What if we’ve confused the mission?  What if we are treating the starting line as the finish line?  What is the mission after-all?

I’m afraid we often do this.  Let me explain…

Do we put more time into reaching than we do making?

It seems that often most of our attention and effort goes into reaching students than it does making disciples of students.  In truth, we really have no command to reach the lost.

Let me say that again, we have no command to reach the lost.

We have a command to make disciples.  This of course involves reaching, but it doesn’t stop there.

Too often we view the end goal of our ministries seeing students come to Jesus.  We would probably not say that we view this is the finish line, but if we were to honestly examine our efforts, budgets, events, and focus I think we would find that we have unintentionally defined the finish line as “kids getting saved.”

If however, we are focused on making disciples (of those we have and of those we do yet have) the finish line is moved.  The goal of reaching is only the starting line.  Our plans for reaching must also take into account what follows.  The overarching plan then must look beyond “salvation” and see them through the process of being discipled.

There is a duality of focus here.  We cannot become so focused on reaching that we fail to disciple.  Likewise, we cannot be so focused on discipling those we have that we fail to reach new students to be discipled.

So what’s a Youth Pastor to do?  Here are a few thoughts:

• Our vision for our ministries must correctly define the finish line.
• Our budgets, events, and efforts must take into account the discipleship process as well as evangelism.
• Our ministries must have an intentional plan to both reach the lost and make disciples.

So, if you’re honest, where have you drawn your finish line?