gathering converts around the Word of God to begin weekly Bible Studies
SERVING THE POOR - meeting physical needs

* All-inclusive, fully-staffed, you serve with your students & we handle all logistics,
pre & post trip devos/training, daily pics/blogs uploaded for trip reports, etc.


TREK-X: A 4-YEAR JOURNEY FOR THE MISSIONAL STUDENT (18-25 year olds)

COLLEGE - completing bachelors/masters/seminary at the online university of your choice
DISCIPLESHIP - foundations, bible/theology, missions/worldview, personal evangelism/servant
leadership & spiritual disciplines
MISSIONS - travel the world on mission as a team. (2 years in Nashville / 2 years international)

* Give your students a launching pad to change the world as they leave your ministry - TREK-X.
* Scholarships are available to students from ministries who are formally partnered with Trek-X.

APPLY FOR TREK-X 2011 (Apply early, but you must be 18-25 years old upon entry)
DISCOVER WHAT IT MEANS FOR YOUR MINISTRY TO BECOME A TREK-X PARTNER

VISIT WWW.MOBILIZINGSTUDENTS.COM


Until Every Nation Knows!! (Hab. 1:5)

Chris White
President
Mobilizing Students, Inc.
www.mobilizingstudents.com
404.428.8152
FaceBook Pages: Chris White, Mobilizing Students, Trek-X, and Chris White Band

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