When we look at the life of Jesus, He chose to use a team of people to accomplish His purposes. Why? Because Jesus came to bring out the best in us. And this is what I have seen Him do in our New Life Student Ministry. God took what seemed to be a defeat and revealed His glory through a group of dedicated adult and student volunteers. Volunteers whose commitment is to serve the Lord before anything else.
At New Life we create safe places for people to discover their dangerous steps with God. Steps where we find ourselves in places never imagined and doing things that we thought we never could do. This is the place where we come to rely on God’s strength and power and we experience freedom as we learn what it means to be used as a vessel. These God discoveries create passionate living!
In the absence of a full time student minister, I have seen our adults and student leaders grow in ways that they might have never experienced if it fell on the shoulders of one person. I’ve seen an increase passion for serving Jesus and ministry; students moving and growing in their leadership positions to take responsibility for things adults usually do; students taking roles in discipling their peers; struggling students taking next steps to deal with their ‘hurts, habits, and hang-ups’; students making decisions to pursue a career in full time ministry - and these are just a few exciting things. Our team is experiencing the value of community and unity where we work as a team to accomplish a piece of the big picture. A true testament of each of us doing our part to ‘rebuild the wall’ (Nehemiah).
When I look back and think about our bumpy ride over the years with New Life Student Ministry I’m reminded of some of the stories in the Old Testament – mainly the history of the Jewish people. One of the amazing things about the Jewish people is that under extraordinary difficulty, time and time again, in different environments and circumstances (all of them almost always oppressive), they managed not only to survive but also to flourish. They found ways in the midst of persecution to accomplish amazing things that have guided and shaped the course of human history.
If we truly want to experience the real life of a Christ follower and make a significant impact in our hurting world then we have to be willing to reshape and reform ourselves to face whatever crisis or challenge lies in front of us. We have to learn to adapt. No matter how big our obstacles or challenges are, God created us, together with Him, to find a solution to overcome them. God rarely solves a problem with people who just say “If He wants it solved, He’ll solve it”. Instead, He seems to solve the problem with people who don’t give up. Our world (and even other Christ followers) need to see God’s ‘mighty hand and outstretched arm’ working through His people. This is the stuff that will change the world and we are a part of that right here in our own church family!
Lucy Martinez, P4C Gal
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