Plumbline #3: Live Sufficiently, Give Extravagantly
My Pastor often says that “generosity is contagious, and so is greed.” There is such depth to that statement. We believe here at the Summit Church that the blessings God gives us are meant not only for our enjoyment, but also to leverage for good of others as we seek to be like Jesus as he leveraged his life for us.
What this means for our Student Ministry here at the Summit Church
- Our staff will work hard to live a life of generosity in front of our students. That means that there is accountability in our giving to the local church and the way we handle our personal finances, among many other things.
- We teach our students that the gospel is bigger than the collecting of things (which is a false gospel by the way.)
- On the flip side, we will model and teach our students that God does give us things for our enjoyment. Period. So enjoy them and worship God for them.
- Give your students an opportunity to give themselves away (ex: serve locally in a soup kitchen, give financially to a family in need, go on a mission trip, plan their college career around church planting, etc.)
Plumbline #2: We Never Stop Learning
One of the things we say around here at The Summit Church is that we’ll learn from just about anybody. The reality is that a good leader is always learning. They are always open to the ideas of others and take their input with a generous spirit. Here at The Summit Church, we care deeply about creating a culture among our staff and within our ministries a culture of giving and receiving godly feedback. Without it, we’ll wither up and die.
How this Affects our Student Ministry:
- We’re always praying and asking God to help us learn from others within our ministry and in other ministries around the country. God has really allowed me to learn from some great guys in ministry that have really helped shape the way we do ministry here with our students! (Brad Cooper, Clayton King, Matt Lawson, Brian Mills, the fellas out at Mars Hill, Chuck Thompson, Matt Rice, etc..) I’ve used some of the approaches these guys have taken to get a point across, to train my volunteers, to greet first time guests, and to connect with parents. Learn from others!
- Learning from others produces self evaluation. When we learn from others, it often causes us to evaluate our programming, our strategies, our gifting, our passion, etc.
- Replicating is not the same as Learning. Here’s where we get caught. We often try and rip things off from other churches because it “works” there. Learning from others is not carbon copying their ministry to yours. When you begin to replicate, you begin to rely on their godliness, their creativity, and their leadership to take your ministry to the next level and not the grace of God!