Connections. . .

I feel like a bit of a slacker seeing that Josh has already posted twice on here, and I have only posted once. But I do have a great excuse - and I want to write about it today.
Today I want to talk about connections in ministry.  By this I mean the relationships you have with other minister and members in different churches.  I don't mean networking, which is something I learned a lot about in college.  Networking involves meeting people from different companies to either build business or get a better job.  What I mean is making connections in order to build your relationship with God, challenge you in ministry, and have some sort of accountability.
One great connection that I have is with my host family from a previous church that I worked at.  This weekend I went back to visit them, and I can't even explain how refreshing that was for me.  The thing that I love about this family is that they know me, love me, and expect certain things out of me without demanding them.  They hold me to a certain standard. They support me 100% and give me advice - even when I don't ask for it!
The most awesome thing about this family though is that not a single one of them are in "ministry".  They don't go to a church day in and day out for their job.  No, they are out there in the real world, working daily with people who are not Christians.  They see their jobs as ministry, and that is what blows my mind.  Even more awesome, they love each other unconditionally.  Knowing this family, and seeing them live out their lives, in good times and bad, has challenged me more than any fellow minister ever has.  If we all had a love for God like this family has a love for each other - even when one member makes another beyond angry - we would rarely struggle in putting Him first.
I think that connections in ministry are extremely important. The families that I have built relationships with, pastors and fellow minister who have poured into me, and individuals that I have seen work out their salvation with fear and trembling have done more for me and my walk with God than anything else, other than studying the Word.  So here is my question for you: how are you connected with the members of your church? Members of other churches?  Is there anyone older than you that you are allowing to pour into your life?  Is there a family that you are looking to as a guide to your marriage and love for God?  
All of these things and more are important to have as we live out our relationships with God and our ministries.  As you serve, whether it be at a small church or a large church, you need to be filled up while you are pouring out.  It is impossible to overflow into your students if you cup is getting empty, and one of the ways to refill it is through connections.  I challenge you to go out and make a new one today.

Fridays

So, there is kind of an unspoken assumption in ministry. At least this is something I've experienced while serving in Tennessee. It goes like this: Smaller Churches have fewer students therefore there is less work for student pastors to do. Now, anyone who has been around the church for a while will know this just isn't true. I've experienced the exact opposite actually. Larger churches are blessed with the ability to hire interns and a more extensive staff. It isn't uncommon for a larger church to have up to 10 people on a student ministry staff alone. It isn't like that serving in a smaller context and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. Yes, that means that I am involved in every single aspect of our ministry but I honestly love it. I see it as an opportunity to learn and and grow.

This brings me to Fridays. Many pastors take Fridays off because Sunday is considered a work day. I  encourage all student ministers who have this opportunity to do it but sometimes it isn't so easy in a small church is it? When we are blessed to be responsible for the entire ministry there are some weeks when Friday rolls around and there is still work to be done. Take heart! Don't be discouraged during these weeks. It is so easy to get overwhelmed with it all. But I find if I remind myself of my calling it makes those Fridays easier. God is allowing me to be a part of His work in the church! Wow, what a blessing that is.

But this Friday has been a little different itself. This Friday I have had the privilege to serve in my calling in a way that goes above and beyond working in my office at church. I have had the amazing opportunity to serve and take care of my wife Emilee. She just happens to be out of school today. (she's a kindergarten teacher) And she also so happens to be sick. The being sick part is a bummer. But it has set the scene for spending the entire day with her and that is something I love more than anything else. Yes, I do have things to do at the office. Lots of them actually. But, as married pastors our first ministry is to our family. Our families come before the church. Now I've only been doing this married and full time ministry thing for a little over a year but I have learned this: Giving my wife more time than the church makes it easier for us to serve together. Because being a student pastor is, at times, demanding. But when she is at my side serving with me it makes it that much more fulfilling.

What about you? What do your Fridays look like? Do you find it hard balancing time between your family and ministry? I pray that today you will take time to serve your family and to thank God for calling you to work in His church. Even when your weekend is just Saturday!!

Intro #2

For my first blog post I find myself playing a rousing game of spoons while on a mission trip.  I find that a good game of cards, whether it be spoons, sock and shoe, or go fish, can bring together a group of people in amazing ways.  That is one of the things that I love about ministry, it brings tons of different people, from different backgrounds and walks of life, together for one cause.
I'm Daniel, and I serve as a student minister in the same small town as Josh.  I also won't tell you the name of our town for a lot of the same reasons that Josh won't.  But, I will say that we do have a pretty sweet tower at one of the parks here. 
I am pretty new to this whole small town ministry thing.  I did grow up in a small town in east Tennessee, but didn't start serving in ministry until college, which was in a large town at a large church.  I moved to this town in July after being called as the student minster at a local church here. Before, I was serving as an associate middle school minister at a church in middle Tennessee. Before that I had served as an intern at another church in east Tennessee.   Those areas were completely different than the area that I currently live in, and because of the differences, ministry is done differently. Completely different.  I am under a huge learning curve here. Everything that I have learned in ministry is challenged everyday and it is both exciting and tough.  
That is why I wanted to start this blog.  I came into this situation thinking that I had it all figured out, and I will admit, some of my ideas have taken off with flying colors.  But I have also learned that some of the things that go on in much larger areas in much larger churches with much larger budgets are just not feasible, or sensible here.  However, my ministry to these students will have the same eternal impact on my students as my ministry in those churches did.  Therefore it is just as important. Just as Josh said, even though we serve in a small town with a small budget does not mean that our ministries are small.  The numbers may not be that same, but the impact is, and that is something that should not be taken for granted.
So here I am.  I want this blog to be a resource for all those minister out there, whether they be student minister or not, who find themselves in my place.  As Josh said, I want to give advice on things that do work and that don't work on our shoestring budget.  I want to talk about things that go awesomely, and things that flop.  I will try to give some advice on curriculum, events, mentoring, fellowship, and speaking.  I want to be open and honest about my struggles in ministry.  My hope is that you will find this blog helpful.  I hope that you will post comments, suggestions, and questions that you have for us.  
We plan on posting daily, whether it be the two of us or just one of us. Thank you for stopping by. Let us know what you think.

Intro No.1

I'm sitting here this morning staring out my office window at the rain that is pouring down. I mean it is really coming down! Much like it was last night when we were tearing down after our annual See You After the Pole event. We had a great night! Some things happened that we didn't see coming and some things went just as planned. God moved in the hearts of the students and it was an awesome time of worship.

I'm Josh and I serve as a student pastor in a small town in rural west TN. I won't tell you the name of the town for one reason: I don't want hundreds of fans knocking on my door each day after they've read this blog! Just kidding. Seriously though, I really don't want people knocking on my door after the curriculum I suggested didn't go over well with their students or the band I recommended didn't show up on time. (Because we all know up and coming worship bands love to be "fashionably" late...) But, for those of you who love fried food, you just might see me hanging out with students at the World's Biggest Fish Fry.....

A great friend (I'll let him introduce himself later) and I decided to start this blog in order to encourage and help other student pastors who serve in a similar context as us. My goal (once again, I'll let him explain his later) is to hopefully help student pastors in small towns understand that they can still have BIG ministries. Hints the name of the blog. Because God is the same God everywhere right? I mean we say that all the time but we complain that we don't see the same growth as larger churches in more populated areas. If we truly believe that God is the same everywhere then we must also believe He can move in our small town ministries as much as He can move anywhere else.

Through this blog I hope to be able to share things that have helped our ministries as well as things that didn't help so much. We'll be doing things like reviewing curriculum and debriefing events that we did on shoestring budgets. We'll be sharing the joys and frustrations of working in the local church as a student minister. And anything else you would like us to do! All in all I'm hoping we will have the opportunity to network, share ideas, pray for, and encourage all of you other Small Town student ministers who desire a Big Ministry!

p.s.
If any worship bands read this, I'm a worship leader too. And it is kind of cool to be late sometimes! Ha!