Transformation

“Anyone who thinks transformation always shows up carrying fireworks hasn’t paid much attention to caterpillars and butterflies. Give me a deep, heartfelt transformation anytime; it grows wings and flies.” – Audrey Ferris quote stolen from a promo from Group Publishing

Youth ministry is all about transformation. It’s about students being transformed by the living, breathing Word and Spirit of God into living, breathing letters of His love for His lost. It’s about selfish kids being transformed into generous sharers of God’s compassion. It’s about gifted students being transformed into humble servants.

Next week, I'll be at camp with a group of students who are being transformed. After that, I’ll be at another camp with another group that is caught up in this transformational process. A few weeks ago, I was CIY with our high school students as they moved toward further transformation.

During these intense weeks, you can be sure, that tears will be shed, decisions made and shared, walls torn down, and emotional floodwaters raised. But that is not the transformation. Those moments often mark important points on the transformational journey, but they are not the transformation itself.

The true transformation that is needed in student ministry only occurs as students learn to live their lives in more Christ-like ways. They’ll come back from conference and camp excited… but the transformation is still in process. And much of what they’ll become depends on you. They will imitate the example you set, so be sure that you are being transformed into a model of humanity that is worth emulating – one like Jesus.