You may not know me but I am the new associate pastor of Student Ministries at First Baptist Church in Minot. I started at this position on Jan.1 but have had the privilege of working with First Baptist for three out of the past four summers.
I believe in the vision of our elders and I feel God is doing tremendous things through the life of First Baptist Church right now. I am so thankful to live in this city and to get to work with the pastoral staff at First Baptist and the other pastors that are around the area.
As I reflect on God's goodness to me over the past few years, one of the biggest blessings he has put in my life are the youth here in Minot. I believe that students are not just the future of the church; they are people God has gifted to serve right now.
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Pastor Blake Everett
Do you look at your students as leaving childhood or entering adulthood? I have often thought that games and activities would be enough to keep students occupied, but I am finding out every day that they have a longing and a desire to deepen their relationship with Christ. They have a desire to know why they should believe what we say they should believe. They desire to have this God that their parents talk about become real in their life, just as he is real in the life of their parents.
Are we equipping these students to go out into the real world one day with their own their faith, not just the faith of their parents? Recent statistics tell us that around 80 percent of our students will leave the church at least for a season when they graduate high school. This should lead us to really think about discipleship as it relates to students.
I want to raise up an army of students who love God and who will take the Gospel to the nations, but will also take it to their neighbor. God is doing something good in the lives of students around Minot. The question is, will the church rise to the occasion and help mold these students into what God would have them to be? Or, will we sit back and let the culture mold them into something that "the father of this world" (Satan) wants them to be? I pray that we will be active in the lives of our young people and be the examples that we are called to be.
One opportunity you have to impact the youth of the city is to invite a student to attend a community youth event in April with Mike Hagen and "The Strength Team." This public event will be held in the gymnasium at First Baptist on April 30 at 7 p.m. Through amazing feats of strength, these bodybuilders will share stories of faith and communicate the Good News of Jesus. I hope to meet you at this event. For more information on the Strength Team, visit (www.strengthteam.com).
God bless.
Pastor Blake Everett serves as a pastor at First Baptist Church in Minot.