Mission: Build a bridge.

One of my memories growing up is a story about my grandpa, partnering with a bunch of volunteers in his hometown…working to build a bridge over the river near the city park. It was a big bridge that we drove over every time we went to his house the back way. I can’t remember the entire story…but knowing my grandpa was a bridge builder (even for just a short time) has always been intriguing to me.

Whether you know it or not…you are a bridge builder. I’m going to let you in on a secret. Student ministry isn’t that complex. It is very difficult at times…but it really isn’t that complex. Half of our calling (job) is simply this: Build a bridge of relationship strong enough to bear the weight of truth. I don’t know exactly how long it took my grandpa and all his buddies to build that bridge, but I do know that building strong bridges with students takes time! I have spent an entire high school career with some students, and still not built a strong bridge. Others have taken merely weeks or simply a kind “hello” followed by their name…that I actually remembered. Bridge building isn’t easy. It takes effort. It takes many people working together…and it takes time. I want to encourage you to not give up. You are doing something very significant! You see, the bridge you are building with these students is vitally important. It may be the very thing that enables you to share the plan of salvation with a student. It may hold the weight of their 1:30 am phone call when they are lonely from a sudden break up. It may be the pathway to healing. It may be what they need to get their relationship with God back on track. It may be a lifeline. It will be the very thing you use to deliver the second half of our calling (job) in student ministry…which I will reveal to you next week.

"One" small group questions are HERE