Many leaders feel it long before they name it.
There is the quiet pressure to keep students engaged in a world saturated with content. Leaders subtly compare themselves to other ministries, events, or experiences that seem louder, bigger, or more exciting. In the back of their minds are the unspoken metrics that creep in like the energy in the room, attendance numbers, or the emotional reactions.
Beneath that pressure often sits a deeper fear:
What if this isn’t enough?
Will they get bored and not return?
What if faithful work goes unnoticed?
These questions are not signs of weak leadership. They are the natural result of caring deeply about young people and wanting their faith to take root. Before offering any solutions or critiques, it matters to name this reality honestly. The question many leaders are really asking is not how to be flashier or more exciting. What they are actually asking is how we form faith over time.
Whether it is the six-foot beach ball, the rock climbing wall, a highly stylized and engaging message, brilliant smoke and lights, or the latest local band playing at your event, flash can take many forms. Flash can make it feel easier to get young people into the room while also adding excitement. Most disturbing and truthful is that when it comes right down to it, flash can make leaders feel good about their work.
It is easy to understand why we feel the need for something big or unforgettable in our event or program. Young people have plenty of options to keep themselves entertained or occupied. Combine this reality with our desire to feel successful, impress our supervisors and volunteers, then it becomes clear why we are so pulled toward flashy elements.
Although it can feel easier, building a ministry around spectacle rarely leads to long-term faith formation. What is shiny on the outside can often be hollow on the inside. Young people drawn primarily by flash are seldom prepared to engage the deeper questions of faith, doubt, and life that eventually surface.
If leaders listen carefully to the stories young people tell over time, they rarely center on these flashy moments. While students may initially mention a wild game or exciting event, their memories tend to shift toward experiences that carried deeper meaning.
One young adult, reflecting on their time in youth ministry, once shared, “I’m so glad you and my small group leader loved me even when I was difficult to be around.” That statement reveals what truly carries weight. Faith is often formed not in moments of excitement, but in experiences of being known and held with care.
Across countless stories, one theme remains consistent: the lasting impact of faithful presence. It may be the adult volunteer who patiently teaches students how to run the sound board each week, slowly building their confidence. Or the small group leader who sits with a student through heartbreak, without rushing the conversation or offering easy answers.
The Christian story itself affirms the power of presence. Each year at Christmas, the church celebrates God drawing near. When people face hardship, they are reminded of Christ’s promise that the Holy Spirit remains with them. Presence, not performance, has always been central to faith and it continues to shape young people more deeply than any well-executed event.
Trust is formed slowly, through consistency rather than spectacle. Young people learn whether faith is trustworthy by watching who shows up when things are repetitive, uncomfortable, or unresolved. In those moments, their theology truly begins to take shape.
When leaders return week after week, listen without rushing to fix, and make room for honest questions, belief begins to form. Over time, these consistent practices create conditions for faith to grow in a meaningful and life-transforming way. Without trust, even the most compelling message struggles to endure.
Faith formation rarely unfolds in a single unforgettable moment. Instead, it develops through repeated encounters with Scripture, prayer, service, community, and reflection. These moments accumulate, shaping a young person’s imagination and understanding of God, the created world, and our role in God’s work.
While enjoyable experiences can inspire, they cannot sustain faith on their own. Cumulative formation depends on the steady layering of practices and relationships that teach young people how to live faithfully when life becomes complex.
It is easy to assume that knowledge alone can shape formation. Formation, though, is not simply about what students know; it is about what they learn to love and trust. While knowledge matters, it alone cannot carry someone through doubt, grief, or transition.
When a ministry focuses only on information, it risks overlooking who students are becoming. Faith formation invites leaders to consider not just what young people can articulate, but what is shaping their commitments, hopes, and habits.
Discipleship is learned through participation rather than consumption. Young people do not become disciples by observing faith performed for them; they become disciples by practicing faith alongside others.
This requires inviting students into rhythms of prayer, service, reflection, and shared life. Small group conversations after a long day of serving, lunch after VBS, or reading Scripture at prayer stations are all examples of activities that invite students into these rhythms. Practiced formation takes time and growth is gradual and uneven, but it is also resilient, forming a faith that can endure beyond the walls of a program.
The practices that shape faith most deeply often feel ordinary:
These practices rarely draw attention, yet they cultivate depth. Over time, they communicate that faith is not reserved for exciting moments but is practiced faithfully in everyday life.
Slow formation can be discouraging in cultures that reward visible results and immediate growth. Leaders may wonder whether their work is effective when progress feels invisible.
There is also grief in choosing formation over flash. It means releasing the reassurance that comes from numbers, excitement, or public recognition. Faithful ministry often unfolds quietly and gently, requiring leaders to trust that God is at work beyond what can be easily measured.
Choosing faith formation over flash is not settling for less. It is a theological conviction rooted in trust that God is at work, forming the lives of young people through the Holy Spirit, our faithful presence, community, and an abundance of patience.
Many leaders eventually recognize that sustaining this kind of ministry requires deeper grounding, shared wisdom, and intentional formation. This realization is not a failure but is often a sign of maturity. Faithful ministry, like faith itself, is formed over a lifetime through trust, consistency, and hope found in Christ.
Faith formation takes time, patience, and support. Many leaders eventually discover that sustaining this kind of ministry requires space to reflect, learn alongside others, and deepen their own formation. If this article named something true for you, it may be worth exploring what support could look like in this season.
About the Author— Rev. Brian Lawson has over 20 years of youth ministry experience and currently serves as the Senior Director of Strategic Engagement at the Ministry Leadership Center, as well as a pastor in the United Methodist Church. He holds a Master of Ministry with a focus on organizational culture, team-based leadership, change, conflict, and peace-making from Warner University. He also studied Christian Education at Asbury Theological Seminary.
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