by Roger Alcaraz

For the past eight months, I’ve been able serve and hopefully bless our youth ministry. I absolutely love the people there and though life can get demanding, ministering to them has never been a burden. You have been able to get to know some of them more through recent interviews and more are still to come, but for now, I want everyone to know why I love serving in this ministry. Before I begin, I should clarify: it may sound like I make the students to be such great people that I can’t help but to love them. The truth is, I love them not for who they are, but simply because God has placed this group in my life to serve and give my life to. Still, God has seen fit to bless me by allowing this ministry to bring much joy and comfort in life. Here are five ways the youth ministry has blessed me.

1. I am never alone. Pastor Patrick sometimes reminds me, “You’re not a leader if no one is following you.” So while I was dubbed as the youth leader, I would be helpless without my staff. I’m aware that they follow my lead mostly for the same reason I love the youth, but it doesn’t change the fact that I can depend on them for anything. Their love for the students is as great as mine and the success of this ministry is entirely dependent on the staff all having a shared goal. No matter who you talk to on staff, their goal is to sacrifice their time, money, sleep, and everything else to bring even one lost sheep to the fold. Not only do I see their love for the students but I see their immense devotion to Christ and to the spread of the gospel. I used to feel bad for asking so much from the staff but I know how much joy they have in serving. I am blessed to have a staff so committed to the MVP.
2. Their parents desire for them to grow. As great of an impact the staff and I hope to make with the gospel in the lives of the students, we know the biggest influence and witness to each of them is their own family, particularly their parents. It would be a huge struggle if the parents were telling their children to pursue the things of this world with us having to teach against their counsel. It would only confuse our teaching. But here at Lighthouse, I’m blessed to know that parents teach the Bible to their children and care about their salvation even more than the staff or I do. We do have some students who do not have believing parents and for that, I’m thankful for blessing number three.
3. They desire to grow. It seems basic, but having a youth ministry that wants to grow is not the norm for many youth ministries. I talk with other youth pastors and the main heartache they have is that they preach on deaf ears and hard hearts. Or worse is when most of their time is spent trying to get the students to settle down so that the gospel can even go out. I’ve always thought our youth ministry was weird because I could never even sit still in church when I was younger and yet because of their desire to grow they are willing to not just endure but enjoy studying the Bible. I always pray that their pursuit of holiness continues and that they would be abiding in Christ.
4. They’re challenged by God’s Word. It’s not easy to tell people about the cost of following Christ—that they are to deny their own desires in pursuit of loving God and people. But it’s a blessing that they understand this cost and not jump to hasty conclusions that they’re a disciple of Christ apart from living for Him. This follows what Jesus advises in Luke 14:25-33. Certainly I would want professing believers, but I do not want them be unaware of the life to come so that their profession is genuine. It is a blessing that when a student claims to be a Christian, they’ve done so considering what God’s Word has required of them and seeks to follow him.
5. They challenge me. For older people, it is easier to compartmentalize God to Fridays and Sundays. I’ve noticed that for the believing youth, this is impossible. A young Christian man or woman includes Christ in his or her daily life, depends on His mercy, and lives for Him in ways I wish all believers would. This puts me to shame because when I accepted Christ, I was too afraid to publically proclaim Christ to my class. I certainly did not write a commentary on a book of the Bible. I did not choose a college based on where there is a good church that I could grow in. And yet, this seems normal for the youth who believe because they understand that love so amazing, so divine, demands their soul, their life, their all. It is a blessing and humbling to see such maturity in faith from those who are younger.