Guest Post: The Wheel That Isn’t Squeaky
You know the saying, “The squeaky wheel is the one that gets greased”? It seems that’s true in youth ministry. We give our attention to obvious needs. By the time we’ve dealt with one, another pops up. Sometimes needs that aren’t as obvious go unmet because we haven’t taken time to unearth them. In this guest post Sarah, a fellow youth ministry volunteer, shares a heart-warming story that helped her realize the need to not overlook the wheels that aren’t squeaking.
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Here’s her story:
One of my high school students, a senior, was baptized tonight as part of a High School Ministry service, entitled “Step by Step”. The message focused on the process of growing closer to God, and all the little steps we take along the way to allowing Christ to be center of our lives. I had tears in my eyes throughout the service as I thought about this young woman whom I am so blessed to disciple in our weekly Bible Study. I would describe her as one of the strongest members of the group. In fact, I was a bit surprised to hear that she had not yet been baptized!
The church played a short video of the girl giving a very brief testimony and explaining why she wanted to take baptism as the next step in her faith. I was floored to hear her say in this video that she had only truly committed herself Christ during her Junior year in high school. I had been her Bible study leader that entire year, and was consistently impressed by her willingness to learn, and by her profound and honest participation in all of our discussions. She was always mature, calm, and warm to her peers. She asked superb questions, and even offered advice to other girls who shared in the group. I had never inferred in any way that she was unsturdy in her faith. By all indications, she was a committed follower of Christ and devoted to discipleship at the time I met her. To hear tonight that she had joined our group seeking God (and had apparently found Him) was a complete and wonderful surprise.
Being a “young” youth ministry leader, I have very little experience. This small event has changed the way I will look at my students entirely. No matter how well we know each student, or how much they open up to us, the human soul is always a mystery to everyone but God. As a leader, I have to remember to take nothing for granted.
Each week may be the week that someone opens their eyes to Christ. Someone who looks solid by all human means of evaluation may actually be the one who is at a spiritual crossroads. This thought unnerved me… had I ever neglected her because I thought she had it together? Had I focused totally on the kids who were obviously hurting or struggling and forgotten about those who seemed happy? Could I potentially have been responsible for letting her slip through the proverbial cracks just because she wasn’t a mess?
Of course, God works throughout all of our efforts as servants to these kids, and this girl’s story seems like it’s heading in a wonderful direction. She activley serves in missions in the church and continues to grow into a beautiful young woman inside and out.
God’s lesson to me was this: You can’t always see what I’m doing under the surface… you must be consistent and faithful with each one that I send to you.
My job is to cheer on these girls as they take each little step towards becoming more like Christ. My new prayer is that God will help me never to forget to cheer as loudly as possible, no matter where they are on that path.
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