Holding Your Piece of the Net

Wednesday, September 2, 2026
written by Kate Satterstrom

This past Sunday, Pastor Leah preached on Exodus 3:1–15, the story of Moses encountering God through a burning bush. This is my favorite Bible story. I love Moses, and I particularly love him in this encounter with God through this strange and mysterious bush. God calls Moses to a grand mission. But Moses assesses the situation through human eyes rather than God’s eyes.

Moses is well acquainted with his flaws. Fearing that he has somehow pulled the proverbial wool over God’s eyes, he is quick to respond, “Thank you for this opportunity, but I’m not the guy you’re looking for.” As if one can simply decline God’s invitation and move on with life.

But God doesn’t let Moses off the hook that easily. For every objection Moses raises, God has a response, an explanation, a promise, and a solution. Come on, God, take a hint—the guy isn’t interested!

But God doesn’t see Moses the way Moses sees himself. 

Moses sees his inadequacies. God sees possibility.

God looks at Moses and knows he has the courage to stand before Pharaoh.

God looks at Moses and knows he has the compassion to lead God’s people out of slavery.

God looks at Moses and knows he has the strength to stand at the edge of the Red Sea and trust that a way forward will appear.

God looks at Moses and knows he has the ingenuity and perseverance to lead a wandering people through the wilderness.

God looks at Moses and knows that Moses—all the while reluctant, questioning, and imperfect—has the faithfulness to stand before God again and receive the Ten Commandments.

Moses knows all the reasons he shouldn’t be the one to take on this task. God knows all the reasons Moses has exactly what is needed for what lies ahead.

I know this kind of reluctance. I am well acquainted with the voice of doubt that is quicker to remind me of my flaws than my strengths. I can reason out all the ways that saying “not me” is the safer, easier, less complicated response to God’s call. And yet, God looks at me and says, “We’re not done yet. I have grander plans than you can even imagine.”

The story of Moses reminds me that God’s call does not depend on me having all the answers, all the skills, or even all the confidence. God sees possibilities in us that we cannot always see in ourselves. There are opportunities to love, serve, lead, and make a difference. Sometimes the hardest part is simply trusting God enough to say, “Yes.”

And perhaps just as importantly, God never expected Moses to do it all alone. Moses had Aaron. He had Miriam. He had Joshua. He had people who walked beside him, filled in the gaps, shared the responsibility, and offered gifts Moses did not possess himself.

The same is true for us. Rev. Mark DeVries, a longtime leader in the youth ministry world, writes in Sustainable Youth Ministry about different models for ministry with children and youth. An older model depended heavily on hiring the uber-dynamic “Pied Piper”—a charismatic leader who could draw children, youth, and families into the church almost single-handedly. The problem, of course, was that when the Pied Piper left, the ministry often crumbled because everything had been centered around one person.

DeVries suggests there is another way to imagine ministry. Picture a net with a young person sitting in the middle. Around the outside of that net is a whole collection of people, each holding onto a different part. There are parents, grandparents, siblings, and extended family. There are the parents of friends. There are coaches, mentors, and teachers.

And then there is the church. There are pastors and youth directors. Sunday School teachers and confirmation mentors. There is the person who always sits behind them in worship and asks how school is going. The person who remembers their name. The person who brings dinner to youth group. The person who drives the van, plays a game, asks a good question, listens to a story, or simply shows up week after week.

Each of these people represents a different part of a young person’s life, and each one matters. Together, they hold the net.

The responsibility isn’t too heavy because no one person carries it alone. Each person holds one small piece. Together, they create a sturdy network of relationships around that young person. And when one person eventually leaves the circle—as is sure to happen—the whole thing doesn’t collapse. The rest of the community is still there, holding the net.

That is what we are doing when we volunteer with children’s and youth ministry.

We are not agreeing to bear the entire responsibility for every child or adolescent we encounter. We are joining a team. Each person brings a little something different, and together those gifts surround a young person with love, encouragement, faith, and belonging.

Maybe you know Moses’ reluctance too.

“I don’t know enough about the Bible.”

“I’m not good with teenagers.”

“I wouldn’t know what to say.”

“I’m not a teacher.”

“I’m too old.”

“I’m too young.”

“I don’t have enough time.”

“I have absolutely no clue what I’m doing!”

Moses had his own list: I don’t know all the answers. I’m not the best speaker. I’m not the most gifted. I have no clue what I am doing! And again and again, God’s answer is essentially the same: “You don’t have to have everything. I will give you what you need.”

That is the invitation for us, too. As we begin our program year, this is the perfect time to listen for how God might be calling you. God may not show up in a burning bush (but please take pictures if that does happen). Grand entrance or not, God sees all that you are: your gifts and your quirks, your strengths and your uncertainties, the things you readily offer and even the possibilities you cannot yet see in yourself. And God can use all of it.

Maybe your piece of the net is teaching Sunday School. Maybe it is providing a meal, setting up for an event, helping with Kid’s Club, being a youth advisor, learning the name of a child, or simply becoming another trusted adult who shows up and reminds a young person, again and again, “You belong here. You are loved. You matter.”

God isn’t asking you to hold the whole net.

God is simply asking you to grab one small piece.

All you need to do is say, “Yes.”