If our discipleship of students does not lead to students getting their hands dirty in the lives of other people, we are kidding ourselves about how much discipling we are really doing.

Doing a mission trip to Nicaragua may be a challenge for the typical small church. (Don’t rule it out. No telling what God will do.) But that doesn’t change the fact that our youth ministry has to involve students in ministry. Simple forms of ministry are cool. Collect food for a food bank. Send shoes to a mission in Mexico. Serve a meal at a homeless shelter. But get kids involved in doing the gospel.

We sometimes overlook the most important things. Prayer is not just a precursor to ministry; it is ministry. At my church this Sunday, we gave the kids some pizza and took about eight of them to the high school and middle school campuses in our community. We talked about the power of prayer and how to pray. Then, we gave each of them a partner and sent them around the school to be prayer warriors for the students, faculty, and staff at their schools.

Prayerwalking is a simple ministry that advances the kingdom in at least two ways. First, God really does choose to move when we pray. Second, our students are more aware of the spiritual needs as they go back to school on Sunday. They will be quicker to pray . . . and quicker to speak a word for Christ.