I’ve often wondered if this simple job description is the most accurate for junior high youth workers: “Sowers of Seeds”
You could make a fairly strong argument that one of our most consistent tasks is that of continuously tossing out little seeds in the lives of young teens.
- seeds of faith
- seeds of hope
- seeds of “I’m okay”
- seeds of “I’m gifted!”
- seeds of “I’m gonna make it!”
- seeds of confidence
- seeds of “I can make a difference”
I often tell the junior high team I help lead, “We are ALWAYS casting seeds, and SOMETIMES we even get to harvest them!”
Too many junior high youth workers are frustrated by not enough tangible result for their labor. And their response is often to question their calling, their effectiveness, their students receptivity, etc. Instead, I think it’s wise to develop a long-view of youth ministry and embrace the fact that much of what we do in the junior high years is truly just sowing seeds that will (maybe) take root in our ministry only to begin to fully grow and blossom later on.
Maybe it’s okay to focus less on results and more on faithfully, consistently sowing the seed.
Kurt Johnston leads the student ministries team at Saddleback Church in Southern California. His ministry of choice, however, is junior high, where he spends approximately 83.4% of his time. Kurt is also the founder of www.simplyjuniorhigh.com, and he writes, speaks and looks for opportunities to encourage other youth workers. He likes to surf, ride dirtbikes and hang out in coffee shops. He is married to Rachel, and they have two teenage children, Kayla and Cole
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Scott Rubin is the Director of Elevate, the junior high ministry of Willow Creek Community Church near Chicago. He's mostly a middle school pastor, but he also writes some, speaks some, and blogs some. He's the co-author of the book Middle School Ministry, and a few other titles too. He likes sports, summer, his wife Lynette, his 3 sons, and often wishes that Lake Michigan was actually an ocean.
