How I Learned to Chase Bigger
Pastor Doug Beutler
When I began full-time ministry in 1982, I had one simple desire: I wanted teenagers to know Jesus.
I joined Youth for Christ (YFC) as the Campus Life Director in Van Wert, Ohio. Our staff was small - an executive director, a secretary, and me. I was young, energetic, competitive, and convinced I could help change the world.
What I didn't realize was that those early years would also teach me how to measure ministry success.
And the lesson I absorbed was simple:
Bigger was better.
Learning the Game of More
The following summer, I attended YFC's three-week training camp. It was an intense experience filled with training in evangelism, Campus Life philosophy, and the history of Youth for Christ.
I learned a lot of valuable things.
But I also began learning what I call the game of more.
If we wanted to influence a school, we needed to reach influential students. We would do "run-throughs" during lunch periods at local high schools, trying to meet students and build relationships.
But we especially wanted to meet the "right" students.
The athletes.
The cheerleaders.
The popular kids.
The students who could attract other students.
The formula was pretty simple:
Meet more students.
Invite more students.
Create better programs.
Attract bigger crowds.
And it worked.
Soon, nearly 100 teenagers were packed into basement meeting rooms every week. We organized trips to Great America, Florida, and countless other events. Students loved it. They invited their friends, and the ministry grew.
I even noticed teenagers leaving their church youth groups because Campus Life seemed more exciting.
At the time, I considered that a win.
The better the program, the bigger the crowd.
The bigger the crowd, the greater the recognition.
The greater the recognition, the more opportunities opened up.
Without realizing it, I was learning to play the game of more.
I loved Jesus. I genuinely cared about teenagers. I wanted them to know Christ.
But another desire was quietly growing alongside those good desires.
I wanted to be successful.
And I was learning to measure success with numbers.
Reaching the Top
My success eventually took me from Van Wert to Elkhart County Youth for Christ and finally to Fort Wayne Area Youth for Christ.
Fort Wayne YFC was considered one of the premier Youth for Christ ministries in the country. Many of the leaders I admired served there.
For me, it felt like reaching the top.
It was also competitive.
Who could reach the most students?
Who could run the biggest club?
Who could create the most exciting program?
Who had the next great idea?
Shortly after arriving, I was assigned to launch a Campus Life Club at Wayne High School.
We kicked off the year with a "Burger Bash."
More than 100 students showed up.
Within the next few months, seven students trusted Christ as their Savior.
I was thrilled.
My club was growing.
Students were coming to Christ.
People were noticing.
Everything seemed to confirm what I already believed:
Bigger meant successful.
Then something happened that I wasn't expecting.
"We Don't Want Those Kids"
I began visiting churches throughout the Wayne High School district. These seven teenagers had trusted Christ, and I wanted to connect them with local churches where they could grow in their new faith.
It seemed like the obvious next step.
Instead, some of the responses broke my heart.
"We don't want those kinds of kids."
"They wouldn't understand what we're studying."
"We're really not equipped for students like that."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
We had worked hard to reach teenagers who didn't know Jesus. They had responded to the gospel. Now they needed a church family where they could belong and learn what it meant to follow Christ.
But the doors weren't opening.
I didn't realize it then, but God was planting a question in my heart that would become incredibly important years later:
What good is gathering a crowd if we aren't prepared to help people become disciple-makers?