Friends!
I’m writing to you from the center of it all: The Student Ministries Building. It’s where I work. It’s the place I call my “office.” My office is unique in that it doesn’t appear to be an office at all and you certainly wouldn’t mistake it for one. The traditional giveaways just aren’t there. In my office you won’t find a clearly defined desk, phone, or filing cabinet. No elevator music either. Not even a fake, plastic tree. It’s true, I do admit it. My workspace is conspicuously void of the traditional trappings of an efficient office. But that doesn’t mean things are left undone. Quite the contrary. Because in my office, what is there more than makes up for what it missing.
In my office students encounter God. They meet with Jesus. They fellowship with the Spirit. In my office you’ll find arms raised in worship; hands folded in prayer. In my office the Word is spoken. In my office students make decisions that alter the course of their lives, their city, their country, their world. Engineers, doctors, beauticians, teachers, carpenters, pastors, and missionaries are all born in my office. My office is full of dreams. My office is crammed with hope. Faith is stacked in the corners, ready to fall over. You’ll find God’s love thrown all over the place. It’s a mess.
I love my office just the way it is. I know that it sounds full, but there is always room for one more. So why don’t you come in and visit with me for a little while. I would love to tell you more about what has been happening in my “office!”
Transformation Vs. Transition
The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
Over the past four months, I have often reflected on these verses in regard to student ministries. More than anything, they speak of transformation. In his first ever encounter with Jesus, Simon was a changed man. Essentially, Jesus says to Simon, “If you choose to follow me, three years from now your transformation will be so radical and so complete no one will even remember who Simon is. Simon, you’re going to need a new name.”
I believe transformation is the best word to describe what is happening in student ministries right now. Some might be tempted to call it a transition. But the change is more significant than that. In a transition, you simply move from one place to another. Nothing about you is required to change, just your location. Before departure and after arrival you are the same person. During transformation, however, something different occurs. As you travel toward your new destination you discover that you have changed. You arrive with a new mindset, a new set of beliefs, new values, a new outlook, a new way of relating to the world, a new understanding. You arrive with a new name.
More than a transition, student ministries is experiencing a major transformation.
Transforming Name Change
Like Simon, student ministries has been given a new name. Moving forward, we will be known as FIRE BY NIGHT (FXN). It’s a new name, but it has an old origin: They have already heard that you, O Lord, are with these people and that you, O Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (Numbers 14:14).
It’s sad to say and even more gloomy to think about, but our students are living in a dark world. A good friend of mine who is also a student ministries pastor was recently asked if he believed in hell. He responded, “Yes. I see it every day as I walk through the hallways of my middle school and high school.” Truth be told, it’s not the darkness that bothers me. It’s the lack of light in our world that is so troubling. Students just don’t have a lot of bright spots to follow.
That is why I am so drawn to the name FIRE BY NIGHT. I love the metaphor of God appearing to our teenagers as a pillar of fire to guide and direct their steps. To shine light upon their path. To illuminate their way. And it’s my deepest desire as they learn to follow him they will discover that God can be heard, that he is with them, that he can be seen face to face, that he stays over them, and he goes before them.
Will you please pray with me that God would appear in such a way to our teenagers?
Transforming Small Groups
In November, student ministries underwent another significant transformation. With the help and undying support of eight adult volunteers FIRE BY NIGHT birthed a weekly small group ministry—four Sr. High groups and two Jr. High groups. What was a program centered ministry blossomed into a relationally centered ministry.
Small groups are now the midweek focus of FIRE BY NIGHT. The design is simple: discipleship through relationship. Most groups are comprised of three elements: (1) Fun—building relationships and trust; (2) Bible Discussion—applying God’s word to student life; and (3) Prayer—learning to hear the voice of God and to pray accordingly.
Students wishing to participate in a small group can contact me to learn who their small group leader is and the day>time>location of their meeting.
Transforming Large Group Gatherings
In addition to small group meetings, FIRE BY NIGHT will continue meeting as a large group once-a-month. In this setting students will encounter God through worship, prayer, and preaching. Monthly large group meetings are the venue where I get to share God’s heart for transforming teenagers into passionate worshipers and followers of Jesus. It’s also the place I can communicate the broader vision of why we exist and what we hope to accomplish through the power of the Holy Spirit. Meetings will end with a ministry of prayer for students who respond in faith.
Initially, large group gatherings will be held in the youth building (my office!), but our staff anticipates quickly outgrowing that space. When that occurs we are praying about being able to move our large group gathering to the middle school or high school.
Transforming Sunday Services
FIRE BY NIGHT also offers students a chance to connect with God on Sunday morning (9:30 a.m. in the youth building). Currently, we are exploring the 21 mega-themes found in the Bible from Creation to The Church. The purpose behind this guided study is to discover how the story of God intersects the story of student life.
As this portion of our ministry grows, our staff foresees this becoming an independent student worship service, similar to what adults experience during the first and second worship hour. Please pray “mustard seed” prayers for the growth and expansion of this ministry.
Transforming Campus Presence
My life forever changed when I read, Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness (Matthew 9:35). What followed I can only describe as a vision in which the Holy Spirit identified my pastoral calling with the ministry of Jesus. To Teach. To Preach. To Heal.
My passion and love for Jesus compels me to go to where the people of God are. To visit and live in the places where the Gospel needs to be preached. I honestly don’t believe we will see revival in the Church by sitting back and waiting for the unsaved to come barreling through our doors. Notice Matthew 9:35 says that Jesus went through all the towns and villages.
In many ways, our schools are like towns and villages. They are communities were students meet and share life with one another. School is where students go to perform their “job” of learning. In the towns and villages of middle school and high school relationships begin and end, food is served, shared, and consumed, hallways are like highways, student governments exercise authority, students rebel against that authority, athletes train and compete before excited crowds of onlookers, and groups of friends form tight knit neighborhoods.
Needless to say, the towns and villages of our schools need to be visited by the presence of Jesus. They are in need of some great churches to be planted within them. Since the first of October, I have felt God calling me to establish an on-campus presence at our middle school and high school. I hope to accomplish two things. First, without any specific agenda in mind, I want to bless our administrators, staff, and students. In this capacity I hope to spend a morning or afternoon each week and at each campus volunteering my time wherever the greatest need exists. Second, I’m praying for on-campus opportunities to build relationships with students. I’m hoping for unstructured time to encourage, strengthen, and guide students into the loving arms of the Father who made them, the Son who saved them, and the Spirit who desires to change them.
None of this, of course, will happen without a significant amount of prayer and anointing. Please pray that I would receive divine favor among those who have been given authority over our schools; that they would give me keys to doors that have remained locked for far too many years.
Transforming Community Service
FIRE BY NIGHT believes that students have the capacity to change the world through sacrificial giving and service. That’s why we sponsor and participate in events like World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine. FXN is also looking into a program called A Trashcan Can Make A Difference. We hope to see this program take off in our schools as well. Here’s a little bit more information courtesy of just4one.org:
In our culture, the trashcan is where we collect our refuse—those unwanted and unclean items that we want to be rid of. For many however, the trashcan represents life—a medium through which daily sustenance is found. In the spirit of the ancient practice of gleaning, in which the leftover crops at the edges of farmers’ fields were left for the poor and the stranger, we’ve reclaimed the trashcan as symbol of hope and given birth to a new initiative: A Trashcan Can Make a Difference (TCMD).
TCMD is a collaborative redistribution effort that uses trashcans for the collection of new goods for those in need. The items collected are then specifically distributed to those in need through partnerships we’ve developed with other local non-profit organizations. TCMD is continually growing through franchise activism—that is, a growing network of concerned individuals, families, businesses, groups, churches and schools collaborating autonomously to host a trashcan in various locales, providing those communities with a visual reminder and an opportunity to embrace the values of generosity, social concern and cooperative living.
Transforming Future
Okay, this is where I take a huge breath . . . and begin praying for a lot of strength. That’s a fairly ambitious agenda. But I believe it’s possible for all of it to be accomplished and realized. We have faith in a God who can do immeasurably more than what we can even ask for or imagine!
But, that’s not all. Beyond what I have already described, here are a couple of other things FIRE BY NIGHT is looking forward to:
Rekindle: An early, Monday morning gathering over coffee and espresso designed to help students reengage spiritually before the school week begins.
IYC 2010: International Youth Conference. July 12-17 in San Diego, CA. $395 plus travel and incidental expenses. Open to students going into the 9th grade through graduating seniors.
30HF: World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine. February 19-20 at Warm Beach Free Methodist Church.
Logo: Graphic designer Patrick Hardy of Pixel Fresh Studios (Redding, CA) is designing a professional logo for our group to use. It will be exciting to have some branding that uniquely identifies our group.
Transforming Gratitude
Thanks for spending some time to visit with me for a few moments. It was a pleasure taking you on a quick tour of my office. I hope you have a better understanding of who our students are longing to become and what they desire to accomplish. In addition, I appreciate so much your kind words of support. I think students and staff alike feel your generosity and sense your genuine desire to see this ministry succeed. We especially thank you for your prayers.
I would also like to express my appreciation to our FXN small group leaders. Clay, Cassa, Amy, Brent, Emily, Rob, Delicia, and Christina you folks are amazing. It is an incredible honor and privilege to share this ministry with you. Thanks for every moment you spend on behalf of our students. You are literally changing the face of this generation.
My gratitude also goes out to Pastor Steve Fish who has championed this ministry from the beginning and lends the full weight of our church resources to support FIRE BY NIGHT.
To the pastoral staff, thank you for your encouragement and help. I am blessed to work by your side.
To the B.O.A., administrative and office staff, and the leadership committees that keep this church vibrant and alive, I thank you for your dedication and hours of service. It means so much to me how you prioritize student ministry.
Peace,
shon bentley
pastor of student ministries
