Kingdom Harbor

“I will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.  Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.  They will be my people and I will be their God” (Ezek 11:19-20). 

Many still view youth ministry as a second-class calling, a holding tank for immature, video-playing adults who couldn’t quite make it in “real ministry” who end up playing dodgeball and Guitar Hero through their 20s and eventually go on to more respectable work in their 30s or maybe even grow up into “real” pastors with a more respectable salary. 

Now I am a bit biased, or course, but I personally think youth pastors have much more in common with heart surgeons than community recreation directors.  Every Wednesday night dozens of fragile, broken, confused, hurting teenagers come to our gatherings, hungry for meaning, purpose, self-worth, love, acceptance and a word of hope.  In the…