Author: Tom Bachman

Looking back at 34 years of youth ministry, it’s amazing how many things I’ve been able to learn. It’s good to sometimes look back and see how the Lord has directed our path. In the beginning of my ministry career, I based my success on things like how many students showed up, did they engage, did they come back, was my message articulated clearly? These weren’t necessarily bad, but momentary success didn’t always result in a transformed life. I wish I could say that ministry was fully intentional, but many of the things happened quite by accident, at least...

“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”Proverbs 27:17 When I was 17 years old, my Youth Pastor, Jon Davis, would preach on having good Biblical relationships with the opposite sex. I heard those messages over and over, and they helped form a Biblical view of how I should live out my life. However, when I turned 18, I started dating. I’d never had a girlfriend before, so this “relationship” was stretching me, and I felt like I had no one I could talk to. One day, Jon Davis, Jeff Winters and I were chatting, when Jeff asked, “Pastor...