Latest Series

As a youth pastor, I like to do series of messages.  I feel that it gives me more clear direction and great help in staying focused and preparing.  The current message series has been one that we've called "Fear Factor."  I think that most every youth ministry in the USA has probably done this theme before, but it has been great for ours.  We have had a competition that has gone on all month long.  The students have participated in gross challenges for the prize: not having to pay for the next big event on our student ministry calendar.  That has definitely proven to be interesting.  I have come to realize that with some of the games that we've had the students do (live cricket spitting, pulling peanuts from a dirty diaper, and frozen mayo sundae eating contest), there's something not right about us youth ministers who make these poor souls do these crazy games.

The messages in the series have dealt with fears of different kinds.  Here's a breakdown of each week.

1. Tools to Conquer Fear - "For God didn't give us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline." (2 Timothy 1:7 NLT)  This message was about dealing with any fear that comes our way and how fear tries to sideline us in life.


2. The Fear of Death - Death is the most common fear among people living today.  That's mainly because people aren't sure as to what happens afterwards.  We discussed that for a Christian, death is just another step and nothing to be afraid of.  This message came at a key time as one student shared with me about how he had been to the funeral of a friend who overdosed on heroin.


3. The Fear of Rejection - This has been my favorite so far.  So many students are scarred from rejection and look to find their value in other people's opinions.  We looked at how "value lies in the eyes of our Creator."


4. The Fear of Failure - This is coming up next week as we face the fact that there will be times that we fall short, but that doesn't have to be the end of our story.

What are some fears that you see people struggling with?