This morning I get an email from one of our student worship leaders and band members. He has been resourcing us a lot lately with our tracks for Sunday mornings and other production needs. He’s extremely talented and best of all loves God with his whole heart. He’s passionate and desires to see excellence through our worship ministry at Team Church.
As I think about this one individual I think about the other 140+ students who attend our Pursuit student ministry every Wednesday night . . . They are shaping hearts for God that you can’t imagine. They are growing in ways we never imagined. Why, because they have a great band, great speaking, awesome game time . . . NO, because they take to heart that Psalm 145:4 says this:
“One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.”
We take seriously the passing on of our faith in Jesus Christ. We desire to see this next generation become greater than we are. So we pour our lives out into them, with no reservations as to the claims of Christ and the life we live in Him. Our Student Pastor leads with humility and passion for the truth’s of the gospel. He desire’s nothing more for them than a fully abandoned life in Christ. I desire that for the student’s who lead in worship.
Do I think it’s good for a Student to lead in worship, Yes . . . why? Because if I go in there and lead them I may make an impact, but they get me once a week. If a peer is leading them, it is instant accountability for the student leading and for the one who is watching. We do however have high standards for the students on stage. There is “no-tolerance” policy, grace driven but quick to execute consequences for behavior that tears down what we are trying to build. That’s a post for a later date . . .
These students are learning from us and we are learning from them as well. You see I don’t necessarily think that Psalm 145: 4 is linear. “One generation shall praise Your works to another, And shall declare Your mighty acts.” tells me that a younger or older generation can declare his mighty works to one another. SO a student who is passionately pursuing God can inspire and challenge an older believer to re-ignite their passion for God in a season of slump. An older believer can challenge a younger believer to pursue God with a passionate devotion unhindered by the responsibilities of being an adult (not that it’s any excuse).
My hope is that the students we are raising up will be more passionate than we could have been about seeing people come to Christ . . but that starts with us having passion . . . from the stage, from our cubicle, from the morning walk with our lost neighbor. Everything centers around our lives reflecting a heart for God and for other’s. The passion is already there, they’re teenagers for cryin’ out loud . . . let’s be a church that passes on our faith through our passion for the lost to come to Christ.
-KC
