It's The Gospel Truth, Really, I Mean It!

Your youth calendar is irrelevant. Your facilities, yep, they are irrelevant too. Dare I say it, even your magnificent charm and personality don't matter. The only real thing of value that you have to give your students is the Good News of Jesus sinless life, death, burial, and resurrection on the third day. That my friends is the Gospel Truth!

I came to this realization a while back and it has totally transformed how I approach ministry. Somewhere in our education we pick-up this nasty disconnect that leads us to believe that with the right youth event we can change the world. So we go to conferences, buy books, and network with big time youth ministry players to find the secret recipe to youth ministry success. The sad thing about it is the answer has been right in front of our faces all along. Only the gospel has the power to change a life. Whats even more profound is that this transformation is not limited to salvation. Not by a long-shot. The Gospel is just as crucial to sanctification as it is to justification.

Now before you start accusing me of progressive salvation, hear me out. Justification is a one-time irrevocable decision that is based on the sovereign election of God. (Okay, now I've already ticked off you arminians and free-willers) Sanctification, however, is a process. It is a process of grinding out the gospel everyday. It is a process whereby we begin to die daily to sin, deny ourselves, and take up our cross so that we can experience life more abundantly. That is the gospel message. It saves once and for all and it sanctifies us day by day.

Think back to that ordination service. I know for many of you that seems like forever ago. Do you remember what you were charged to do and what you were called? A minister of the gospel. So either your ordination board thought that you would only ever preach to lost people or maybe the gospel should be the centerpiece for our ministry to believers as well. The plain fact is that everything we do in ministry should be tainted by the gospel message. We should never tire of the gospel and it should drive how we approach ministry. So before you spend another 50 bucks on a handbook for youth games don't forget that the most important element required cost you nothing but cost Jesus everything.