Ep. 97: Being there for students when they come back

Student ministry is a tough ministry to be apart of for a variety of reasons. But, one that stands out in particular is that student ministers don’t always get to see the fruit of their labor. You can invest years and years into the lives of students but see nothing happen. However, that doesn’t mean something isn’t happening. In fact, well after they have left your ministry, they may very well come back and try to learn more from you about life and Christ. That is why Tom brings Ben Kerns back to the podcast. He is a student ministry veteran and has seen many of his students both choose to follow Christ AND choose to walk away.  In fact, he wrote a blog post a while about students freely examining their faith in Christ and Ben’s blog post is entitled, “Our Own Rumspringa” and will be the primary discussion of the podcast episode. In this episode, Ben and Tom talk about:

• What Ben has been doing during the holidays
• Ben’s blog post as he breaks down 4 scenarios students experience when they test out their faith freely
• Ben and Tom share experiences about people walking away and being for there whether they come back or not
• We talk about Ben’s book that addresses this as well. You can find it on his blog and YM360.

The reality is students may walk away from faith in Christ. Don’t take it personally. Continue to love and serve them…hopefully they will come back. And when they do, they will come seeking you out which gives you another opportunity to show Christ to them. Ben is a great resource and would love to connect with you. You can connect with Ben a few different ways.  He’s on Twitter (twitter.com/averageym), has an awesome blog (http://www.averageyouthministry.com) with tons of great insights each week. So what do you think?  How have you been teaching your students about making wise decisions? And how effective has that been? Join the conversation by sharing your thoughts and insights below or on social media using the hashtag #ymsidekick.  Also, Tom would love to hear from you about what you’d like a future topic to be. To email Tom some ideas email him here. Make sure you goto iTunes and subscribe (http://ht.ly/QdLHJ) to the podcast and see what cool things we do each and every week!  And make sure you rate the show, especially if you like it. 🙂 Lastly, sign up for the Sidekick Scoop (http://ht.ly/TVyKF) to get content from all over the ministry world (especially online and student ministry topics).]]>