In youth ministry, you find yourself investing in kids, but don’t usually see the the direct impact on their lives. We just work, love, invest, teach and walk alongside young people praying that the Lord will take hold of their lives.  But every once in a while, you get a glimpse into heart of a student. I got this note myspaced to me last night from one of our students. It was totally unexpected and it brought tears to my eyes.

If you knew this student, you’d realize that it’s totally out of character for them to be so honest, heartfelt, thankful and real. But I’ve also seen the Lord really begin to this student’s heart in the last few weeks (after what seemed like 3 years of a cold heart towards anything pertaining toward the Lord). Here’s what they wrote:

Lately, I have been going through some hard times. And some in a more direct way than others, have helped me. You guys make me laugh until i almost pee my pants. Sometimes make me want to stick a cork down the barrel of a paint ball gun and shoot you close range, but most importantly, make me feel accepted. In my family i am perceived as very different, and kind of an embarrassment. All of you make me feel like I can be myself and don’t have to worry about being judged or rejected. No matter what i say, no matter how dumb it comes out as, you make me feel like I’m important, that what i say matters. Even if you don’t know it, you all have helped me in your own way, and as a group. So i just wanted to say Thank You. You have no idea how much i appreciate it. So THANK YOU!!!!

So this is my encouragement (because the Lord encouraged me with this) to you youth workers out there. Keep investing. Keep spending time with kids. You may not see the direct impact today, but it’s not our job to see the result this side of heaven. It’s our job to minister, encourage, love, inspire and journey. So don’t give up. The work you are doing is much more impactful than you will ever realize.

I was the speaker at a middle school camp all last week. It’s a pretty sweet gig because my family gets to tag along.  During one of the days we had some time and took the kids to a beach near Tacoma.  While the kids hunted for crabs, Miriam and I spent the afternoon searching for sea glass. As we were collecting it, I felt I needed to use it during my message that evening.  The message was about the sinful woman (Luke 7: 36-50) who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears, dries them with her hair and breaks open a bottle of perfume to anoint his feet. It was a message calling for these students to lay their own brokenness, wounds,  and pain at the Lord’s feet.

As I was talking that night, I brought out the glass and began to form it into the shape of the cross on the ground. Then, what happened next was all of the Lords doing. I offered an opportunity for the students to come up and to simply kneel at the broken cross, offering their own brokenness to the Lord.  It was quiet for a moment, then something in the room broke open.  Not something out loud, it was something breaking within the hearts many of these students. Tears began to come.

I’ve been through emotional services before, but this was something completely different. It was a real, raw, painful hurt that just came gushing out. I’ve never been around something so filled with agony and yet so healing at the same time. The The Lord made his presence known and touched many of those students that night. When you open yourself up to the Lord and experience Him you always walk away changed.