Around the beginning months of twenty-eighteen, my Pastor asked if I would begin making preparations launching a summer-trial Youth Bible Class. This class would be held every three Sundays for the months of June, July, and August. After some thoughts and prayers I agreed with my Pastor and began planning towards running this new Bible class on Sunday mornings. 

Little did I know one year later we would become a fully-functioning Student Ministry that God has blessed tremendously. It is amazing to reflect on what the Lord has done the past one year. 
Personally for myself, I’ve learned a tremendous amount of valuable lessons. 

1. You must sincerely invest time in prayer. Specifically for yourself, for your ministry, and specifically for your students and their families. I Thessalonians 5:17-18 reminds us to “Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
2. Each student has a different personality and a different background. You cannot treat each student the same as one another. You cannot expect the same results for each student as you continue to mentor and teach them. However the time you spend in investing in your students must be equal with one another.
3. Ministry hurts. There were several moments where I was genuinely hurt and began to cry. Sometimes you try your best but in the end the result isn’t positive. This leads to the next important lesson.
4. Trust in the Lord and follow His leading completely. God knows who you are, He made you! He knows what you struggle with and what you need to grow through that struggle. This was only my first year but the Lord continues to train me to prepare me for the next year, then the next, and so on. Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
5. You assist the parents, you do not replace the parents.
6. God deserves all the glory in all matters. When a teenager accepts Christ, God deserves the glory. When a teenager grows and makes a significant decision for Him, God deserves the glory. When a teenager turns away from sin and gets right with Him, When a teenager uses his or her talent for the Lord, God deserves all the glory. I Corinthians 10:31 says “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
7. You must be careful. You are a spiritual leader and therefore you must lead by example. I’ve learned to set boundaries for myself and to also be cautious of my testimony in person and on social media. Youth Pastors need to be aware they are being an example to teenagers that are watching & following them.
8. Teenagers that seem aloof or have that “don’t care” attitude actually do care. They’re just watching if you care about them. Show care and compassion to every student because in the end, they simply want someone that cares about them. 
9. Youth Pastors must constantly be aware of current events and whats happening around the world, especially now with social media and the internet. After research, youth pastors must inform parents of new dangers teenagers are now facing.
10. I am forever grateful for the patience of my Youth Pastor when I was a teenager. I wish to emulate that same patience he had for us because sometimes… things simply get cray cray (crazy)!

I know this is only my first year but I felt like I’ve learned more than I ever did while I was a college/seminary student. I’m looking forward to the following year and while I know in the end that this isn’t my end calling, this is where God has called me for now. This is my first “training” stage prior to the day that comes for me to pastor my own church. 

Here are some blessings God has provided for our Student Ministry this past year:

1. Our Youth Ministry average doubled from 7 to 14 on a weekly basis. We had our highest attendance today (Aug 11, 2019) with 19 total in attendance.
2. We saw 12 teenagers attend the Summer Youth Camp this year. Last year we saw 7 teenagers attend. This too has doubled.
3. We’ve seen teenagers make significant decisions for the Lord this past year. Some have made some significant life choices and sacrifices to be more faithful to the Lord.
4. Our teens are developing strong friendships with one another. No longer are they acquaintances at church but they have developed strong and close friendships with one another. I’m always reminded by what my youth pastor (now pastor) used to say; your closest friends are found in church. To this day, my best friends are those I found in church back in Gardena.
5. Two of our teenagers are involved in discipleship and will complete their sessions shortly. We’re looking forward to starting discipleship with two more teenagers by the end of this year.
6. We’ve seen new teenagers enter the Student Ministry this year. Some have been promoted into the class while others have been invited to the church. Some have accepted Christ as their personal Savior and we’re looking forward to seeing them baptized! We’re excited to continue to grow not only through personal outreach but through community evangelism such as door-knocking, park activities, and even school Bible clubs.
7. We have a new teacher’s assistant in the class who has been a great blessing to our class and to the teenagers themselves.
8. Several of our teenagers are involved in various ministries around the church and some are starting to get involved now.

Please continue to pray for our Student Ministry as we continue to grow. I am excited to see how the Lord will use each and every one of our teenagers. To God be the ultimate glory and honor and we praise Him for everything.