Foundations of Student Ministry: Worship by Charles Smith
Why We Do What We Do:
Foundations of Student Ministry
Core Value: Worship
At 2BC and in our Student Ministry, we believe in five foundations of our faith and five essential Christian life practices. You may have heard us talking about these around church as we've studied The Walk by Adam Hamilton. We believe that by living out these essential foundations and letting them guide our thoughts and actions, we can attain abundant life, the life to the fullest that Jesus offers. We build the whole of our student programming and ministry emphases around these foundations. These are the reasons why we do what we do.
A few Sundays ago, our students led our morning worship service. They contributed to every element of the service, crafting the order of worship, choosing the hymns we sang together, participating in special music, offering prayers, bringing the Word of Jesus in honest, authentic, and introspective homilies, and so many other elements. This was a Worship Service, a time to offer praise and thanksgiving to God together as a worshipping community. Worship in this way is a communal act. A chance to come together with the express purpose of glorifying God. Through this, we strengthen our connection to each other and to God as we participate in these worship acts together.
But sometimes, we fall into the trap of thinking worship only happens for one hour on a Sunday morning, and even during that hour, worship is mainly when we sing hymns. But as we've learned from living out this foundation, worship is this and so much more. Adam Hamilton describes worship as "the primary and appropriate response of the creature to the Creator." Worship is our response to the blessings that God has given us:
The blessing of life
The blessing of love
The blessing of breath in our souls
The blessing of blessings
When we look at worship this way, we realize that we actually worship God with our very lives, glorifying God in all our actions and with our very being, what Hamilton calls being a "living hallelujah."
When we live hallelujah lives, God's glory shines through us, allowing us to impact the lives of others, offering God's hope and peace, and giving God's strength and comfort to each other, even if we don't know we are. With our students, we ask them to practice and just try being these beacons of light toward others. Of course, we know it's not easy to do, and we all fall short, but even attempting to do this, to try to live this out, is one of the best ways to capture that abundant life.
We often describe worship as inward, outward, and heavenward. Worship has an inward aspect: a way for us to deepen our understanding of God's love for us and how the Spirit moves in our lives. An outward aspect: connecting us with the lives, values, and perspectives of others, finding ways to be of service to others as we journey together in faith. And a heavenward aspect: an opportunity to offer our praise and thanksgiving for God's blessings and ask for God's comfort, strength, and peace in our lives.
Living a worshipful life is to be renewed, inspired, and offer ourselves to God and others. As we often say to conclude our Invitations to Worship: We worship, together.