STUDENT MINISTRY: Days Focused on Him

         Thanksgiving Day. Black Friday. Local Saturday. Cyber Monday. It is exhausting. The world seems to be screaming at us to buy stuff. It is easy to get caught up in the hype. We want to give our family members good gifts during the Christmas season. We love them and want to see them have a great holiday experience. Unfortunately, that love can motivate us to hit the sales like Viking warriors. And at the end, it just wears us out, having placed our focus on the wrong things during the month of December.

      December 1-25 should focus on God’s great gift and fulfilled promises in Jesus Christ. Growing up, I always viewed Christmas as a singular event that had little to do with my spiritual life. It was about Christmas morning and the new Star Wars toys I would receive. My Sears catalog had all the cool stuff circled, with the hopes of receiving everything. The word Advent was foreign to my understanding of the season and was something those “other” people did.

      As the years have gone by and my understanding of God’s great gift has increased, I can’t help but look to Advent as something to be meditated upon. Advent is “a liturgical season in the Christian calendar leading up to Christmas. It is a time of preparation and reflection on the coming of Christ, both in his Nativity and his anticipated return. Advent typically involves themes of hope, peace, joy, and love” (LOGOS Software, version 37.2.12). Growing up in Baptist churches, I didn’t think much about Advent. Before coming to my current ministry setting, it wasn’t really on my radar to embrace or teach. However, it can be a wonderful time as you spend 25 days intentionally dwelling on the concepts rather than trying to cram it all into one day.

      Let me encourage you to help your students embrace Advent. It isn’t too late for 2024. Here are a few ways to do that:

         • Send out a daily text. Perhaps you are reading a devotional book for Advent. Send out the daily Scripture with a sentence or two. Give them something brief to think about. You could even follow up in your weekly group meetings.

         • Post something daily on social media. You probably have a youth group Facebook page or Instagram account. Consider posting something your students can catch on their own time and share with their friends. Social media allows us to share beyond the confines of our own student ministry at the click of a button.

         • Consider an Advent devotional. Our church provided a devotional guide for all our families. This helps us work through some of the Christmas concepts together. You could even write your own if you prefer. Either way, giving them something physical is always a good idea.

         • Do all of the above. That may seem crazy, but our students absorb information differently. Buy an advent book and use it for your posts and texts. We want our students to understand Christmas/Advent is about more than presents. That may require a multi-front attack.

      Advent can be a great way to focus on Jesus and His first coming during a crazy busy month. It allows us to slow down and absorb what we are really celebrating. This month, spend some days focused on Him.