What is Youth Ministry?

All of us at the table laughed as Mick banged on the table's corner and shouted "No fun in God's kingdom!" We all laughed because we were all Christians. The remainder of the people in the diner just glanced over expressionlessly, probably trying to make some sense out of what they just heard.

Martin Luther, the German reformer, if he were there, would have understood and probably laughed along with us. Jerome, the man who translated the Bible into the language of the people of Rome back in the third century, would have laughed too. Somehow, I felt the laughter of Jesus in the diner with us that night, as Mick exposed Satan's lie for us all to laugh at.

There was nothing to do but laugh. There was nothing to add and nothing to come back with. Images of pious monks and stern old-time preachers floated through our minds. For a moment, we imagined trying to walk after Christ without having fun, and we laughed.

Imagine Adam and Eve laughing and playing in the garden like children. Imagine the laughter of Abram and Sarah as they heard the report of their extreme old aged pregnancy. Imagine Peter laughing quietly to himself as he walked out a prison door sprung wide open by God Himself.

What would the Bible be without all the excitement, from the taking of the Promised Land to the mighty rushing wind in the upper room? The Bible is chuck full of excitement and fun. Certainly walking with God has its moments of pain and exhaustion. What else can you expect when walking with a God who hung on a tree to the death, but that is only part of the story. Satan would love us to believe literally that there is "No fun in God's kingdom." Perhaps it is his favorite lie, but my devoted, fun loving friend Mick just had to expose the absurdity of the lie, and I've been laughing ever since.

Youth ministry is about walking with God. That walk has its share of every color in the rainbow of life's experience. There will be the joy of being filled with the Holy Spirit and the laughter of playtime. There will be the happy shock of learning about God's love and plan for us from a new angle and the sadness of feeling the pain our brother or sister is feeling, because our love for them demands it. All youth and those called to youth ministry are invited to take a full dose of life with us. Use your talents for God's purposes and find friendship and laughter.

© Copyright 2001, Douglas Decicco, 3230 NE 9th Terrace, Pompano Beach, FL - This writing may be duplicated and distributed freely provided the following three restrictions are adhered to during the duplication and distribution of said writing, regardless of the number of recursive duplications or distributions made:
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