(2 Timothy 1:5–9)
What’s in Your Fire?
Have you ever built a campfire? If you simply leave it alone, the flames die down, the heat fades, and eventually all that remains are glowing embers.
The Apostle Paul understood this reality when he wrote to Timothy. In one of his final letters, Paul urges a young pastor not merely to believe the gospel, but to tend the fire of his calling. At The Institute for Youth Studies (IYS), this passage shapes our heartbeat: to help youth ministers fan the flame of their calling so that, by God’s grace, they might ignite a generation for Christ. This is more than inspiration—it is formation. Paul gives us a framework worth training into.
Paul writes,
“I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 8 So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. 9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:5-9).
1. Pass the Torch
Paul begins by reminding Timothy that faith rarely appears out of thin air. It is passed from life to life—from Timothy’s grandmother Lois to his mother Eunice, and now to him (2 Tim. 1:5). Faith is generational before it is institutional.
History echoes this truth. In the Piedmont Valley of northern Italy, the Waldensians—early church reformers—lit mountaintop bonfires from hamlet to hamlet, symbolizing the Light of Christ spreading through the valley. Their motto, lux lucet in tenebris (“the light shines in the darkness,” John 1:5), reflected their conviction that the gospel must be shared with each generation. i Tragically, while the annual bonfire ceremony still continues today, many no longer know its original meaning. The light remains, but the story has been lost.
Scripture is clear: God’s truth is meant to be received and relayed (Deut. 6:6–7). Youth ministry workers stand in this sacred chain. Someone carried the flame to you—and now God has entrusted young lives to your care. The question is not whether you influence students, but what kind of fire you are passing on.
Reflection:
Who are the young people God has placed in your life to receive His grace—today?
2. Fan Into Flame Your Calling
Paul’s charge is direct: “fan into flame the gift of God” (2 Tim. 1:6). Fires do not sustain themselves. They require oxygen, fuel, and intentional tending. The same is true of ministry calling.
Many youth ministers are not burned out—they are burned down. The fire still exists, but it has gone unattended. Paul does not tell Timothy to find a new gift, but to stir the one he already has. God’s calling is nurtured through prayer, practice, and courage. As we actively use the gifts God has given us, our passion for ministry grows brighter (1 Pet. 4:10).
Like a campfire reduced to embers overnight, a single breath and fresh kindling can bring it roaring back to life. God delights in rekindling what He first ignited. If your passion for next generation ministry needs tending, as the Holy Spirit rekindle it by showing you how to use your gifts for His glory.
Reflection:
What gifts has God given you, and how might you steward them more faithfully—in your family, church, workplace, or digital spaces?
3. Remember the Spirit
Fear is one of ministry’s greatest flame-killers—fear of failure, rejection, or cultural pressure. But Paul reminds Timothy that fear does not come from God. The Holy Spirit—our Counselor, Comforter, and Advocate—produces power, love, and sound judgment (2 Tim. 1:7; Rom. 8:15).
John Wesley famously said, “Give me one hundred people who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God… and they alone will shake the gates of hell.” ii The issue has never been numbers or polish, but spiritual courage rooted in the Spirit’s work. Youth ministry does not need less conviction; it needs less fear. Where fear retreats, holy fire advances.
Reflection:
Where is fear holding you back from fully living for Jesus?
4. Boldly Share the Gospel
Paul moves from inner formation to outward witness. Gospel faith is never private-only. Timothy is urged not to be ashamed—of Christ, of the gospel, or of suffering for it (2 Tim. 1:8–9). Following Jesus is not always safe or popular; it may involve ridicule, exclusion, or loss.
History gives us striking examples. In the 1880s, missionary C. T. Studd and his friends at Cambridge formed the D.C.D. Group—“Don’t Care a Damn.” The phrase was intentionally provocative, meant to awaken comfortable Christians to radical devotion. Studd explained that he “didn’t care a damn” for anything except the glory of Jesus Christ, obedience to God, and the evangelization of the world. iii
The group sacrificed comfort and status to serve in Africa, India, and China—and their fire ignited movements that shaped generations. Their boldness reminds us that gospel clarity often costs comfort. Yet when the early church prayed for courage, God answered, and they spoke His word with boldness (Acts 4:29–31).
Reflection:
What would it look like for you to care less about others’ opinions and more about faithfully advancing the gospel among the next generation?
5. Fuel with Grace
Finally, Paul anchors everything in grace. God’s call does not rest on human worthiness, but divine initiative (2 Tim. 1:9; Eph. 2:8–9). Grace does not merely start the Christian life—it sustains it.
Consider Lina Sandell, the young Swedish hymn writer whose poetry helped spark revival across Scandinavia and beyond. Confined by illness for much of her youth, she encountered God’s grace through miraculous healing. Overcome with gratitude for the deep gift of grace she desired to share it widely through poetry. Her words, eventually set to music, fueled a movement that crossed oceans and generations. She wrote more than 600 hymns, including Jesus för Världen (Jesus for the World), capturing the truth that grace is meant to be shared. iv
Grace is to the Christian life what gasoline is to an engine. Without it, nothing moves. With it, even small faithfulness can ignite micro-movements that shape generations.
Reflection:
Are you trying to live the Christian life in your own strength, or relying on grace as your fuel?
Ignite a Generation
Paul’s counsel to Timothy still trains us today:
- Pass the torch — faith is generational.
- Fan the flame — gifts must be stirred.
- Remember the Spirit — fear is not from God.
- Boldly share the gospel — unashamed witness matters.
- Fuel everything with grace — it starts and sustains the fire.
At IYS, our mission is not simply to motivate youth ministers, but to form resilient, gospel-anchored leaders whose lives burn steadily—and brightly.
Now, What About You?
- Who can you pass the light of Christ on to?
- Where does the fire of your calling need tending?
- What fear is holding you back from bold witness?
- Will you rely on grace as your fuel and burn brightly to ignite a generation for Christ?
God, Do it Again – rekindle our passion for you, embolden us to show and share your grace. Fan the flame of our callings. In doing so, use us to ignite a generation on fire for Jesus.
i. Audisio, G. (1999). The Waldensian dissent: Persecution and survival, c.1170–c.1570. Cambridge University Press. Biller, P. (2003). The Waldenses, 1170–1530: Between a religious order and a church. Ashgate.
ii. Wesley, J. (1872). The Works of John Wesley (Vol. 7). Wesleyan Conference Office.
iii. Studd, C. T. (n.d.). D.C.D. booklet. Heart Cry for India. http://hcf-india.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/DCD-CT-Studd.pdf
iv. Lina Sandell. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lina_Sandell. E. Einar Kron. Hymns and Poems of Sweden: Translations of Swedish Hymns and Poems by Lina Sandell and Others. https://ia801902.us.archive.org/35/items/SwedishHymns/01hymnsAndPoemsOfSweden.pdf.
