Service Projects and A Culture of Servanthood in Youth Ministry
Although December is known for Christmas/Advent, it’s also the time when many youth ministries are finalizing plans for their summer missions trip. This month-long series will help youth workers think intentionally about how they practice missions, service projects, develop volunteers, and raise up student leadership.
Christians are servants. This is what Jesus taught, and it’s more than just a good idea.
We must teach youth how their understanding of God moves them to love God by loving and serving their neighbor. If our talk about servant leadership and Christlikeness remains talk, then there’s a major problem in our discipleship.
Building a culture of servanthood reflects the nature of God and the reality that we have been created in his image. In the same way that saving faith leads to good works, loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength leads to loving your neighbor as yourself. Doctrine and love belong together.
Service Projects and A Culture of Servanthood
Service projects are a way for youth workers to call students out of their comfort zones and to lift their eyes away from their phones. It’s important to do this in a way that doesn’t foster pity or superiority (“We have so much to be grateful for, so let’s serve those who are less fortunate”). Rather than feeding into the notion that “servanthood is something we do once a quarter”, it’s better to prayerfully cultivate a culture of servanthood that manifests through regular acts of service.
It is impossible to foster a commitment to servanthood without providing opportunities to serve. Some of those serving opportunities will be formal (organized projects that youth leaders coordinate and organize) and others will be informal (making students and parents aware of a need, trusting them to coordinate what needs to happen to meet that need).
A ministry with a culture of servanthood but without organized service projects may teach students humility and kindness towards peers while overlooking those whose life experiences are different from their own. Conversely, a ministry with organized service projects but not a culture of servanthood will introduce teenagers to people in various states of crises, but may implicitly teach students to view service as something you do rather than a posture to embrace. (Alex Tufano’s article about missions trips also mentions this idea)
Four Ways Service Projects Fuel Student Discipleship
They help students become more like Jesus
“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:25–28)
If we want students to grow in Christlikeness, then we need to call them to a life of servanthood. This is such a predominant theme in the gospels I almost feel like no further explanation should be necessary.
Christians who are not servant-hearted do not have a biblical portrait of Christ. Sanctification is the process of becoming more like God. In particular, sanctification is the process of being conformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). This is why servanthood and service projects are important elements of discipling teenagers.
They help students love one another
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34–35)
You cannot love one another in theory, but only in reality. Theoretical love might inspire a compelling slogan or produce impressive Instagram posts. But it does not honor the command of Christ or the unity of the Church. Disciples know, love, and serve one another – in real life.
If students only come to youth group for the games or the food or to hang out with their friends, then service projects can be a powerful and necessary wake-up call. Obviously, not every student will attend. But those who do will work side-by-side and will witness Christ at work through one another in powerful ways. This shared experience, combined with the promotion of a culture of service, can slowly begin to establish a gospel culture in your whole ministry.
They help students love those who are different from them
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
Acts 1:8 is usually considered a Great Commission verse, and it is. But it’s also about about who the disciples are called to serve. They are not simply called to minister to their peers (“in Jerusalem”), or to those who are similar to them but a bit farther away (“in all Judea and Samaria”). They are also called to be witnesses to those who are different from them and far away (“to the end of the earth”).
Service projects are a great way to bring students to “Judea and Samaria.” In these contexts, they’ll meet others nearby who are like them but with slightly different backgrounds or cultures (Judea), as well as those who are similar but definitely-not-the-same despite their relative proximity (Samaria). Entering those spaces as servants who are there to practice the love of Christ is the best way to begin cultivating trust and respect across differences.
Serving together creates a meaningful shared experience and is a powerful witness
“And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:45–47)
Christians have a reputation for being selfish and uncompassionate. We know that Christians are among the most generous and servant-minded people in our culture, but this is the public perception and that means it’s also what your students are assuming, too. If you are not providing opportunities for students to serve and care for others then you’re not doing anything to correct that negative reputation.
Although it can be frustrating when students serve for the community service hours their school requires, it’s also a school-prompted opportunity to give them a biblical portrait of God’s heart. Don’t shun or roll your eyes because students come with different motives from what you’d hope. Instead, urge them to take the opportunity to serve in the name of Jesus. It might even provide an opportunity to tell others in their school about how they fulfilled their community service requirements.
Practical Help for Getting Started
Remember that servant-heartedness begins with prayer. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in students’ sanctification, not the result of behavior modification. If we do not pray for the humility and courage to serve others, then we will miss the opportunities he provides.
Teach about servant-heartedness in Scripture. Take the time to consistently point out when and where the text calls us to imitate the heart of Christ through servant-hearted love. Once you see it… it’s everywhere.
Provide student leaders and upperclassmen with specific invitations to begin modeling servant-heartedness. Cast a vision for a culture of service and urge core students to take up the challenge to model this kind of servant leadership.
Remind adult volunteers that little things matter. Picking up trash without grumbling, greeting students with gentleness and warmth, giving youth their undistracted attention, etc. These things set the tone for a culture of service.
Offer a local service project to an elderly church member, nursing home, or homeless shelter. If able, begin to develop a relationship with a compassion ministry where your youth group can serve regularly. If you have a larger group, schedule these service projects for one or two small groups to do together to avoid overwhelming the host organization.
Seek partner ministries where you can serve in the name of Christ. Serving with nonreligious organizations can still be meaningful and shouldn’t be immediately off the table. But if you can serve with a Christian ministry that will help your students connect their service with Christ’s love, and where they will have opportunities to talk about Christ with those they’re serving, then that’s an outstanding ministry partnership to prioritize.
Mobilize and empower families and small groups to serve together. Not everything needs to funnel through the youth pastor. Sometimes a youth leader’s best ministry is to share needs with parents and encourage them to mobilize their family to serve together. Other times, a small group leader might be uncertain about their authority to plan and organize service projects. Communicate your guidelines and expectations.
Offer your students evangelism training about Gospel Onramps ahead of time, then they’ll be ready to serve and to evangelize. This will also help students connect service with evangelism instead of seeing them as either mutually-exclusive or as the same thing.
