There are many perspectives on what's valuable. Value relationships. Value community. Value discipleship. Value worship. Value speaking. Value mission. Value relevance. Value awesomeness. On and on we could go.

There are many perspectives on who how to do youth ministry. Worship, announcements, game, speaking, altar call. Opening song, announcements / welcome, two more songs, message, altar call / closing songs. Worship, message, community groups. On and on we could go.

To try to glean any wisdom from modern youth ministry and the wide gamut of perspectives involved is akin to trying to drink from five fire hydrants stacked on top of each other and pointed to your face. It's dizzying trying to keep up with your students, let alone what you could be doing differently.

One of the best things I've heard in a long time came from Perry Noble:

"Hear from God. Do what He says."

Though some aspects of the ministry world are similar to a business, much of what we do is dependent on us when we Hear from God and do what He says. Modern youth ministry may even laugh in your face when you are given an idea. Hear from God. Do what He says.

I have friends who started in youth ministry by hosting a prayer meeting in a basement. Which grew. And grew. And grew. And grew. 1,400-5,00 in four months. Now at 6,000 people, they're going at it each week.

I have friends who have the most dynamic services you could ever be apart of and in the amount of time they have they cram more in to a service than you would think possible. Their youth ministry makes up 22% of their church.

I have friends who have built their youth ministry with prayer meetings on local campuses. Each campus having a prayer meeting led by one of his students each and every week. At almost 1,000 students, I'd say he's getting after it.

Then you have me. 55+ minutes of a sermon about a genealogy.

No one can tell you how to do youth ministry. In fact, modern youth ministry may point you in the opposite direction of where you feel like you are going. Only one thing matters: Hear from God. Do what He says. Because it doesn't have to work in modern youth ministry. In fact it doesn't have to work anywhere else. It only needs to work where God has called you.