The CORE of Servant Leadership

The "CORE Group", in the College Ministry at Valley Bible, refers to our student leadership team. Currently, we have 5 students who have been faithfully attending since last year. We also have three adult leaders sit in on the meetings, including myself, Kathy, and Aliza. We meet about every other week at my house at 4pm before ROCK group Bible study. 

Our meetings are generally two-fold in their purpose. First we will attempt to address the topic of leadership from a biblical perspective and develop and discuss what it takes to be a servant leader. For the other half of our time, we will focus on the many different faucets of the work in ministry.

Some of the specific areas in which we focus our time, attention, and efforts on in the ministry are as follows...

1. Caring for Believers, which may entail discipling and counseling other believers, praying for the group, meeting up with fellow students, contacting students who are away for the semesters, and cultivating loving relationships with others.

2. Teaching the Word, which may entail Bible studies on Friday nights, ROCK Sunday school classes, Coffee Connections for the ladies, guy/girl split teaching times, retreats, and more.

3. Evangelizing the Lost, which may entail supporting the Go Ministry, planning our own days to share the gospel in the community, organizing summer evangelism for VBC activities/events, being actively involved in cross-cultural missions, and more.

4. Arranging Activities and Events, which may entail planning, organizing, and implementing various activities, events, outings, retreats, and service opportunities throughout the year to stimulate group unity and rich fellowship.

5. Ministering through Music, which may entail practicing, playing, and leading the ROCK group in worship on Friday nights, for retreats, for special events or activities, for Ignite, and more.

Over the years that I have been a leader in the ROCK group, there has been a challenging trend that we have been faced with in the ROCK group: The fewer the opportunities for the students to serve and to take on responsibilities, the fewer students will be faithfully committed to serving in the college ministry from semester to semester. Now, I take this on myself. I have only until recently realized the joy, the blessing, and the fulfillment the students share in as they serve among their peers. 

Now we are all called to serve like Christ, and we are all progressively maturing in our faith because the indwelling Holy Spirit, but having opportunities laid out right before us helps immensely with direction and a plan for serving others. These responsibilities give the student a sense of ownership, accountability, and involvement in the group. 

May we all realize more fully and remember more frequently that living the Christian life is not about getting or being served by others, but about giving of ourselves and serving till we are absolutely spent for the sake of others. Only then may we be living the abundant Christian life and living as Christlike examples of servant leadership.

Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

2 Corinthians 12:15 says, "I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls."

Philippians 2:3–5 says, "Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus."