Point in One Direction

Are you pointing your teens to Jesus Christ so they will turn and follow Him? At your weekly meetings do your teens see Christ or do they see you? This is exactly what John the Baptist did with two of his disciples, he pointed them to Christ. There was no pride or selfishness on John’s part. In no way do we see John trying to take center stage to get all the attention. And he certainly did not put on animal fur and eat locusts strictly to entertain everyone. As youth workers and youth pastors it’s our job to preach the Gospel, to tell our teens about Christ and how to live for Christ. The message of the Gospel is not about us it’s for us. Yet often I have seen youth ministries that look more like an amusement park where entertainment is the focus, the youth worker is the star, and the message of the Gospel is but a vapor in the youth room.

Take a look at John 1:35-37; The following day John was again standing with two of his disciples. As Jesus walked by, John looked at him and declared, “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” When John’s two disciples heard this, they followed Jesus. You see, the day before, John had been preaching and baptizing telling others that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus’ ministry was just starting and John was already evangelizing, he was pointing others to Christ. In verses 35-37 we see that John pointed to Jesus and with excitement declared; “Look! There is the Lamb of God!” Then we read something very interesting, the two disciples left John and followed Jesus. They didn’t stay with John, he was only their teacher, Christ is the Star!

It’s time we start preaching the solid truth of the Gospel in a culturally relevant way that points in one direction; to Christ, the Lamb of God. Then our teens will follow Christ and that is true discipleship.