what is the mission of youth ministry?

I had a great discussion with some twelfth grade young men the other day about...mission.

Yeah, that's right...I talked with some recent graduates about discovering their mission in life.

as we were discussing our dreams and goals for our lives I had them look at a man who seemed to be pretty driven by his mission.

You guessed it. Jesus.

When Jesus returns to his hometown he is recognized as a rabbi. In a local synagogue Jesus is asked to teach the Holy Scriptures. he unrolls the scroll, reads a passage from Isaiah, sits down, and says "today these words are fulfilled in your hearing." what a sermon! short, sweet, and to the point. But it wasn't so much what he said about the passage, rather it was about what the passage actually said. In fact many have pointed to it as Jesus' own mission statement.

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
Luke 4.18-19

Look at the components of Jesus' mission: the anointing of God, proclaiming good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, and proclaiming the year of the Lord's favor. In a world where "its all about me," Jesus models an attitude of "its all about...everyone else."

For Jesus, his mission isn't about what he can get, what status he can achieve, how he can climb some ladder. Jesus' mission is simply to bring the goodness of God to everyone else.

What if our youth ministries had the same mission as Jesus?

What if we existed not for ourselves, our own programs, getting kids into our doors? What if we existed for the purpose of young people being set free, hearing the good news, and experiencing the scandalous grace of Jesus?

The beautiful thing about Jesus was that he didn't just voice his mission, he lived it. His life reflected his mission.

Life reflects mission. What would your life and ministry reflect about your mission?

If the mission of youth ministry looks anything different than the mission of Jesus, then its time to discover a new mission.