What LEGO Taught Me About Youth Ministry

I love Lego! I believe that everyone should have a Lego room in their house. I’m even crazier about Star Wars Legos. To me Star Wars Legos are like putting peanut butter and chocolate together, ham and cheese, bologna and ketchup… okay maybe not the last one. I’ve been playing with Legos since I can remember. They have always been in my life at some point. When my dad got a permanent change of station (PCS) in the Army I carted a blue tub of Legos in our station wagon from Texas to Virginia. When I went to college that same tub was in my desk drawer. Legos have taught me a lot and while I was thinking about it they have taught me a lot about youth ministry. Here are a few of things about youth ministry that Legos helped me figure out.

Nobody plays with Legos the same way.

I had a friend early on that had a massive Lego city in his attic. I went up and I’m talking about streets of Legos. He had the airport, houses, the police station, and I think a hospital too. I was ecstatic to play with them. I reached for them but my hand was pulled away. These Legos were not for play but for show. Seriously? I left the house thinking how could anyone play with Legos like that. What I waste. However, there was nothing wrong with how my friend played with Lego’s it was simply his preference to play with Legos differently than me. In ministry, no two pastors are identical. No pastoral staff is made up of clones. No volunteer team always thinks the same way. And that’s okay. It’s a healthy thing and not something to eliminate. Your teams are filled with people who are not like you. They don’t engage in youth ministry the same way that you do. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play with them. And for me, I kept going over to my friend’s house. Sure I hated standing there and looking at the Legos but I was with my friend and that mattered more than how we played.

Sometimes there are no instructions.

Lego sets always come with instructions. However, they are not always spelled out for you. They are pictures that flow with a step on, two, three, etc. However, the directions are not literally spelled out word for word. Nobody tells you precisely what to do. And you know what? Ministry is just like that. God has given us His game plan in His Word. He had filled in the necessary parameters. Told us to always err on the side of love and grace. However, He didn’t necessarily give you step-by-step directions for how to handle that boy who has excessive ADHD and cannot focus on your message to save their life (disclaimer: I have ADD and am in no way picking on students with ADHD. I love students with Attention Deficit Disorder… what was I talking about… oh look chips!) Crunch Crunch… yum. Okay… where was I? Right. When ministering to your students listen to the Holy Spirit. God hasn’t given their parents an instruction manual and He hasn’t given youth leaders on either. Sometimes there are no instructions and we can only see the half formed pictures of their life. Just start building.

Things break.

There isn’t a more terrible feeling in the world than putting that last Lego piece in place and then shifting your fingers only to drop the entire creation from your hands. The world moves in slow motion as your Lego labor of love comes crashing down on the hardwood floor and instantly sprays bricks and pieces everywhere… some will never be seen again until the vacuum finds them. If you’re in youth ministry long enough you’re going to break things. You’re going to drop the ball. You’re going to drop something especially if you’re trying to hold it all together. Only Jesus holds everything together. However, after sufficient tears have passed you get down and collect the pieces and start building it over again. It might look different. Some of the pieces may be missing, but you love building, creating, and restoring. I think God loves those things too! Things will break. Your life and the lives of your students will break. Thank goodness for God’s word and the instructions He gave us for when things fall apart.

Lego bricks are simple toys. There are seemingly endless colors and varieties and you can almost build anything with them. I’m thankful for what Lego helped me see about youth ministry. Toys and games help inform us about the world around us. They impress and help shape the lives of your students. What childhood game or toy has shaped your life and ministry?