Ep 120: One Teenager Can Change Everything! (w/ Josh Wade)

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What is the real value of youth 
ministry? 

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Our guest will tell us all about
that here in just a bit. 

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Welcome to the show. 
I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for 

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your Sunday morning drive. 
The short podcast with the goal 

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of providing some motivation, 
Dr. and encouragement and 

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helping you recenter your mind 
on those spiritual thing on a 

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Sunday morning just like this or
whenever you listen. 

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Our guest today is Josh Wade. 
Josh is the youth minister at 

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the 9th Ave. 
Church of Christ in Haleyville, 

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Alabama. 
He's worked with Western 

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Kentucky Youth Camp for several 
summers as an intern. 

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And when I asked if there was 
anything special I could share 

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with you today, Josh 
specifically called out both 

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Western Kentucky Youth Camp and 
Maywood Christian Camp as great 

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places to send your kids. 
I really appreciate Josh for 

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taking some time out of his busy
summer to contribute to the 

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show. 
As you're about to hear. 

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He did a fantastic job with his 
episode. 

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It's my prayer for you today 
that you listen to his heart as 

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it comes through his words. 
And if you maybe have been 

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critical of youth ministry in 
the past, I hope you take some 

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time to re evaluate Josh. 
Thank you for joining us. 

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This is episode 121. 
Teenager can change everything. 

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Let's go to church. 
Are we there yet? 

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I love being a youth minister. 
Teenagers can be a lot. 

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They can be loud, they can be 
busy, they could be 

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unpredictable and yes, they can 
test our patience. 

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But I don't love being a youth 
minister because of all the 

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games, the trips and the 
retreats that we do. 

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I love being a youth minister 
because I believe there's 

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something incredible sitting 
inside of every teenager today. 

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The next generation of elders, 
preachers, Bible class teachers,

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missionaries, faithful moms and 
dads. 

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They are all sitting in our 
youth rooms today, and if we can

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help them develop a faith that 
is real while they're young, 

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there's no telling what God can 
do through them for decades to 

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come. 
One of my biggest concerns about

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Christianity is that it becomes 
so easy to settle for being 

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spiritually average. 
We convince ourselves that if we

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go to worship, we go to Bible 
class, we read a verse or two 

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during the week and try to avoid
the really big sins, then we're 

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doing OK. 
And so over time, Christianity 

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has evolved into a checklist. 
But Jesus never called us to a 

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checklist. 
He says, I want you to deny 

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yourself, take up your cross and
follow me. 

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He never intended Christianity 
to be a performance where we 

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simply act the part of a 
Christian. 

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He intended being a Christian to
completely transform our hearts.

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Romans chapter 12 and verse 2 
says do not be conformed to this

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world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. 

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Transformation changes how we 
think. 

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It changes what we do. 
It changes what we pursue, what 

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we love, and who we become. 
Jesus tells the Church of 

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Laodicea in Revelation chapter 
3. 

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I know your works. 
You are neither cold nor hot. 

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He's talking to a group of 
people who had become 

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comfortable, people who are 
religious enough to keep showing

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up but not passionate enough to 
truly live for him. 

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And if we're honest, that's one 
of the greatest dangers facing 

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Christians today. 
It's comfort. 

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It's easy to become satisfied 
with the phrase. 

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That's good enough. 
That's one of the reasons I love

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being a youth minister so much. 
Teenagers are at a stage in 

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their life where their faith is 
still being shaped. 

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That means that every 
conversation that we have with 

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them has to be intentional. 
Every Bible class, bus ride, 

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devotional, campfire, youth 
rally, service project, every 

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conversation matters. 
Those moments may seem ordinary,

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but often those are the moments 
where God is doing extraordinary

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things. 
I can honestly say that youth 

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ministry shaped my life. 
My dad was my youth minister, so

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I've been around it my entire 
life. 

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But it wasn't just because he 
was my youth minister, it was 

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the youth group. 
It was seeing older Christians 

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and other teenagers who weren't 
perfect, but genuinely loved and

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wanted to follow Jesus Christ. 
Those experiences showed me that

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Christianity wasn't just 
something you did on a Sunday. 

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It became who you are. 
And that's exactly what I want 

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to help create for the next 
generation. 

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I don't expect every teenager I 
work with to become a full time 

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minister, but I do hope they 
become Christians whose faith is

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real. 
Christians who love Jesus enough

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that it changes the way that 
they date, the way they talk, 

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how they treat people, how they 
raise their future families, and

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how they serve in his church. 
Because one teenager who catches

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fire for Christ can influence 
hundreds of people over the 

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course of their life. 
That's why I would encourage 

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every parent listening to this. 
Don't underestimate the value of

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a youth event. 
I know that life gets busy and 

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sports are demanding and school 
is overwhelming and schedules 

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fill up fast. 
But every time you prioritize 

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opportunities for your kids to 
spiritually grow, you're making 

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an investment that could last 
forever. 

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Sometimes parents ask me, is 
that youth trip really worth it?

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And I would answer it with 
another question. 

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What if that's the weekend that 
your son finally decides to make

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his faith his own? 
What if that's the retreat where

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your daughter realizes that 
she's not alone in her 

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struggles? 
What if that's the camp where a 

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conversation with a counselor 
changes the direction of their 

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life? 
You simply never know. 

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Some of the biggest spiritual 
decisions people make happen 

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away from home, surrounded by 
other Christians studying God's 

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Word together. 
Those moments matter. 

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At the end of the day, youth 
ministry isn't about keeping 

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teenagers entertained. 
It's about making disciples. 

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It's about helping them discover
that following Jesus isn't a 

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checklist to complete. 
It's a life to surrender. 

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My prayer is that our churches 
never settle for producing 

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lukewarm Christians. 
Instead, I pray that we raise 

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young people up whose faith is 
genuine, who love Christ and 

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their love for Christ is 
contagious, and whose lives 

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point others to Him. 
Because when one person, one 

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young person, catches fire for 
Jesus, there is no telling how 

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many lives they may impact for 
the Kingdom. 

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That is why I love being a youth
minister. 

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Josh shared some fantastic 
thoughts today. 

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Now it's time to talk about 
them. 

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Our discussion questions for 
this week are who invested in 

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your faith when you were younger
and how did they impact your 

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life? 
Parents, do we take our kids 

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involvement in youth ministry 
less seriously than the secular 

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things in life? 
And how can our congregation 

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better encourage and invest in 
the next generation of 

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Christians? 
Oh, and here's Evelyn with this 

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week's kids question. 
Choose someone that has helped 

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you learn more about Jesus and 
what have they taught you. 

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Hey, thanks for listening. 
Thanks for taking time out of 

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your week to listen to us. 
Get your kids involved. 

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It'll make a world of difference
to their faith. 

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Let's work for Jesus and change 
the world together. 

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Keep up the work. 
I'll see you Sunday.