Church of the Month: Word of Life Youth Ministry

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Word of Life Youth. (Courtesy). 

*Note: Word of Life changed their name to Reach Church in August of 2018.

Last week Sandite Pride introduced readers to the Children’s ministry at Word of Life, our February Church of the Month. Today we look at the Youth Ministry under Pastor Chad Ketcher.

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Word of Life’s youth ministry has been called by many names over the years. Harmony, Lighthouse, the Depot, and Forward. The church recently moved the youth services from a building at 10th and Washington to the church’s main campus and took on the simple moniker of Word of Life Youth.

Having the youth on the adult campus has always been a goal of the church, but until recent years the main church also held a Wednesday night service, so there wasn’t room.

Ketcher took over the ministry full time in January of 2016. The only lifelong Sandite to ever hold the position, he felt called to return to Sand Springs again shortly before that. He and wife, Heather, were previously involved in a church in downtown Tulsa.

While still attending church in Tulsa, they were also participating in a small group hosted by Will and Amberly Bell, a couple heavily involved in Word of Life. “I thought that was kind of cool that they opened it up to somebody that didn’t even go to church here,” says Ketcher.

“In August (of 2015) we thought we were going to go somewhere else. But someone asked us to come visit (Word of Life). We had already been going to the life group for almost a year, so I said ‘let’s at least go check it out.’”

“We fell in love with (Word of Life) in the first week,” says Ketcher. “We loved everybody. We knew a lot of the people because we lived in this town our entire lives.”

Ketcher wasn’t looking for a full-time ministry job, despite having graduated Rhema Bible Training College in 2003. At the time he worked at the OSU Medical Center in Tulsa. He visited Forward to look into volunteering as a youth leader and found out that the pastor job was open.

Ketcher has a history with the Word of Life youth, having attended services in his teenage years under the late pastor Terry Scott. Going on mission trips to Mexico with the youth is part of what first inspired him to go to Bible College after graduating Charles Page in 2001.

Word of Life Youth Pastor Chad Ketcher. (Courtesy). 

After a few weeks of prayer and contemplation, he decided to apply for the position. Ketcher is the fourth Word of Life Youth Pastor since 2010. “All they need is consistency,” thought Ketcher. “They just need someone to ride this thing for a long time.”

“When we started, my goal in the first year was just to let these teenagers know I’m not going anywhere. My goal in the second year was to get them involved in doing stuff and get them here on Sundays, enjoying church. My goal this year is all about ‘how can we reach other people?’”

Ketcher looks to the example set by former Youth Pastor Tim Earnhardt, who left the church in 2010 and currently pastors Occupied Church in Tulsa. “He always had teenagers with him, all the time,” says Ketcher. “Honestly, as a youth pastor, you should always have a teenager with you. That’s your life. That’s why you exist. It shouldn’t just be a Wednesday night or Sunday morning thing.”

He also wants to make sure the kids are there for the church more than for him. “Whenever you leave, you don’t want everyone to quit coming to church because they were so tied to you. We try to encourage that they come on Sunday and to small groups and that they serve in our children’s church. I don’t need you here for me, I don’t get paid per student.”

“I want you to enjoy church because of what you bring to church. The benefit that you can bring. That even as a teenager, you are valuable. You have your own personality type, you have your own set of skills. Our worship team is all teenager-led. I let my teenagers preach on Wednesday nights. How do you expect to grow a leader if you don’t give them the chance to be one?”

“We try to keep it real with the teenagers. Don’t ask them to live a lifestyle that you don’t teach them how to live.” The youth will be doing a series coming up in April on sex and how to date in a manner that’s consistent with biblical teachings. “That’s what we expect sometimes. A youth kid should be perfect or least act right when he’s at church. You’re asking someone to not cuss, who hears cursing all the time in their house. That’s not fair. Maturing is not an age thing, it’s someone being taught how to grow up.”

According to Ketcher, Wednesday night should be the most fun night of the week. Forward has their own party bus with hardwood floors, limousine-style seating, lights, and surround sound. They plan to use it to pick up kids for church and take them home if they need rides as soon as Ketcher gets his Commercial Driver's License. 

Word of Life. Stock Photo.

The youth plan on going on a mission trip to Arlington, Texas over Spring Break. Then they’ll take a trip to Haiti next year where they’ll work with fellow Sandites Michael and Baylee Wilson who live there full time. Ketcher also plans to get the youth involved at Gable Hills, Highland Crossing, the Sand Springs Home and Colony, and local nursing homes.

“Your community has enough serving opportunities, it’s just a matter of finding them. It’s fun to go out to different places, but if there’s that much need in your own town and you can get thirty kids to show up and serve, that’s just crazy not to serve your own community. One of the people that I think is absolutely the best at this is (HillSpring Associate Pastor) Matt Barnett. I love that his heart is where his community is. That rubs off.”

Ketcher participates in One Network, a coalition of local pastors who work together to reach Sand Springs youth. “How can we all come together? If we stop competing and start just working. Yes we want people, and yes we want the same town, and we want the same community, but every church brings something completely different.”

Ultimately Ketcher wants students to know that they’re the church, not him and his fellow pastors. “I’m not different than anybody else, I just love what I do. I think sometimes we get so caught in ministry as preaching. It’s not preaching. Ministry happens in conversation. It just happens."

Word of Life Youth
1402 N 81st West Ave
Sand Springs, Oklahoma 74063
(918) 245-0262
Service: Wednesday 7:00 p.m.
Office Hours: Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
http://www.mywordoflife.com/forward-youth
Facebook: @theforwardyouth
Instagram: @wordoflifess_youth

Word of Life
1402 N 81st West Ave
Sand Springs, Oklahoma 74063
(918) 245-0262
Service: Sunday 10:00 a.m.
Office Hours: Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
http://www.mywordoflife.com
Facebook: @Wordoflifess
Instagram: @Wordoflifess
Twitter: @mywordoflife