Participation Trophy

Pray

Game

Quick Clothespin

Leader Instructions

Stores usually sell clothespins in bunches of fifty. If your budget allows, buy two sets of them.

Get a couple of contestants, put thirty seconds on a timer, and see how many clothespins each of them can attach to themselves before time runs out. They can put them on the edge of their shirt, or in their hair, or wherever!

Our record is thirty-six. Good luck!

If this gets boring, tell them they have to attach them to their heads to get credit. That includes their mouths, ears, hair, etc.

Say This

Perry and Darius come to the front of the room.

I have thirty seconds on the timer. How many of these clothespins do you think you can get attached to yourselves in that time?

I think it’s impossible to get them all on you. There’s a major prize if you can get them all attached to you in some way. Go!

Lesson

I will do a quick review of 1 Timothy to emphasize Paul’s mentor relationship to Timothy.

I’ll have someone write student answers on the board.

What are some concepts from 1 Timothy that stood out to you guys?

Do you have, or wish you had, a relationship like Paul and Timothy’s? Why do you think these kinds of relationships are important?

Participation Trophies

Some generations of people have fought in world wars, endured hardship and famine, and severe poverty.

Then there are those generations that receive participation trophies for every event, even if they don’t actually participate in the event itself. This is my generation.

My generation, and probably your generation, is hard to critique. We don’t call people out based on their strengths and weaknesses but on their strengths and opportunities. Isaac told me of posters around Libby that say The Power of Yet. It’s a cute way of saying “You’re not good enough, yet.”

Both of our generations are in desperate need of older saints to come alongside us. We need rebuke from saints with soft hearts but hardened nerves. We need reliable and trustworthy feedback. Sometimes we need that feedback in the form of tough criticism or a hard word.

But we also need positive feedback. Hearing “you’ll never be good enough” for most of your Christian life just isn’t helpful or even true. You aren’t good enough on your own, without a doubt. Christ has made you enough by His goodness though. Helpful encouragement from other ministers builds up young people like you and me (yes, I still think I’m young) in a beautiful way.

Ministers

If you are a Christian, you are a minister. Remember what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians:

Ephesians 4:11–16 ESV

11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers are there for saints to do ministry! If you are a saints, you do ministry. You may not be an apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd, or teacher, but you are a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, and to one another.

Growing as a Minister

The only way that I am the person that I am is because of people who came alongside me and critiqued me and encouraged me. Even now, I need that same kind of correction and uplifting. I’m grateful for harsh critiques, even when they are wrong, because they turn me to the Lord and His Word for wisdom. I’ve been built up in my ministry by men who have affirmed my gifting and given me opportunities to practice it.

Much like how Paul built Timothy up.

5 Ways to Mentor and Be Mentored

Here are five things we can look at with Paul and Timothy and the mentorship between them that we can receive and apply.

1. Paul Helped Timothy Improve His Gifts

1 Timothy 4:13–14 ESV

13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you.

As young ministers, we have spiritual gifts! However, we may not always know what they are, or how to grow in them to bless others. Mentors can affirm and confirm your gifts and steer you away from areas that you aren’t really gifted by the Spirit in. Likewise, since you are all growing as ministers, you should also do well at encouraging one another in things that you do well.

This can be anything from a character trait you appreciate, or a skill or desire that you see reflects the work of God in someone.

2. Paul Showed Timothy the Importance of Ministry

I don’t think Paul has ever been accused of being too polite or “soft” in his letters. He is quick to charge Timothy with the importance of Timothy’s ministry.

1 Timothy 1:18 ESV

18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare,

There are a few of these charges in his letters to Timothy. They are scary sounding too! There is nothing less than the lives of people on the line afterall. That’s the consequence of good and bad ministry alike. The soul’s of people.

Usually, older saints understand the weight of ministry. Remember, if you are a Christian, you are a minister. Mentors understand the eternal nature of life and the grace of Christ in ways younger Christians haven’t fully grasped.

You example, as a future older saint, requires you to look at how people have helped you realize the importance of being a minister. Help encourage and strengthen the nerves of people around you.

3. Paul Loves Timothy

Remember what Paul called Timothy?

1 Timothy 1:2 ESV

2 To Timothy, my true child in the faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

Years of ministry together bonded these two together. It’s like family. Sometimes people assume their love for one another. Paul doesn’t assume it, but makes sure that Timothy knows it with the warmth of a father.

Encouragement requires love. Your car doesn’t run without oil and encouragement doesn’t run without love. Does your mentor love you? Do you show love to those who look up to you right now as their mentor? You will be surprised what can happen when you stop withholding your love from people. You may get to participate in the discipleship of the next D.L. Moody or Billy Graham.

4. Paul Commends Timothy to Others

When you read Paul’s other letters, you’ll see him talking highly about Timothy to the people and churches he wrote to. He wants them to appreciate Timothy’s ministry. He honors the work that Timothy and commends timothy to others.

This isn’t flattery or lip service. It’s encouraging to receive private affirmation, but it is instructive to give public affirmation. When a mentor publically expresses trust to a younger man, they bolster their confidence in a way private affirmation can’t.

Do you build up others in front of people? In private? When you do, you are setting an example for others to follow.

5. Paul Includes Timothy in His Ministry

Paul proobably included Timothy in his missionary service when he was a teenager. Maybe early 20’s. He basically licensed him for ministry, and taught him how to be a pastor and missioanry. He even included Timothy’s names in his letters to the Corinthians, Philippians, and Thessalonians. He shared his ministry with Timothy and treated him as a co-laborer.

Faithful pastors care about their ministries. When you bring someone into your ministry to train them and have them work alongside you it helps keep the ministry from being “yours alone.” It’s humbling. It also extends the ministry beyond yourself. It increases the longevity and fruit of where the gospel can go.

Who are you working with? Who is working with you?

Conclusion

We have a great opportunity here to grow as ministers of the gospel. Young people like myself and younger need the help of faithful older saints. We need opportunities to drive the car of ministry so we are safe on the road.

You are going to be a mentor if you aren’t already for someone. Find a good one to follow so that you can set a similar example for others. Start today.

Announcements

– No Youth Group on April 5th

– Introduce Brandon Gregory