I am super excited about something that happened last week. I sat down with a a former youth worker from my church who also participated on staff with young life. As we chowed down on breakfast tacos I confessed my envy of young life and their fantastic contact work/ministry they do with high school students. I also confessed my frustrations of feeling like I had to compete with this ministry, wanting to see more of these kids plug into the local church, selfishly my local youth group and not just attend a YL club.
After feeling like I revealed my deepest and honest feelings, I then proceeded to share what God had been doing in my heart. I know at the end of the day I will have to give an account to my maker for what I have done with the time given to me, the resources entrusted to me, and the people put in my path. For this season, God has placed almost 2,500 students right down the road not only in the churches path but also young life. We will both stand side by side one day to give an account for the students on that campus. We serve the same God and are both trying to reach students with truth in a relevant way.
So, what is the best thing a local church can do for a campus ministry like young life, FCA, Cru? Find those who are doing the ministry and simply ask the questions, “How can I partner with you?” “How can I serve you?” “What do you need?”
I began this conversation today and already something amazing happened tonight… more to come.