February 3, 2003
WES HAMILTON:
'I wanted fame; God wanted faithfulness'
___By Leann Callaway
___Special to the Standard
___Even though he's already a popular youth speaker, Wes Hamilton believes he has to earn the right to be heard every place he goes.
___"No student will ever sit on the edge of his seat because Wes Hamilton is speaking," said the minister, who nonetheless has been named one of the top 10 favorite yout
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| Wes Hamilton |
h speakers by Vertical Ministries.
___"I have to earn the right to be heard, and I can't do that from the platform," Hamilton explained. "The only way they will listen to me is if I listen to them during free time, eat with them during meals or play with them during recreation time. I have learned that students have enough people in their lives trying to be cool. They want to k
now if I'm real and if I care. Once they know, they will be more likely to listen to what I have to say."
___Hamilton knows the demands of being real firsthand, because of the influence a Baptist youth minister had on his own life. Hamilton grew up in Irving, but his family did not attend church regularly.
___"When I look back, I can see that I had always been spiritually curious but never really had an outlet for it until I was a junior in high school," he said. "It was then that I reluctantly accepted an invitation to visit Oak View Baptist Church. I say reluctantly because although I liked church, I hated being the new kid and not fitting in or feeling welcome.
___At Oak View, however, Hamilton discovered "almost immediately" that he was wanted and welcome, "and that made all the difference. I kept coming back, and in doing so, learned about my need and God's provision."
___Eventually, he professed faith in Jesus Christ on a Sunday morning. "Jim Gerlach, my youth minister at the time, gave me a student Bible. I think I highlighted 80 percent of the New Testament."
___A year later, Hamilton graduated from high school and went on to Ouachita Baptist University, where he earned a degree in biblical studies and languages. Having sensed a call to vocational ministry, he became consumed with a desire to be "the next great youth speaker."
___The summer after his freshman year at Ouachita, Hamilton served as a youth intern for Neal Jeffrey at Prestonwood Baptist Church.
___"That summer played a huge role in the formation of my calling and ministry," he explained. "One afternoon, God used Neal to teach me a lesson that completely altered my desires and my direction. He highlighted my gifts and pointed out my talents. Then, he paused and said, 'But... .' For the next 20 minutes, he exposed me.
___"His point was that I wanted to be famous, but God wanted me to be faithful. He was right, and that day God began to take away my desire for a speaking ministry and replaced it with a desire to serve the local church. I entered seminary expecting to prepare myself to serve as a youth minister."
___Hamilton did begin his ministry on a local-church staff. Then, after his father died in 1996, Hamilton began "questioning everything--my calling, my direction, my purpose."
___Then, he was invited to preach at a youth camp. "God used that crisis and t
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| WES HAMILTON speaks at a Reality Weekend at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall. |
hat camp to bring back an old calling, but with a new desire," he explained.
___Soon after, he began Shoeless Ministries with a goal of supporting the work of local-church youth ministry through preaching and teaching.
___In 1999, Hamilton graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary with a master of arts degree in Christian education.
___His style as a youth speaker today, he said, was formed in reaction to what he saw in a youth minister, he said. "These guys would preach and disappear. You wouldn't see them again until the next night. We used to call them vampires because they would only come out of their rooms after the sun went down.
___"It wasn't wrong, but they really limited the impact they had on the students they were with. I knew I never wanted my ministry to be like that."
Just add students
___Wes Hamilton resides in Fort Worth and keeps a busy schedule with speaking engagements across the country, including what he calls Reality Weekends.
___Reality Weekends are an "instant Disciple Now, just add students," Hamilton said. "We provide a speaker, worship, sound, lights, video, T-shirts, curriculum, promotional materials and small-group leaders. Our desire is to create the excitement and teaching of a weekend conference but still provide the personal relationships that come from small groups."
___His messages are drawn from the Bible but with contemporary application.
___"We talk about how students today are navigating through a world of pressure and temptation that we, at their age, were never confronted with," he explained. "To some degree, that is true. But at the same time, I am talking to students who have a love for God and desire to know him that I never knew at their age. When I was in high school, I was working on establishing a consistent quiet time. Today, I talk to students who are burdened for the nations in the 10/40 window.
___"It seems the more corrupt the culture gets, the more committed these students become."
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