Series | Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry

*It was four years ago–July 11, 2001 to be exact–that I preached my very first message at Grace Bible Church. I was exhilarated that Wednesday night as we began to lay out the course for our student ministries. A lot has happened since then, both in individual lives and in the ministry, but there are some things that are still the same.

In particular, the primary principles–our priorities and philosophy of ministry–have remained constant. If you remember, my first two messages were on The Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry. Those defining marks have not changed since the start.

And it is time again to pause from our regular teaching schedule and evaluate the condition of our student ministries department by reconsidering these marks. It is important to make regular assessments because we don’t ever want to stray too far from our primary purpose. We always want to remember what we’re doing here. The reason we’re here, my objectives as pastor, the goals of our staff, all of those should be explicit and evident.

I’d like to assume that everyone already knows our primary purpose and what we’re doing here. I would really like to take for granted that every student and staff person knows the reasons for, and objectives of, one28. Though there are probably a number of ways to say it, the point, the goal, the purpose, the reason of our ministry is to present every person complete in Christ.

I know that I refer to our aim on a frequent basis and it obviously comes from Colossians 1:28. All of us ought to be ready on a moment’s notice to show that verse to anyone who asks about Christ or about our church or about one28 itself.

The idea of completeness in Christ is what consumes everything that we do or, at least, it should be consuming everything that we do. Whether it is Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights when we all meet together, small group Wednesdays or service opportunities, retreats or short term missions trips, everything we do in this ministry falls under the banner of seeking to present every person complete in Christ. For some that must begin with evangelism and salvation. For others it means edification and equipping for the lifelong sanctification process.

We want to see young men and young women become spiritually mature men and women loving God wholeheartedly and following Him purposefully. As basic as that is, and as much as I hope you know that, it is fruitful to remember that foundation because we are often distracted by so many other things. We can get so preoccupied and busy, even with church stuff. But spiritual growth doesn’t happen just because you are at church. It doesn’t happen by just hanging out with other believers. It’s about pursuing Christ and seeking to become more like Him, then helping others to do the same. So my job is all about being committed to seeing every one of you become more and more like Christ. Christianity itself is about being Christ-followers and Christ-lovers and this ministry is devoted to help that happen.

As far as our corporate ministry goes, it is advantageous to have some measuring stick, some evaluation tool to help determine if our organization and our organism (as the body of Christ) is doing all it can to present everyone complete in Christ.

So this series on the Marks of a Healthy Student Ministry is something that I started with when I came here and something that we will continue to work through on a regular basis. In fact, every staff retreat we set aside time to walk through a ministry grade card, where each staff person grades our fulfillment of each mark. Then as a group we talk through areas of strength (and how to excel still more) while also identifying areas of weakness to overhaul.

These are some of the things that are closest to my own heart, some of the deepest and strongest passions that I have for our ministry. These are things that drive me and push me–that consume me. For those who are new or for those who haven’t been paying attention or even for the old-timers who need a refresher, hopefully this series will boost your appreciation for why we do what we do.

So what are the things that determine whether this ministry in this local body is healthy or not? I want to suggest that a healthy student ministry has people who:

  1. are part of a local church.
  2. are godly leaders.
  3. have an appetite and ability to study God’s Word.
  4. pursue spiritual maturity.
  5. are passionate about discipleship.
  6. pray for spiritual things.
  7. place a high priority on the family.
  8. pursue spiritual fellowship and service.
  9. seek to glorify God in everything.

For further reference you can check out Mark Dever’s 9 Marks ministry. And for your information, it is just a providential coincidence that both of us have 9 marks.