I have a confession to make…as a youth ministry veteran I am very lack in a crucial area of youth ministry and that is video gaming. However, I just purchased a new PS3 and with it I purchased the must have game…Modern Warfare. I am really bad at this game. I play with Sean Gajda and Skyler Alexander and it is immensely embarrassing. Although I am getting better…no really.
This morning during staff devotions Pastor Cal spoke on Spiritual Warfare and I slipped into a daze of video games and youth ministry…during that daze I thought of some pretty cool parallels of MW2 and youth ministry…enjoy.
The grenade is a crucial weapon for beginners. One press of a trigger and when someone is shooting you they go out as well. It is a bush league move but it works. This is the easiest weapon to use. You don’t have to aim, you don’t have to have any skill. You just lob away and watch the impact. This is done in youth ministry often. I am the king of it actually. You see we have a youth ministry that runs between 300 and 400 students. I stand on the stage and lob my grenades with spunk! It takes no more than a solid message and a good delivery and throw in some funny jokes and BAM! Impact. You get a lot of people that way but often you leave a mess as well. There is very little chance of follow up and if a student heard a scripture wrong (or God forbid you misquoted scripture) there is often little chance of correcting that perception. So a great weapon for large impact but also must be handled carefully and SHOULD not be the only weapon in your arsenal.
The sniper rifle drives me crazy! By the time I find a good location and get a bead on someone I am playing against someone else already finds me and pegs me in the forehead. This is an extremely powerful weapon that has huge advantages if you are willing to be patient and learn to use it. This ministry is discipleship and accountability. It means looking at a student and talking with them and not at them. It means hurting when they fail not getting angry. It means long talks over a coke about a struggle that they fell to AGAIN. There is little chance of collateral damage and has an almost 100% success rate…even if they don’t get it now the time you pour into them will resonate for years/decades to come.
The annoying thing about playing this game with people who are “gamers” is that they know all the cool hiding places and the cool shortcuts to sneak up behind you and get you. Knowing your terrain is vital in youth ministry. Who are your kids? What is their background? How does your ministry experience line up with your students? Knowing them is knowing what to teach them and how. Knowing the terrain of your area will keep you from making rookie mistakes and having endless foolish conversations with parents because of a seemingly benign comment. What can be said in Atlanta may be taboo in Augusta. What is perfectly fine in Charleston may be out of the question in Greenville. Your maps are important.
I am still learning this game. I am trying to get my kill rate up and am learning my maps and weapon strategies. I want to make an impact everytime I get in the game. Wait…what game did you think I was talking about?
Sean Rheaume 