Personal Ministry

What our current series "Catalysts" is all about: Sometimes our faith needs a jump start, a catalyst, something to move us in the right direction.  But what does that for us?  Throughout most people’s lives, it’s one of five key things, and if we look out for those we can see God do something awesome!

Personal Ministry

There are two kinds of people at any church; consumers and contributors.  It’s ok to consume, we all need to be fed at church, but if we don’t make a conscious effort to also contribute, things tend to get stale in a hurry.  Jesus understood this, which is why He said in Mark 8:35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. (NLT)  The only way to feel significant at church is to find something significant to do.  The more our students serve, the more real their faith becomes and the better chance they have of being involved in church after graduation.

This Week's Point: You will never feel significant at Church until you find something significant to do

At Home Suggestions

Talk with your teens about areas of ministry where you serve and why those areas are important to you.  Ask what areas they have served in and/or what they might like to do.

Read Proverbs 11:25 Generosity will be rewarded:    Give a cup of water, and you will receive    a cup of water in return. (CEV)

Ask: What do you think the author means here?  Is he really talking about water?  And is this a promise that when we give we will get some kind of awesome present? 

Explain that giving, serving, and ministering to others are so important to our own spiritual life that God promises us that we will experience the benefit of such actions.  It may not be in the same way, and often knowing that we did something meaningful is its own reward, but if we want connect with what we were made to do, to “save our life” as Jesus put it, we need to be willing to first give it up.

 Pray that each member of your family would find a meaningful place to serve at church.