Do we FIT IN TIME or do we MAKE TIME for STUDENTS?

At the end of a LONG week have you ever gone home, sat on the couch, and let out a big WHEWWWWW! Now for all the GUYS out there, you can take what you want from that comment, but I simply meant a huge SIGH OF RELIEF! HA HA! In all seriousness, I think we can agree that life can get pretty BUSY! Between our spouses, jobs, school, families, finances, going to the grocery store, laundry, kids, friendships, relationships, stuff to do around the house, etc it can be overwhelming trying to find a BALANCE for everything!

As Student Leaders, if you're anything like me, it can be easy to say to yourself, "Man, how am I ever going to fit in time to hang out with students or take my ministry to the next level? I barely have enough time for MYSELF!" The answer to that questions is this....You're NEVER going to be able to FIT IN time for students or student ministry, you have to be willing to MAKE TIME!


When you think about it, ANYTHING that's REALLY important to you in your life you MAKE TIME for! If you haven't spent time with your significant other you MAKE TIME for a date! If you have no food in the refrigerator, you MAKE TIME to go to the grocery store! If you're out of underwear you MAKE TIME to do the laundry (I had to do this yesterday HA HA)! If you need some extra money, you MAKE TIME for more hours or a side job or two. If someone in your family is hurting, you MAKE TIME to comfort them! The list can go on and on for the things we MAKE TIME for!

My question to you is this, WHEN DO YOU MAKE TIME FOR STUDENTS? As Student Leaders, I think we've tried too much to simply FIT IN time with students! As life gets busier, more complicated, stressful, and overwhelming, if all we ever do is try to FIT IN time when we have a moment to spare you want to know what's going to happen? Day after day, week after week, we're going to keep saying
"Maybe tomorrow or maybe next week" as our STUDENTS and our STUDENT MINISTRY continues to get pushed to BOTTOM of our priorities!

Remember this...Jesus GAVE UP HIS LIFE for us so that we could have these OPPORTUNITIES! He gave up his life serving as the GREATEST EXAMPLE of what SACRIFICE really means! Are you willing to SACRIFICE your time to PICK UP THE PHONE and call a student? Are you willing to take a few minutes to SEND A FACEBOOK MESSAGE to encourage a student? Are you willing to spend an afternoon or a night HANGING OUT to build authentic relationships with students? Jesus Christ was willing to give up EVERYTHING? What are you willing to give? Are you willing to MAKE TIME or just FIT IN time? I believe with all my heart students DESERVE and NEED our time! What about you?

H.N.L (HOLE NUTHA LEVEL)

Just wanted to send out a quick peak of the HLL (High Level Leadership) Team at Granite United! What is represented here is 6 different campus teams spread out over 3 different locations! God is SO GOOD and we are SO BLESSED to be a part of something that is being taken to a HOLE NUTHA LEVEL!

Yes, this represents an ENTIRE church team, but what is also represented here is our STUDENT MINISTRY TEAM! TRUST and BELIEVE when I say this CAN HAPPEN with Student Leaders! NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR GOD!

PRAY and get PUMPED UP that RIGHT NOW we also have team after team and campus after campus represented by STUDENT LEADERS! It's time to take our Student Ministry to a HOLE NUTHA LEVEL! It's time to GROW OUR TEAMS, REPRODUCE LEADERS, and IMPACT STUDENTS! It's time to believe the IMPOSSIBLE, TRUST GOD, and MAKE IT HAPPEN!

           
We are SO PRIVILEGED and BLESSED to be a part of what God is doing at Granite! Greater things are STILL yet to come!

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More than a VOLUNTEER!

As Student Leaders, sometimes you can be tempted to think you are JUST A VOLUNTEER. Someone who shows up once a week to run a game, set up some chairs, lead a small group, or get information from a 1st time guest. Yes, Student Leaders are VOLUNTEERS, and all of what they do is IMPORTANT, but what it REALLY MEANS is SO MUCH MORE! Steven Furtick says in his book, "Sun Stand Still..."

"No act of service is insignificant when done for the most significant purpose in the universe: PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. When you see yourself as a CONNECTOR to the current of the power of Christ, EVERYTHING you do taking on MEANING. Ordinary and audacity cannot coexist. They are diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive. You're not just a NORMAL Christian who is JUST a VOLUNTEER. You're not just a church member or just an employee. Wherever your are, whatever you're doing, you're a CONNECTOR to the current of the power of Christ. You are a servant of the MOST HIGH GOD." (Furtick, Steven. Sun Stand Still. Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2010)

DID YOU CATCH THAT?! As a Student Leader, who VOLUNTEERS in the Student Ministry, you serve for one the GREATEST and most SIGNIFICANT purposes: PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST! What does that mean? It means EVERYTHING YOU DO MATTERS! Whether it be running that game that will help a student CONNECT with other teens, setting up those chairs so the students have a place to SIT and hear the GOSPEL, leading a SMALL GROUP that will help students grow in their RELATIONSHIP with Christ and reach their friends, or getting the INFORMATION of a 1st time guest so they can be CONNECTED with and APPRECIATED during that next week. We could go on and on of everything that is done in Student ministry by VOLUNTEERS, but the BOTTOM LINE is EVERYTHING MATTERS and helps point STUDENTS TO JESUS!

As VOLUNTEERS, remember that you are APPRECIATED, NEEDED, ESSENTIAL, IMPORTANT, and LOVED! Just NEVER FORGET you are MORE THAN JUST A VOLUNTEER! 

Super Bowl Sunday!

It's that time of the year. Super Bowl Sunday! The BIG SCREENS are coming out, the FOOD is being ordered, the COMMERCIALS are set to be HILARIOUS, and the EXCITEMENT is rolling in. It's funny when you think about how much of an IMPACT 1 GAME has on the entire country. Even if your not a Patriots or Giants fan (GO PACKERS!), there still will be well over 40 million people tuning into either a Patriots EPIC PAYBACK or another Giants VICTORY!

With all this EXCITEMENT and the realization of how BIG of an IMPACT this game has, I can't help but wonder if as Student Leaders we realize our OPPORTUNITY to have the same EXCITEMENT and IMPACT in the lives of our Students!

Although the IMPACT of the Super Bowl only comes once a year, the IMPACT we can have with students can happen EVERY DAY! The key word to having this IMPACT is RELATIONSHIPS!

If it takes the NFL over 16 weeks of regular season games and 3 weeks of playoffs to IMPACT and get everyone ready for the SUPER BOWL, how long do you think or are you willing to take to IMPACT students?!

I, myself, can't wait for the Super Bowl and because I live in New England I am definitely going to cheer on the PATRIOTS, but my hope and prayer will be that we all realize our OPPORTUNITY to IMPACT the lives of our STUDENTS and remember that its about RELATIONSHIPS!

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Are you willing to SACRIFICE?!

As Student Leaders, we have the PRIVILEGE and OPPORTUNITY to work with students each and every week. As leaders who are hard working, married, expecting kids on the way, and overwhelmed with to do lists, limited finances, and personal agendas, I often wonder if we LIMIT ourselves with our GOD-GIVEN potential to TRULY impact the lives of STUDENTS! I wonder if we TRULY desire to build AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS rather than simply serve as a CHAPERON once a week!

So are you trying to make me feel bad? ABSOLUTELY NOT! Here's what I'm saying...

As leaders, your jobs will continue to get busier, your marriages will continue to be the #2 (behind your relationship with God of course) priority in your life, your kids will be a close #3 (depending on your kids HA HA), your to do lists will continue to get bigger, your finances will continue to be merry go round, and your personal life will continue to be valued! And you know what...THAT'S OK!

As STUDENT LEADERS, we have to also realize that EVERY DAY, students need ROLE MODELS, students are making the same DUMB decisions we made when we were their age, students are searching for ACCEPTANCE, students are growing farther and farther away from their FAMILIES, students are DEBATING whether or not they should go to that party this weekend or take the "next step" in their relationship with their boyfriend/girlfriend, students are searching for all the RIGHT answers in all the WRONG places, and most IMPORTANTLY students are in need of a RELATIONSHIP with JESUS CHRIST and in need of a RELATIONSHIP with YOU!

Here's the bottom line, Satan wants nothing more for you to feel OVERWHELMED in your life in order to LIMIT your impact in the lives of STUDENTS! However, Jesus served as the GREATEST EXAMPLE for all of us! John 10:15 says, "Just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I SACRIFICE my life for the sheep (NLT)." In order to LOVE STUDENTS the way that Jesus first LOVED US, we have to be willing to SACRIFICE! Ask yourself this question, "Am I willing to SACRIFICE in order to IMPACT and REACH students?"

Is that an EASY question to answer...ABSOLUTELY NOT! I'm sure it wasn't EASY for Jesus either, but he REALIZED his GOD-GIVEN potential to CHANGE THE WORLD and IMPACT LIVES FOR ETERNITY...AND HE DID IT! As STUDENTS LEADERS you have that SAME OPPORTUNITY to CHANGE THE WORLD and IMPACT LIVES FOR ETERNITY! Are you willing to DO IT?!

I am so THANKFUL for EVERY student leader who serves at Granite United Church! Your lives, families, and everything else that MATTERS TO YOU, MATTERS TO ME and most importantly MATTERS TO JESUS! However, my PRAYER will ALWAYS REMAIN that we would be WILLING to TRULY LOVE STUDENTS and that we would be WILLING to SACRIFICE in order IMPACT LIVES FOR ETERNITY! Love you guys. LET'S DO THIS!