I have spent the past 20 years of my life working with teenagers, and I confess to you that I am often the first to tell them how much harder I had it than they did. For instance, I had to go out and rent movies, hoping it was actually in stock, and then had to rewind the tape before returning it. I had to use the Dewey Decimal System instead of Google. My mom never drove me to the bus stop no matter how cold or rainy it was. When I asked a girl out, I had to use the phone in the kitchen, in front of my parents, and hope the girl’s dad didn’t answer. I grew up having to make plans ahead of time and just hope everyone got the message right and showed up to the movie on time because we couldn’t just text each other. My road trips involved a Walkman, a book, and fights with my brother instead of videos and wifi. The struggle was real, and there was no Chick-fil-A around here either!
While all of that sounds tough, the American teenager today has it even harder. I don’t think there has ever been a generation of teens with more temptation and more confusion before them. They are fed lie after lie from the sexual revolution and the age of tolerance. They are consumed with false images on Instagram and are constantly wondering why their life doesn’t match up to the false persona presented by others. They are tempted at every turn in a sexually charged culture that places pornography a click away on any number of mobile devices that they have in their pockets. Their family structure is more fragile than ever, their lives busier, and morality is ambiguous at best. There seems to be less solid footing for them to stand on than at any time in history.
That is why the Student Ministry at LifePoint is committed to the serious business of discipleship and training. We are in a war for the hearts and minds of our high school and middle school students and we must prepare and equip them not just for the future battles they will face in college and beyond, but what they will face tomorrow on the bus and in the cafeteria. We must not make the mistake of thinking that keeping our students in the church is the same as keeping them in Christ. This battle requires numerous fronts and one of them is the Student Ministry here at church.
LifePoint has a long history of solid student ministry and I am thrilled to welcome AJ Hillebrand as the Pastor for Students to head up the next chapter. AJ will be taking over for Justin P’Pool as he has taken another job. I have known AJ for a long time. He has been serving with me and others in the college ministry for a few years and while I am sad to see him transition out of that ministry, I am excited to watch him lead the High School Ministry. AJ loves Christ and he loves kids. He is intentional in his relationships, serious about his faith, and passionate about discipleship.
Student Ministry is a tough job because you not only have to work with and connect with teens, but also their parents, and those two audiences can be hard to please simultaneously. However, as one who will have two daughters in the High School Ministry, I can tell you that I firmly believe that God has blessed us in bringing AJ to serve here. He will love our kids and fervently seek to equip them for a life of faithful service in Jesus Christ. He will take the reins from Justin and go about the task of discipling our young people seriously and will prayerfully fight for their souls as he teaches, encourages, and equips them for whatever the Lord calls them to. So let’s pray for AJ, his wife Angel, and their five children as they slide into this very important ministry.
Pastor Nate
