On Men in Ministry

On Men in Ministry
By: Jenn Carver, YG counselor (2003-Present)

Read: John 13:34-35

Ben has done a lot of things in the past decade as youth pastor at WCAC. One of the most important lessons I learned from him he probably doesn’t even know he taught me. I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned it to him, though I’ve told others. Ben was really instrumental in redeeming my view on men in ministry. How you ask? By being a living example of God’s love as a male leader in the church.

To put it very mildly, up until I first came to WCAC and started helping in the youth group back in 2003 I had never had a good experience working with men in ministry. Over the last several years it’s probably been a combination of things that God did through him to change my perspective. He’s been very encouraging: as a leader he’s been encouraging us to bring up new ideas for ministry, he’s good at giving feedback, and he’s been flexible enough to allow other leaders freedom to pursue new activities within the youth group when they felt God was leading them. As a pastor I knew that he really loved and cared about the youth in our church. He cares about their growth and development as Christian young people, as future leaders in the church, and it shows in the time that he spends on a weekly basis, in all the little details of ministry, and in the lives of the youth. For me, I could always tell that Ben’s faith was legit because of the love he showed to others which overflowed from his love for Christ.

One of the other ways God used him to change my view of men in ministry was his openness to the leading of God as a visionary. Watching him in the last several years I see that God has used him to put a lot of new things into the way youth ministry is done at WCAC, things that I think have really helped benefit the youth. Stuff like from the way we do Coffeehouse, to our focus on in depth Bible discussion in BDG’s to his push for discipleship in the youth group, to mission trips and retreats. I’ve seen God do a lot of work through Ben’s willingness to listen to Him.

Read 1 Timothy 4:12

One of the most influential things about Ben that God has used to teach me this lesson is through Ben’s integrity. I almost can’t say how important this has been in words, because it’s just that important. Ben is a righteous man who loves God and cares for others. Until coming to WCAC I didn’t think that combination was possible in men on a continual basis. I’m glad to say that God showed me I was wrong; and I’m glad that he used such a good older brother in the faith to show me this. To say that working with Ben over the last several years is a privilege would be diminishing the significance of his impact on my life. Working with Ben has been a redeeming blessing that has shaped and will continue to shape my life and my views on ministry. Thanks God for Ben!