youth ministry 101

my head has been swarming lately. there's all these ideas and things i'd like to accomplish, so i've been having a hard time focusing on what really matters. in the search for bigger and better programming, i've forgotten the basics. i think this happens more often in ministry than any of us would like to admit. we want our churches to be like Saddleback or Willowcreek or [insert catchy megachurch here], but that's not who we've been called to be. Every church has an identity, a brand they're trying to represent, so when we try to be each other, we'll fail miserably.

trying to define your brand is hard. it means you have to know who you are and, presumably, who you aren't. it's been a hard thing to wrap my brain around and i don't think it's one of those overnight things. but knowing your identity as a ministry is so important, because it makes it easier to know where you're going, what you're capable of.

there's a few things i do know, regarding our identity as a ministry: we're relational, missional, and artistic. we want to know the real Jesus. we like to have fun, and we have a twisted sense of humor. we worry about our friends because we care for them deeply. we're a little off-kilter. we walk the tightrope between being open and being comfortable.

i think i like words too much to be able to narrow that down. buh.