Investing in Souls through Youth Ministry
by Jordan Schrader
God has grown my faith tenfold through being a part of student ministry. When I was nearing the end of discipleship, I found myself being led to join either choir or youth ministry. I was prayerful and continued to go back and forth on the decision, but ultimately God showed me I needed to prioritize becoming established in worship before entrusting me to invest in the souls of young women. So I happily began serving in choir and was content where God had me, but was prayerful that if there was an open door for youth ministry that it would be made known. One Sunday in a CAYA service, there was a call for those who felt burdened for the youth. A specific need for counselors was shared, and I took this as my green light. As I stepped into student ministry, I asked to be entrusted with one thing: to be involved in middle school Bible study. Within five minutes of my first night, I was sitting among the girls learning the latest trends in footwear fashion.
“To be in youth ministry within the local church allows not only the gospel to be presented, but for it to be observed as a testimony in the daily lives of counselors and students alike”
I believe my heart for the youth began long ago and there is a part of me that receives nothing but joy when I am around them. I recall the times I was a camp counselor: the relationships I formed with those kids still resonate with me today. As I consider more deeply, there are two major components that led me to join the youth ministry.
The first: When I was about 12 or 13 years old, Pine Cove was THE Christian summer camp that all my friends attended. It was there where the gospel was laid out to me for the very first time. My cabin counselor for the week asked me about my salvation, but for me, going to church and being a good person was sufficient. For many years, the gospel of Jesus Christ and the need for a personal decision to accept him as Lord and Savior remained only as a memory from camp. I didn’t consider it again until much later in my adult life. Now, to be in youth ministry within the local church allows not only the gospel to be presented, but for it to be observed as a testimony of salvation in the daily lives of counselors and students alike.
The second: A large part of my testimony is watching my sister’s life unfold as she became a disciple of Jesus Christ. It is through her testimony that I started to see my need for a relationship with Christ. She is an active leader in WyldLife, which is a Christian organization for middle schoolers. While I was visiting my family last spring, I had the opportunity to serve at one of their community events. There were around a hundred kids listening to the leaders read from the word of God. If I could stand here and look upon this group of youth and have a complete burden for their souls, why couldn’t I also have that within the context of my local church? In student ministry, I could learn to love the youth of Midtown Baptist Temple and stand alongside them as they start to develop their identity in Christ.
“My prayers swiftly shifted to asking God to use the simple truths he has given our students in youth ministry to bring their friends and peers unto the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ”
In August of 2024, a team from Midtown went to Boston for a youth mission trip. A large portion of this trip was centered around a youth outreach night. It began with games and food at a park directly across from Pastor Mike Reneau’s house. As I started to sit down with a few of the girls, I met one of the newer members of Living Faith Boston, a middle school girl who had only been saved for about a year. She was so excited about her friend Lily who was attending that night, whom she shared she had been praying for. As Pastor Reneau was praying over the meal, this young girl turned to her friend and explained that prayer is the time when we are talking to God, and she invited Lily to bow her head with us. I was wide-eyed that she could be so kind and simply state the truth of what was happening. Up until this point in youth ministry, I was so focused on how I carried myself and whether I was consistent and faithful enough for these students that God placed in my life. Truthfully, that was a prayer based out of fear and a lack of faithfulness that God can and will use me to bring about His glory. My prayers swiftly shifted to asking God to use the simple truths he has given our students in youth ministry to bring their friends and peers unto the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ.
Over the next couple of months, the leaders prepared for the youth ministry fall retreat. There was an abundance of preparation on the line; the most significant was to beg God for the salvation of those in attendance. In the week prior to the retreat, we saw our sign-up numbers nearly double in size — we were at capacity for students at retreat! One of the most impactful takeaways from the weekend came from hearing Pastor Jeff Grasher preach one evening. His overarching question was: how do we use wisdom to endure temptation? There were three practical steps outlined for the students to follow:
Make a decision to endure temptation.
Call upon a friend or counselor to impart wisdom into your life.
Pray with that counselor.
This served as a simple way for the students to take the counselors aside and call upon God to intercede in prayer. God tells us that there is safety in the multitude of counselors (Pro 11:14). In taking a closer look at the Strong’s definition of safety, it is defined as salvation or deliverance. When you have many counselors speaking the word of God in your life, he promises salvation! Over the course of the retreat, there were many salvations and personal testimonies shared. God was at work and fulfilling the promise He so clearly made.
Proverbs 11:1 ‘Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
“I could not ignore a need that God has so clearly presented right in front of me”
At one point I was asked to consider mentoring one of the students in youth ministry. Truthfully, I had been feeling at capacity for everything that was existing within my life. I needed God to open my eyes or help me reprioritize and decide to move forward in mentorship. During my quiet time one morning, I found myself in Luke 16 reading about the rich man and Lazarus. The rich man is eternally separated from God, not because he had hurt Lazarus, but because he had never helped him (Luke 16:20-21). This caused me to look inward — I could not ignore a need that God has so clearly presented right in front of me. I had prayed for the open door in youth ministry, and now there was a Lazarus at my gate desiring to know the word of God! As this mentorship relationship began, I saw her desire to know the Lord deeply. One morning during main service, we were sitting beside one another, and she asked me to clearly define the Trinity. There is nothing that brings us in the presence of the Lord more quickly than when you share what has been taught unto you. I am beyond grateful that God showed me to move forward in mentorship, and I pray He uses me and my mentee to draw nigh unto Him. “And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full or sores, and desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table…” (Luke 16:20-21).
“At this time in their lives, they are asked again and again about who they are and what they want to be. What if they could answer this according to God’s word?”
If I could ask for one specific request for youth ministry, it would be for the principles of God’s word to rest on the heart and souls of the youth. At this time in their lives, they are asked again and again about who they are and what they want to be. What if they could answer this according to God’s word? Over the course of a year we took the students through the Creation to Christ study, and as we neared the end we read about the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I wanted nothing more than for the students to desire the sincere milk of the word (1 Peter 2:2) over all the small distractions that can deter from the message. It becomes so easy for any of us to jump ahead and try to absorb the meat of God’s word, but the first priority has to be laying the foundation of God’s word.
1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
I also urge those that have a heart for the youth to sign up for mentorship or be a part of youth ministry in some capacity. These are the students that will hopefully be in CAYA one day! Since joining youth ministry, God has shown me how to have true godly sorrow over these students. Nothing can compare to coming into main service on Sunday and seeing my girls run up for a hug and to give me a quick recap of their week. There is not a moment that passes where God is not growing me in this ministry, and for that I am forever grateful. I pray that God will grow your burden tenfold as he did mine for these students. They deserve nothing less than faithful disciples of Christ that will lift them up and point them to the word of God at every turn.
Jordan Schrader is a member of Midtown Baptist Temple and is a part of C&YA. She is involved in student mentorship and serves as a counselor in the middle school ministry.