Every so often, we need to remind ourselves what this thing is all about—“this thing” being youth ministry, in particular, and the Christian walk, in general.

I suggest we could boil the whole thing down to one word: love.

Given your theological background or personal gift mix, you might feel strongly that any number of things is the ultimate purpose or goal of youth ministry, such as evangelism, worship, missions, service, discipleship or teaching.

However, all of these functions of ministry are the result of the larger, more important driving force of love. Here’s how we know.

Scripture
Each passage below represents one of the directions love can flow: from God to us, from us to God, or between us and others. As you read, focus on the direction you observe, and jot down your reaction to what’s happening in the passage. If you need more information about the Scripture context, take a minute to read it from your Bible.

Genesis 3:21 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.

Psalm 6:4 “Turn, O LORD, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 14:21 “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”

Romans 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 16:14 Let all that you do be done in love.

Think About It
When it comes to the subject of love, there are myriad verses we could look at. The verses above display love from nearly every angle via examples, descriptions, instructions and promises. We see some familiar and some maybe less familiar passages.

In Genesis 3, we see the fallen world’s first exposure to divine love, as well as a practical example of God’s love. In Psalms 6, we see one of the most common adjectives used to describe God’s love throughout the psalms: “unfailing” (NIV).

In John 3:16, we see the most famous (for good reason) declaration of love, and you can’t get more comprehensive than 1 Corinthians 16:14 or more boiled down than 1 John 4:8.

Apply It
Without love, each one of ministry’s important functions runs the risk of morphing into its worst possible caricature. Evangelism can turn people into projects. Worship is reduced to a cue-driven production. Outreach and missions become exercises in self-gratification.

Discipleship and teaching can become boring at best—prideful at worst—unless love drives everything. So why not give it a try? Let love define your ministry agenda, plan your calendar, determine mission projects, and shape your evangelism and discipleship efforts. Or, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:14, “Do everything in love.”

Love: what “this thing” is all about.