Being a minister is temporary. Now, I am not talking about the fact that ministers change churches frequently or leave the ministry. Our roles are temporary for two reasons. First, the places that we serve were there before us (unless of course you planted it) and they will be there after us (unless of course you killed it). Second, the people you minister to will change. They move away or change churches. Whether we like it or not, our roles in the lives of the congregations and the people we minster to are temporary.

What does this mean for our ministry? Does it affect the way we do our jobs? I hope that it does. I keep a picture of my church’s youth group from the 1980s in my office as a reminder that I am part of something that is bigger than my time here. It helps me to remember three things.

First, I need to minister with a sense of urgency. I am all about building relationships and gaining trust, but I have to be reminded that I don’t have forever to bring up spiritual stuff with students. I have to be careful that I continue to be a minister rather than a friend. Praying for boldness helps here. Not only does urgency help me with minister to the students, I also focus more on strengthening the program. I want to make things happen as fast as God will allow, and that means positioning the program for success.

The second thing that being temporary helps me to understand is that this student ministry needs to be sustainable. I could build a program around my gifts and energy, but the truth is that there are no guarantees that I will be here forever. My desire is to create a program that is not dependent upon one person or even one resource. This means establishing a culture where leaders are those in the church, not just on the staff. It also means simplifying certain aspects of ministry. For more information about this topic, I recommend Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark Devries.

The third thing that I remember when understanding that my role is temporary is that I need to have thick skin. A friend of mine in college ministry recently changed his area of ministry because it was simply too difficult to see students come and then leave after four years. His heart was broken every May and he had started to dread August because the cycle started over again. This week we will say goodbye to a student who has only recently joined us but has made a huge impact on our group. For five months we have poured into her life and watched God do some great things. As her family relocates for a new job, it breaks my heart, but I also know that I have done what I was called to do–minister to whoever God sends my way, even if it is for a little while. Even playing a small role in someone’s life is an honor.

Understanding that you are temporary is so important in ministry. Not only does it keep you balanced, but it keeps you on your toes. As you watch students head to college or as you think about the people you have served in the past, I hope that you always rejoice that God has used you and will continue to do so.

With two kids my house seems to default to a state of clutter. Like most people, I really hate having a cluttered house, but picking up after each kid is like living the movie Groundhog Day. It just starts all over again.

Just as our homes can become cluttered, our ministries can also have a ton of clutter. While we have good intentions, sometimes we put events and programs all over the place just trying to have the maximum impact and outreach. However, the problem with clutter in our ministries is the same as it is in our homes, it is distracting and unorganized. Clearing up this cluttered approach to our programs allows us to focus and plan in ways that we never dreamed possible.

So what are the signs of a cluttered program? If planning the next six months would be impossible for you, the the program may be cluttered. If you have more “spontaneous events” than planned events, then there is clutter. If you lack any real process of discipleship or even participation, then the clutter may be accumulating.

So how do you clear the clutter? First, you need to evaluate whether your events have a purpose and if they fit in your overall plan. Sure the purpose of paintball is to have fun and maybe grow community as long as no one get shot in the eye, but does it fit in an overall plan to grow community? The goal is to have a goal, or at least to have all of your events working together.

The next thing to do is to have an overall process for your ministry. This is where ideas from Simple Student Ministry or the Orange conference can really help you decide upon a strategy for reaching and discipling your students. Having a clear process for your students means integrating events with one part of your program leading them to another part. It also means balancing what you do for clear impact. If 75% of your program is built on fun activities, then it may be time to balance that out with discipleship and service opportunities. If 80% is Bible study then perhaps you could consider implementing some community building activities. This is also true if you are duplicating your efforts in an area. We realized that we want to do small groups at night, but we also offer a small group Sunday School. If we want students to see their evening small groups as their primary discipleship opportunity, then we needed to look at what Sunday School could become so that we are not overlapping.

The next thing to do is hard, but really necessary. You need to plan. Look, I am one of those people who thinks I write better when the paper is due the next day, but that will not cut it in ministry, not if you want to reach your true potential. Plan your big events at least 6 months out. Right now in December we have scheduled all of our big events for next year such as Disciple Now, M-Fuge, and our Fall Retreat. We have penciled in smaller events like lock-ins and Christmas parties. When these smaller events are three months away, we will have fixed dates that we can start to advertise. By the end of this year, we will also have crafted our teaching topics for January through June. Doing this planning now means that we have a ton of time to be creative and gather resources. We can also create a brochure with relevant dates and details that gives everyone a sense that we know what we are doing. The level of confidence and credibility we gain is worth the time spent in planning. This does not mean that we will not do spontaneous things or that some dates may change, but we do have a plan to go by.

Clearing the clutter has so many benefits from helping you to streamline and use your time more wisely to allowing you to maximize the impact of particular events. Good luck, now I need to go pick up some more toys.