Teleos is a Greek word that means, “Reaching a point of maturity that one is able to reproduce after its own kind.” One example of teleos is life. When a human being becomes mature enough they are able to reproduce another human being. When an apple tree ages a certain number of years, it is able to produce fruit after its own kind. God calls Christians to not be idle. You don’t get saved for the sole purpose of going to Heaven. God saves you by his grace so that you may grow up to a point of maturity that you are able to reproduce after your own kind –leading someone else to Christ. We want to create a youth ministry program that nourishes students to a point in their own faith that they are then able to lead another to Christ. That might be a friend, parent, brother or sister, but either way w want to teach them and lead them to a point of maturity that they are able to reproduce after their own kind –Christ followers.
As of today, I have only been at the Ellettsville Christian Church (ECC) less than a week. I am very encouraged by the resources available, the number of eager volunteers and truly faithful and spiritual leadership. ECC and the community are fertile and ready for growth. With all that said, I am taking my ministry here slowly. My tendency is to dump my bag of tricks out in the first year. After the first year, yup, I fizzle. Now the last ministry I served I was there 8 years. But one thing I feel I need to do here is establish such a firm foundation; that the youth ministry program will have serious sustain ability.
We will be meeting with parents of teenagers and students interested in working with students on June 24th. This will be the starting point of teleos ministries. Parents will be given a folder of resources for parenting teenagers, as well as other information needed throughout the year. We will also be able to see who all is gifted and interested in volunteering with us.
I’ve been doing a bunch of reading. Currently I am reading, “The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry” (Zondervan; Donahue, Robinson) “Purpose Driven Youth Ministry” (Zondervan; Fields) “How Teens do Church” (Mike Baker; Baker) “The Ishbane Conspiracy” ( Multnomah; Alcorn)
I am also currently reading through the Bible in a year. There are gazillion resources and plans, but the one I prefer is http://www.biblereadthrough.com. It keeps track of your reading schedule. You can go with the default plan (that’s what I did) or customize your own. It archives your reading, lets you know what percentage of the Bible you’ve read, how many days straight you’ve read, etc. When you log in you click on the reading for the day link and it directs you to http://www.biblegateway.com. It has the books, chapters and verses ready to read. It will even read the passages to you. Biblegateway has several translations and paraphrase Bibles to choose from in many different languages.
My Bible reading today included Ezekiel. I have really enjoyed reading Ezekiel. It took a little while to get into its groove, but man it is so enlightening. If you have ever wondered, “Does God enjoy sending people to Hell?” or that type of thought you need to begin with Ezekiel 18. Today I was reading in Ezekiel 36, specifically verse 23 that says, “…I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes.”
God tells us that when I am set apart in your life… when I am flowing through you then others will that the God we serve is the One True God. How many times am I setting myself apart for no one but myself? How often do I separate from my self and align with God? When He is hallowed and sanctified in my, others will know He is the One True God.
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