Though it has been more than a “few” days, I am no less excited to continue some written description about “The Year of the ‘S’”. I covered the first of five elements in my last blog so today we move on to number two, The Year of the SENIOR.
We have a priceless resource in our seniors and I want to take advantage of every opportunity for their input and impact among us in one28. I don’t know when we’re going to have another year like this one, with five faithful senior guys who have been committed to our ministry for the duration of their high school careers. James Barnts, Josh Hehe, Tony Kevin, Jesse Martin, and David Zimmer have already given us much, and now we will ask even more of them through their final year as students in one28.
It is a recurring conversation among the male one28 staff to figure out how we can effectively encourage the young men in our ministry and do our part to help them become spiritually mature men. Though it is not realistic for us to think that process of growth will be completed by high school graduation it is still our intention to send out our senior guys with as much Christian ‘manhood’ as possible.
And a major part of being a man is leading. Some guys are natural leaders, others must hone their skills. Either way, men are called to lead. This is not a chauvinistic thing; it’s a biblical thing. The Bible calls men to be the leaders in their marriages and in their families. God’s Word makes it clear that men are to be the leaders in His Church. Leading is a distinguished privilege, but it is also an enormous responsibility.
So we are always looking for ways to get our guys to grow in their leadership abilities. And starting tomorrow night in HS one28 our senior guys begin a year of leading on Wednesdays. We will give each of the seniors mentioned above a Wednesday night to make their own. And they will have more than one opportunity as we are planning to rotate them through again and again throughout the entire school year. These guys will be in charge of everything: planning what will be on the evening’s schedule, deciding the order of the service, running (or delegating someone else to run) each part of the night, and then teaching us from something that they’ve been learning recently in their own lives.
I know that I couldn’t really be more excited about this! It will increase student ownership in one28. It will challenge these seniors to set an example for the underclassmen. It will increase their accountability to the other students, to their small group leaders, to me, and most of all – to God Himself. It will enable freshmen, sophomores, and juniors to gather up all the guidance they can from those who are going before them. It will further our goal of one28 being a student ministry. And I believe it will glorify God as we vigorously work to present every man complete in Christ.
Please pray for these seniors as they arrange their schedules and prepare to lead us on Wednesdays this upcoming year. And be there tomorrow night as David Zimmer leads off The Year of the Senior by leading us in Wednesday night worship.
