10 Things I've Learned From 10 Years In Ministry - Part 2


A few weeks ago, I celebrated 10 years of student ministry at my current Church. Spending 10 years in one spot brings a certain perspective to life and ministry. Over the next few days, I want to share 10 lessons I've learned.

If I could go back to my younger self, 10 years ago, here are some of the things I would tell myself:

2. Sometimes it takes a long time to see results

    Several years ago we had a girl in our youth group who was always in trouble. She graduated high school by the skin of her teeth. She walked away from her faith, cursed me, and the church. Last week we had a deep conversation about her faith. She's not where she should be, but by building a relationship over time and being present, here we sit five years later talking about her faith. IT TOOK FIVE YEARS.

Life isn't like a TV sitcom. If you want to see real results, sometimes you have to stick around for a while. In ministry, this means sometimes you ignore the high schooler who hates your guts or you develop some patience with the middle schooler who doesn't get it. Give them a few weeks or months or years and he or she may just come around.

 Don't underestimate what God can do in someone else's life when you choose to be present over a long period of time. 

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