“Greater Things” Thursdays #4 – Young Men’s Services

At Lebanon Road, our 2011 theme is “Greater Things.” To read more about it, click here. Each Thursday, we are trying to promote that theme with an area of work or service in which we can strive for, well, greater things!

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Those “fifth Sundays.” For some reason, months which contain five Sundays always seem to change Church calendars. Some have special contributions, while others have guest speakers. There are usually four such months in the year (every so often, there are 5).

At Lebanon Road, we are always encouraged on 5th Sunday nights, as our worship services are led by our young men. They conduct the entire service, and they always do an excellent job.

Most of the time, 2 or 3 of our young men share the preaching duties, but, with the help of our youth minister, J.D. Buckner, they have a theme on which they are preaching. The lessons are always well-developed, and each young man presents things that are helpful. I am always impressed with the amount of Scripture that is used in these lessons, but also how these young men have thought about helpful applications to every day life.

We also have young men who lead us in singing, lead the prayers, and read Scripture. Oftentimes, another young man is even running the PowerPoint system. All of these do their work with excellence and help us worship God, while they gain valuable experience in leading worship.

One of the best things I can share, though, is that our young men’s service is not the only time our young men lead! They are regularly seen helping on the Lord’s table, leading prayers, reading Scripture, and leading singing (especially on singing nights). I am thankful that these young Christian men are in our “regular rotation” of leaders, but that they also have a special night where they can focus their attention and gain even more experience.

This coming Sunday night will be one of our young men’s services, and I hope we have many with us. It is a great night to worship God, and to show great encouragement to these young men who are gaining such important experience.

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Now, how can we make these even greater? Here are 3 quick suggestions:

1. We can encourage! If you are present for one of these services, don’t just walk out the back door. Take a few moments and thank these young men for their preparation, and encourage them in their service.

2. We can participate! Sing out just as enthusiastically as you would when anyone else leads. Follow along in your Bible during the reading and the sermons. Nothing is more disheartening that trying to lead and seeing people obviously not participating.

3. We can encourage more young men to participate (and, of course, we can strive to convert more leaders, too)! Some aren’t preachers or song leaders, and that’s okay! Some are PowerPoint “projectors,” while others are excellent at reading Scripture aloud. If you see a young man with a talent, encourage him to participate. His talents are useful in the kingdom, and we need to encourage him to use them to God’s glory.