Being Where Jesus Is

About six months ago my wife and I became the youth ministers of a parish that did not have a youth program. Not a day goes by that we don't love what we are doing. But also, not a day goes by that we don't ask ourselves, “What in the world have we gotten ourselves into?” Between planning activities, paperwork, deadlines, raising money, and all the other things involved in youth ministry, things can get pretty overwhelming at times. But in the midst of the mental chaos that often swirls around in our minds, Jesus always pulls me back to His words found in John 12:26 where He said,

“Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there also will my servant be.”

Notice that Jesus says that His servant will be where He is. You see, too many times we will make our own plans, and then we ask Jesus to be with us. But that is ministry done backwards. Instead of asking Him to be with our plans, we need to ask Him if we can join Him in His plans. We need to discover what Jesus is already doing in the lives of those around us, and unite ourselves with His work. But how do we do that?

First, we have to spend time listening to Jesus. After all, how can a servant know what his master is doing if he doesn't spend time listening to his master? Likewise, how can we know what Jesus is doing if we don't spend time listening to Him? We must pray. Then after we do that, we pray some more. And when we have completed that, we pray even more. Absolutely nothing can substitute for time spent with Jesus.

Besides being a youth minister, I also work in a warehouse thirty miles from where we live. This blesses me with an hour each day of uninterrupted time with Jesus. This is time when I can share with Jesus my struggles, my joys, my failures, and my fears. This is time when I can bring to Him all my needs, and praise Him for providing for those needs. But most importantly, this is time when I can turn the radio off and simply sit in silence and allow Him to speak to my heart. It is in the midst of this quietness that He gives me glimpses of what He is doing in my life, and in the lives of those around me. As I wrote above, absolutely nothing can substitute for time spent with Jesus. If you want to know what Jesus is doing, make sure you find this time each day.

Second, we have to spend time listening to others. Whether our pride wants to admit it or not, God has been at work in the lives of those around us way before we even came on the scene. That's just the way God is. He is continually drawing people into a deeper knowledge and relationship with Him. From truly listening to others, we can begin to see how God has been working in their lives, and where He wants to take them.

In our ministry my wife and I had been talking about starting a group for the junior high youth, since we only have a high school youth group right now. Well, this past week my wife and a small group of junior highers from our parish went to a summer camp through our diocese. Each night they would have “parish time,” which is where the youth were able to share their thoughts about the day. As the week went along, the youth began to really open up and seek spiritual guidance for their lives. From my wife simply listening to them, and seeing how God is working in their hearts, we have now become determined more than ever to start a group for them. We want to be where Jesus is, and join Him in the work that He is already doing in their hearts.

You see, when we come to the realization that we are simply suppose to be where Jesus is, ministering to others stops being overwhelming. Why? Because we see clearly that it is HIS work, and since it is HIS work, HE will provide for it, HE will bring the growth, and HE will finish what HE has started. We simply have to join in with what He is already doing, be faithful to what He asks us to do, and then sit back and be in awe of His glory.