by ChaseSnyder | Jun 4, 2017 | Leadership, Ministry, Top Posts
A fire needs three things to burn: fuel, oxygen, and a spark.
If you remove any of these three a fire will quickly burn out.
I have done plenty of camping in my lifetime. Living in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park makes camping a natural part of life for my family. On top of camping, I worked at a Christian camp for over a decade. A safe estimation is that I made two campfires per week for groups and retreats for ten years – that is over a thousand campfires I built, lit, and stoked! Just imagine what I would have been capable of if I attended more than one Boy Scout meeting in elementary school.
While I build significantly less fires as a pastor, part of my role is to stoke spiritual fires in people’s lives.
- We create worship environments.
- We prepare lessons for small groups.
- We counsel families during crises.
- We leverage events to reach outsiders.
But for many of us we realize that in the midst of stoking everyone else’s spiritual fires we neglect to stoke our own. We start to burnout while we are busy stoking fires.
Martha is our spirit animal. We become so busy doing ministry and ensuring our congregation doesn’t miss Jesus that we fail to sit with Him on a daily basis. We literally miss out on the Jesus we are proclaiming to everyone else.
[Read: 3 Signs You Are Losing Your Passion For Serving]
The desire to serve others has left many church leaders with busy hands and passionless hearts. Some of us go as far as Martha and complain when others aren’t helping us with a noble task and we lead those people away from the essential, which is Jesus.(Read Luke 10: 41-42) Our concern for many things can easily draw us away from choosing what is of utmost importance – desiring Jesus.
Apart from Jesus’ sacrifice, service is meaningless. Ministry leaders who serve without sitting at Jesus’ feet are ministering in vain.
In an effort to stoke other’s spiritual fires we neglect to tend to our own. Obviously I’m not telling you that you should stop serving others – this is unbiblical and self-centered. I’m simply reminding you that you can’t neglect your relationship with Jesus.
[bctt tweet=”In an effort to stoke other’s spiritual fires we neglect to tend to our own.” username=”chasesnyder12″]
While a fire needs three elements to burn your soul needs three components to avoid burnout:
- Worship
- Spiritual Disciplines
- Community
[bctt tweet=”The desire to serve others has left many church leaders with busy hands and passionless hearts.” username=”chasesnyder12″]
Stoke Your Spiritual Fire
Worship
Being in awe of Jesus. More than worship music – this is about being in awe of Jesus and living a spirit-lead life full of prayer, repentance, and the Gospel. It is a reminder that Jesus is greater, our sins are forgiven, and our calling has been laid before us.
Spiritual Disciplines
Don’t pass over this like you have perfected your spiritual state. How are your spiritual disciplines going? We know that spiritual disciplines are essential for our specification and maturation process. Do you feel hypocritical teaching about the importance of spending time with God because you are unable to clear your calendar and prioritize Jesus in your own life?
Community
A fire left alone will burn out. Are you alone during this season of ministry? And you know that your spouse doesn’t count as being the totality of your community… Who are the people speaking into your life? Who is encouraging you? Who is telling you the truth, even when you want to avoid it? Who is discipling you?
[Read: 16 Ministry Quotes That Will Encourage You To Keep Serving]
Slow down before you rush over these three elements to address an issue or prepare for your next teaching lesson.
How is your fire for ministry going?
A fire left alone will go out.
A fire that isn’t stoked will slowly die.
A fire without oxygen will suffocate.
As one ministry leader to another – don’t be so busy stoking others fires that you neglect to tend your own.
by ChaseSnyder | May 22, 2017 | Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry
The past couple of months have been a little crazy around here.
The biggest factor contributing to the craziness?
My family is embarking on a new adventure starting this summer.
Yesterday I accepted a call to become the High School and Young Adults Pastor at First Baptist Church Loganville in Georgia and will begin serving there on June 18, 2017. Today I submitted my resignation as the Family Pastor at Valley Grove Baptist and will serve here until June 11, 2017.
During the entire process, God has been working in big ways. I know pastors tend to make cliché statements like that, but it’s the truth. Several months ago I received a message from the Executive Pastor in Loganville. He let me know that they were searching for a man who can equip students to continue following Jesus once they are in college and had all but shut down the search after months of looking through resumes. It turns out that he asked a close pastor friend for a recommendation, and my name was passed along.
I wasn’t looking to move to the Atlanta area and honestly had never heard of Loganville before my phone conversation! But the more we talked, the more I could see their heart for ministry and how God was at work.
You all know that I have a passion for encouraging and equipping pastors, leaders, and students to serve Jesus. High school and college are critical phases in the life of a young adult. These phases of life are of the utmost importance to me because that is when students start to discover what is means to live out their faith in Jesus. Students ask hard questions because they are discovering how God wants them to live. This is when students make the jump from merely listening to applying God’s Word. My heart for equipping leaders and students aligns perfectly with FBC Loganville’s. We are excited to see what God has in store as we serve in Loganville!
While we are stoked to accept the call to serve at FBC Loganville, it is definitely a bittersweet time for our family. Anne and I will be leaving our home in East Tennessee, which is a decision we don’t take lightly. We are sad about leaving the incredible people at Valley Grove and the Knoxville area. You all are our family, friends, and co-ministers. This area has always been my home, and Anne and I are so thankful for the friendships, memories, and investment that you all have made in our lives.
(And as a side note, we will never cheer for the Georgia Bulldogs. I will have Josh Dobbs’ Hail Mary playing on a loop in my office from now till I go to Heaven!)
Leaving Valley Grove and the Knoxville area has been a difficult decision for us to make. You all are family. You have helped raise Tripp and Brooke. Most of you have even sung “What Does The Fox Say?” with my kids during Bible study. We have made memories, shared milestones, walked alongside one another, and consumed large amounts of coffee together.
Moving to Loganville isn’t an attempt to run from Knoxville. That isn’t the case at all. We are faithfully following where Jesus is leading our family.
We are 100 percent certain that God is leading us to make the move to Loganville, Georgia. Anne and I sense God’s Spirit leading us to FBC Loganville. She and I are unified in spirit and are at peace.
As Christians, we understand that our lives are not our own. Our lives are hidden in Jesus and when He leads, we go. Going is always an adventure, and God has promised to provide for His plans.
One of my mentors has a quote that he says frequently:
“If I am where God wants me to be, not only will I have everything I need from God, God will also have everything He needs from me.”
This is my prayer for my ministry and my family: to be exactly where God wants me to be. I know that my life is making the biggest impact for the Kingdom of God when I’m in lockstep with Jesus.
Please be praying for Anne, Tripp, Brooke, and I as we begin the transition to Loganville, Georgia.
We are thankful for your prayers and support!
by ChaseSnyder | Apr 26, 2017 | Leadership, Ministry
Ministry is busy, ya’ll.
I’m sure that you operate like I do and are always looking for ways to maximize your time. We operate with a sense of urgency because we know that the need in our community is great and the time is short.
[Tweet “The need is great and the time is short”]
How can we avoid unnecessary tasks and focus on what is most important?
There are plenty of opinions for the most effective way to organize your week. I want to look at one of the most dangerous.
There is a popular teaching that encourages student pastors to divide their week into thirds.
According to this teaching a youth pastor will need to spend a third of his time with students, a third with parents, and a third with volunteer leaders.
- 1/3 of your time with students
- 1/3 of your time with parents
- 1/3 of your time with volunteers
Doesn’t that sound nice and predictable?
I bet that this method was first outlined in a Precious Moments Bible.
As you know, ministry is far from predictable. This method is as realistic as reaching Narnia.
Sure, you need to invest quality time in each area: students, parents, and volunteers. No one will argue this. But ministry is not as simple as investing a third of your time in students, parents, and volunteers.
This method misses the vast majority of work a student pastor handles.
- What about time for professional development?
- What about time to plan for the upcoming event?
- What about time spent investing in local schools?
- What about time to invest into your staff?
- What about time to prepare for your student worship talk?
- What about time to prepare expense reports?
Ministering to parents, students, and volunteers is paramount but your time will never be neatly divided.
How should a youth pastor manage his time?
I’m glad that you asked! Below are three keys that I have taken to heart as I strategically plan each week.
If you are a type A personality like myself, you will think that these three keys are too loose and too open-ended.
Operating within these truths allows you the freedom to structure your time as precisely as you want.
Three Keys For Managing Your Time
Stop re-inventing the wheel each week. After being in your current role for a couple months you know what to do. Many youth pastors go into the office on Monday without a clear idea of what they are doing each week. It isn’t that we forget what is important, we fail to develop weekly systems.
If nothing else gets done, what are the most important tasks that must take place? These items are the “non-negotiables” for your ministry.
Your list will likely include:
- Contacting leaders
- Preparing talks
- Encouraging parents
- Following up with visitors
Put these items on your calendar as recurring systems.
Make sure that you are investing in these key areas before being distracting by your other to-dos.
Recognize Your Current Context
A weak volunteer team may need more than one-third of your time this week. An open door to be on a local school campus will consume more than one-third of your time.
Pastors minister to the specific needs of their people – not a hypothetical group. You must recognize the needs in your specific context. How you manage your time will be different from the youth pastor at the church down the street.
[Tweet ” Pastors minister to the specific needs of their people – not a hypothetical group. “]
Maximize Your Current Season
Student ministry looks different in July than it does in September. Each season, holiday, and break allows time for you to shift your focus to maximize your time in a specific area.
The summer months are a perfect time to catch up on administrative work such as updating volunteer handbooks, recruiting leaders, and outlining sermon series.
The fall is a great season to reconnect with students and parents as they get back into the routines of the school semester.
Get to know the rhythms of your church, leadership, and community and start building on the momentum that is already present.
What are some practices you have used to manage your time?
by ChaseSnyder | Apr 17, 2017 | Leadership, Ministry, Top Posts
Student ministry is one of the greatest callings within the church!
Who would want to be in charge of buildings and grounds when you can plan a summer beach camp?
While there are ample opportunities to do some incredible good in student ministry, there are some pitfalls that we must navigate to ensure that we are being effective in our calling.
Every student pastor wants an effective ministry. No one would argue with that! However, effectiveness doesn’t come from exuding more energy. It comes from making the right decisions at the right moment. It takes us saying no to distractions, yes to the right opportunities, and prioritizing people over projects.
[Read: 7 Deadly Sins of Student Volunteers]
Are you committing any of these deadly sins? Be honest with yourself, and then take the necessary steps to get back on track with God’s mission.
8 Deadly Sins of Student Pastors
1. Being Busy Without Being Effective
Most of the student pastors I know are not lazy. Sure, there are a few bad apples that can give student pastors a bad reputation, but most student pastors’ wives would let you know that they actually overwork. A huge sin for student pastors is to be busy with areas that don’t matter without being effective in your call to serve students and parents. Stop wasting so much time on logos, T-shirts, and other areas that you can outsource and start being effective in what you were called to accomplish. Energy and productivity do not equal effectiveness.
[bctt tweet=”Energy and productivity do not equal effectiveness. ” username=”chasesnyder12″]
2. Failing To Develop Your Leaders
There is a line between doing and leading. Spending all of your time doing ministry yourself will never enable you to effectively lead your ministry. There are times and situations where you must be on the front lines, but you must develop leaders to be effective ministry leaders too.
[bctt tweet=”Spending all of your time doing ministry yourself will never enable you to effectively lead. ” username=”chasesnyder12″]
3. Failing To Share God Stories With The Church
Don’t be an island of ministry. Share stories with your senior leaders and church community about what God is doing. The church needs to be encouraged by the stories of life change that are happening in your ministry! Talk with your direct leaders to see what avenue is the best to regularly share God-sized stories with the church.
4. Being a Poor Communicator
Did your mind instantly think I was going to talk about your preaching style? That is because as pastors we tend to elevate time spent in front of a large group and devalue communicating with the parents, leaders, and our staff. To be an effective pastor you must be able to lead from the platform and from the office. How well are you communicating with your ministry team, parents, students, and the church body? Are you sharing vision, communicating needs, talking about encouraging stories of transformation, and building excitement about upcoming events?
5. Tending To Everyone’s Spiritual Fire While Neglecting To Stoke Your Own
Your role is to stoke the spiritual fires in students’ souls. In the rush to tend to others’ fires, we often neglect stoking our own spiritual growth. You can’t forget to stoke your own spiritual fire and lead out of your passion for Jesus! Books by Donald Whitney and Paul David Tripp are excellent encouragements for pastors.
[bctt tweet=”In the rush to tend to others’ fires, we often neglect stoking our own spiritual growth.” username=”chasesnyder12″]
6. Not Being A Great Team Player With Your Staff
How well are you interacting with your staff? Being a team player takes energy and effort. It’s essential that you show up prepared for staff meetings, ask difficult questions, and invite others to speak into your leadership over the student ministry.
7. Failing To Establish Work Boundaries
My 4-year-old son has a plastic cell phone that he used to carry around the house with him and pretend to take calls, capture videos, and send pictures to his grandparents. It was cute until I realized he was mimicking me. Your family needs you to be completely present. Ministry can be and all-the-time thing if you let it, so decide ahead of time what your boundaries are and only bend them in true emergencies.
8. Putting All Of Your Energy Into Midweek Worship Gatherings
Josh Griffin recently tweeted this gem: “Our job is not to get students to show up, but to show up in students’ lives.” Worship gatherings are a portion of the ministry that Jesus has entrusted us with. Showing up in students’ lives means that we are disciplined to get outside of the walls of our church and meet students where they are. How are you investing in leaders and students outside of the designated “church time”?
Now What?
After taking an honest look at this list, how many of these sins are you struggling with?
What other areas would you add to the list?
by ChaseSnyder | Mar 18, 2017 | Leadership, Ministry, Top Posts
For student ministries, volunteer engagement is essential.
The days of a student ministry being led by a charismatic leader with adult chaperones is as far behind us as bellbottom jeans.
Every church ministry must be aligned around relational discipleship for the flourishing of the Gospel. Student ministries will fail to develop disciples when the student pastor is the only person investing into the lives of the students. When we fail to develop disciples, we fail to fulfill the Great Commission.
Leaders are the key to student ministry discipleship. You can say goodbye to discipleship if multiple adult leaders are not connected to students.
[bctt tweet=”You can say goodbye to discipleship if multiple adult leaders are not connected to students.” username=”chasesnyder12″]
That’s a big deal! The discipleship process must involve every adult volunteer. If we want to ensure every adult is on mission we need to identify what is getting in the way of our discipleship efforts.
[Read: 8 Deadly Sins Of Student Pastors]
Are you committing any of these deadly sins? Be honest with yourself, then take the necessary steps to get back on track with God’s mission.
7 Deadly Sins of Student Volunteers
- Showing Up Late And/Or Leaving Early
Nothing communicates a lack of investment more than showing up late or leaving early. A large portion of discipleship is proximity. Those who are inconsistent at Bible studies and worship gatherings are not developing disciples. The Great Commission doesn’t say “Sit in a youth room to fulfill a student-to-leader ratio.” Jesus commissions every disciple to create disciples.
[bctt tweet=”The Great Commission doesn’t say ‘Sit in a youth room to fulfill a student-to-leader ratio.” username=”chasesnyder12″]
- Only Talking With The Adults
Why are you volunteering with the student ministry? Is it to invest in students? Great. Investment doesn’t end once you step into the room; that is when investment begins! Don’t fall into the temptation of sitting in the back of the student room and chatting with the other adult leaders. You are serving to make a Gospel difference in a teenager’s life. So pull up a chair and get to know some students.
- Failing To Follow Up With Students
One hour of communication per week does not sustain a friendship. Discipling students involves following up with students throughout the week. This may look different each week (attending ball games, texting students Bible verses, inviting students to events), but the key is to show up in the life of a student. When you show up outside of “church time” students will begin to see that God cares for them outside of “church time.”
- Never Talking About Jesus Or The Bible
Student ministry isn’t all fun and games. Who am I kidding? Student ministry is awesome! The presence of games shouldn’t lead to an absence of Biblical instruction. Each student ministry volunteer has a responsibility to share about the grace, love, and goodness of Jesus. Don’t let the student pastor be the only voice the students hear.
[bctt tweet=”When we fail to develop disciples, we fail to fulfill the Great Commission.” username=”chasesnyder12″]
- Pretending That You Have Figured Life Out
You know that being an adult doesn’t bring clarity to life and an uncanny ability to live perfectly! Be careful not to project a “holier than thou” persona in front of your students. Jesus has saved you, and the students, by grace alone. Sure you have some wisdom to share, but be sure that you are communicating that you still need Jesus.
- Failing To Grow Spiritually
The number one role of a student ministry volunteer is to be a spiritual leader. It doesn’t matter what area you serve in, you must be growing spiritually. The church’s mission is to create disciples. Only disciples can create disciples. An excellent book to gauge your spiritual health is Ten Questions To Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Donald S. Whitney.
- Investing In The Program While Neglecting People
How many hours have you spent working on the worship set list this week? Or how much time have you spent looking at your small group lesson for Sunday? How about this one: How many hours have you spent encouraging and communicating with students this week? Preparation and study are essentials to be a great leader, but when we drift away from the people and only invest in the program, lesson, or worship gathering, our students will leave the church.
Now What?
After taking an honest look at this list, how many of these sins are you struggling with? Being able to diagnose our current level of engagement will allow us to dive deeper into our discipleship efforts!
What other areas would you add to the list?
by ChaseSnyder | Feb 28, 2017 | Discipleship, Ministry
It doesn’t matter if you are a 7-year-old heading to your first summer camp or a senior adult – camps, retreats, conferences, and events can leave a lasting spiritual impact in your life.
Retreats come in all shapes and sizes. There are week-long camps, weekend retreats, one-day events, and conferences. While they vary in nature they all have one thing in common – they allow the attendees to step away from their normal day-to-day routines and focus on Jesus.
God has used my time at camps to wake me up spiritually and provided a place to grow spiritually. I became a Christian, committed my life to ministry, and even met my wife while I was at various retreats.
While you may not meet your future wife at a retreat, here are some other reasons that you should consider joining the next retreat that your church offers (or sending your student).
5 Ways Retreats Can Draw You Closer To Jesus
Retreats remove you from your day-to-day habits.
Have you been in a rut? We all get to points where we need a break from the demands of life. High school relationships may have you stressed to the max. Your kids schedules can wear on your stamina. Retreats, camps, conferences, and events are just that – a retreat! Taking a retreat will allow you to catch your breath, both physically and spiritually.
Retreats allow you to refocus on Jesus.
Our minds can be cluttered with deadlines, activities, relationships, and commitments. Retreats are the perfect place to give your brain a chance to reset and refocus on Jesus. The priorities of your day can interfere with your worship of Jesus. Retreats are designed to remove the distractions and sins that bog you down so that you can worship Jesus.
[Tweet “Retreats are the perfect place to give your brain a chance to reset and refocus on Jesus.”]
Retreats remove you from negative influences.
Most of the people who surround you in school or at work are negative influences. A spiritual retreat gives you an avenue to remove yourself, even for a weekend, from the negative relationships, horrible advice, and complainers that push your spirit down.
Retreats cause us to anticipate the power of God.
Going on a retreat with your church means that you have cleared your calendars, turned in your forms, paid the registration fees, and packed up your bags for the event. A retreat allows your mind to anticipate a move of God in your own life. It is something that you can look forward to with a longing to meet with Jesus.
Retreats lead you to a fresh movement of God’s Spirit.
A retreat will not only remove you from negative influences — it will draw you into God’s Word. Whether it is the guest speaker, worship set, or small group time, you will start to experience God like never before. His Spirit moves in incredible ways when we humble ourselves and turn our gaze onto Him.
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