Are you Convinced?

A friend sent me this 'outline' that she found in her YL Leadership manual. Read over it. Are YOU Convinced...

Are You Convinced?
By Tom Hammon

As the club (this is what we do on Monday evenings as our outreach event) year begins, it is worth asking again why we do all of this. The overwhelming task of reaching lost, uninterested kids, “earning the right,” raising the budget, running a “successful” club, planning camps, plugging leader gaps and on and on. There is ample reason to quit … to throw in the towel. But to persevere, to succeed, you must be CONVINCED that you have been personally selected by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be involved in this craziness.

Are you CONVINCED…
That Christ is worth it
That lost people are eternally separated from God
That Christ is resurrected in time, space, and history
That this isn’t really our ministry – it is His
That God answers prayers
That you could have no greater privilege than to stand in front of kids and tell them about Christ
That God goes with you and precedes you, in contact work
That because of Christ, kids will respond to your friendship
That underneath it all kids want to hear the Good News
That praying by name for kids adds a great dimension of power in our ministry
That there is POWER in GOD’S WORD
That the BIBLE is GOD’S WORD
That God continues to make a way when there appears to be none
That when “trials and temptation crowd into our lives,” we should welcome them as “friends”
That God’s strength is made perfect in our weakness ( I sure feel weak more than I admit)
That you are a part of God’s Holy, Salvation history, part of the 29th chapter of Acts
That there are divine appointments waiting at the high school
That there is no more critical group to reach in the world than high school kids
That you are a Missionary
That the “coincidences” increase as we and others pray
That it’s okay if people don’t understand you or your ministry – Jesus was always misunderstood
That it must have been fun to follow Jesus around
That the Pharisees probably didn’t generally have all the wrong impressions of Christ
That there is no more important time daily than yours with Christ
That Christ actually enjoys meeting with you
That ministry will drive you up the wall without a thriving personal devotional life
That the best and only scriptural way to get leaders is to pray to the Lord of the Harvest… that prayer warriors make all of the difference in real fruit being born
That Christ’s ministry was to the masses but He poured out His life into the 12 and particularly the 3
That your needs have been and will be well taken care of by your Father in Heaven
That God loves you like He does the kids we’re trying to reach
That you are precious, Beloved

Are you CONVINCED? If not, there are easier, less stressful things to do. If so, then you can’t wait for the next chance to stand in front of kids and with fun, enthusiasm, and boldness, tell the “old, old story of Jesus and His love.” Bless you as you go!

Whatcha think? I was recently talking to a youth pastor friend in town and he was talking about how people were asking him, 'Where is our God of Elijah?' He thought for a minute and responded, 'Where are our Elijah's of our God?' That is a great question!!! Where are those Warriors in todays society? Is that YOU? We are in need of folks to step up and be a part of something bigger than themselves. We have a small amount of leaders to pursue, love on and teach 10,000 high schoolers about Jesus!

High Schoolers ARE Worth It...