Thoughts on Youth Ministry

Here are a couple of solid articles on reaching today’s young people.

The Centrality of God in Youth Discipleship by Matthew Hoskinson, pastor of youth and young adults at Heritage Bible Church

For the first 18 years of their lives, we tailor an unending succession of programs and events to cater to them. We entice them to come to church activities by telling them what they will get out of it. We create competitions based on spiritual things—Bible memory, sword drills, even personal devotional time—hoping that somehow God’s Word might lodge in their hearts. None of these things is inherently sinful, but taken together they give young people the impression that the church revolves around them. Even the phrase youth ministry implicitly teaches them to view themselves fundamentally as the objects of service.

Once teenagers graduate from high school, however, they are suddenly confronted with a church that no longer revolves around them. We explain to these young adults that God expects them to serve others and not themselves. But for years, our example has taught them that the church exists for them. So when the church stops meeting their perceived needs—when the church stops existing for them—they have no reason to stick around.

Teenagers: Distract or Develop? by Eric Bancroft, high school pastor at Grace Community Church

Whether our churches are based in the center of Los Angeles or on the outskirts of Wichita, the components of any God-honoring Student Ministry should include the following:

1. Targeted expository teaching that opens their eyes to the wonders of the God of the Bible and the Gospel that He provides
2. Personal discipleship that seeks to be more than friendly but godly and wise in all of its influence
3. Leadership development that seeks to prepare these young men and women for what the Lord has for them in the future including their roles in the local church
4. Outlets for godly peer relationships to be introduced and developed as they begin to move from mere friendship to fellowship
5. A philosophy that intends to complement not compete with the parents who bear the full-time responsibility of raising these teenagers

See also: Youth pastor: Parents, not churches, should raise teens.

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