Being relational is one of our core values as a middle school ministry. I was recently reading an article in Group Magazine that asked lots of respected youth leaders from around the country (no, I wasn't one of them; no respect) what was the one thing that makes student ministry successful (of course I'm paraphrasing). I wasn't surprised by the answers, almost all of them talked about building relationships through small groups led by a God-loving adult. In working in student ministry for a while I think that is a no brainer answer... it is what we exist for. My own sunday school testimony (to coin a phrase from FAITH) is linked to a student leader named Patrick Kyle who built a relationship with me the first time I stepped on campus at Colonial Heights Baptist Church, he was the greatest influence to keep me coming back to church.

One of the things that was surprising to me is the consistency of the answer. Some of these ministries have over 1000 middle school students and the biggest thing they do is also the smallest. That is important. We have a lot of roles in our middle school ministry: the minister, the secretary, the master teacher, the band, the sound guys, the game helpers, etc. but the biggest and most important role that all of those play is relationship builder! As you plug into whatever spot you hold, remember the most important thing about that spot are the students that are around you. Get to know them, invest in them, love on them and the returns will be great.