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The call is like hundreds I have received over the years. Often
it is the voice of a desperate search committee member, full of
good intentions, seeking just the right individual to lead a successful
youth ministry. It also is the voice of a person who is almost
certain to fail.
Youth ministry is undergoing significant changes in the U.S. and
abroad, but churches continue to look for youth ministry leaders
as if it were the 1970s. “We want someone young and cool
so that kids can relate to them,” they claim. They imagine
a college-aged student who plays guitar, breathes basketball, oozes
optimism, loves the Lord, and adores kids. But this person, too,
is almost certain to fail.
Today, youth ministry leaders need so much more than good intentions
and a youthful outlook. They need relevant education, better training,
exceptional maturity, sharper ministry skills, and greater spiritual
depth. For the sake of the kingdom, young people and churches need
top-notch youth ministry leaders. And together, Bethel Seminary
and Youth Leadership are committed to providing the very best youth
ministry preparation available.
Four reasons we should rethink youth ministry
1. Young people demand more.
Today’s youth leader steps into an erratic adolescent world
characterized by constant change. Good intentions alone fall short
when one is confronted with the sorts of pastoral care issues typical
of today’s young people. Teens battle eating disorders, broken
families, powerful media messages, and social pressures unheard
of a few decades ago. One observer notes that today’s adolescent
male “faces more sexual temptation on his way to school each
morning than his grandfather did on Saturday night when he was
out looking for it!”
Adolescence often is synonymous with transition.
As adults we’ve been there; we are intimately acquainted
with the rapid changes and resulting stresses that teens face.
But those stresses seem to have intensified in recent years. It
is essential that today’s youth ministry leader possess the
skills to identify, assess, and respond to the wildly diverse needs
and issues among young people.
2. The world demands more.
The world has witnessed some incredible events during the past
decade or so. Young and old alike have been deeply affected by
crises like:
- two Gulf wars;
- conflicts in Afghanistan and Somalia;
- terrorism on U.S. soil and continuing else- where; and
- killings at Columbine and other schools.
This small list barely begins to reflect the volatile world in
which our teenagers are trying to grow up. Such crises are not
unique to the 21st century, but today the Internet and other media
offer relentless, 24-7 exposure to events of all sorts around the
globe. Some have dubbed it a “postmodern” world (see “Postmodernity
Defined for the Youth Minister” on page 7), and in our culture
it is a world characterized by rapid advances in technology, a
runaway pace of life, and an overwhelming number of alternatives
from which to choose. Never before have young people seen a greater
array of exciting opportunities—and possessed the spending
power to pursue them. Nor have they faced risks of any greater
significance. But whether we see such an environment as friendly
or hostile, we must acknowledge that we cannot turn some magic
dial back to what we imagine to be a simpler time. Rather, we must
live squarely in this world—and declare the Good
News to this generation. We must recognize the potent
pull the secular world has on our children, and seek new ways to
be agents of transformation within our culture. The truth does
not change, but our methods must. To love kids is an excellent
start, but it’s not enough. Certainly we should nurture safe,
caring relationships in our youth ministries, but we also must
communicate the gospel with utmost theological clarity and relevance.
The world will not slow down, and the effective youth minister
in this new millennium must be able to lead unflinchingly in the
midst of such chaos.
3. God demands more.
The Bible commands us to teach the things of God to the next generation.
It is serious business to the Lord:
“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely
so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let
them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to
your children and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy
4:9 (NIV)
We are called not only to teach these things, but also to watch
ourselves at the same time. The call is both to parents and to
the entire faith community. But if we are honest, we will concede
that many churches miss the mark. Our leadership is focused elsewhere,
our workers are ill-equipped, and the next generation is slipping
through our fingers. We teach young people to be Christian consumers
rather than disciples of Christ. We keep them busy, but we stop
short of letting God use us as instruments of transformation in
their lives.
And that’s the key. We must recognize that hearing information
is not the same as faith transformation. We talk a good talk and
sometimes kids actually listen, but are they transformed? The truth
is, young people are much more likely to yield to the Potter’s
hands when they witness the adults in their lives surrendering
completely to the transforming power of Jesus Christ. We must “watch
ourselves” and take seriously the calling of Deuteronomy
4.
4. Families demand more.
 Stress
in the home intensifies as mounting pressures afflict both teens
and their parents. Our churches are filled with families plagued
by confusion and strife that splinter away the religious veneer
they wear on Sunday morning.
A youth ministry whose staff cannot interact with and support
families is a youth ministry that is incomplete. According to a
recent Barna* study, 78 percent of students name their parents
as being the most influential force in their lives. A child’s
family of origin is a powerful factor in the development of that
child. Thus, a youth leader’s theology must be informed by
an understanding of how family systems work. The effective youth
minister is a respected leader in the faith community who can relate
both to the teenager and to the adults in the church. The days
of youth ministry aimed exclusively at youth must be abandoned
for a broader approach to caring for junior and senior high students.
Today’s youth worker must serve the whole family, lending
support, encouragement, and assistance to parents, and equipping
them to perform their God-given roles of leadership in the home.
Agents of change
Someone has said that insanity is “doing the same thing
the same way and expecting different results each time.” Yet,
too often our churches think only in terms of the most minute changes
in ministry from one year to the next. It is time to re-think our
vision for youth ministry in order to fulfill God’s call
to the church. This is for neither the faint-hearted nor the untrained.
We need more than mere chaperones for youth activities. Rather,
we must seek godly, educated, prepared men and women to implement
bold strategies for evangelizing and discipling teenagers and their
families into a transformational relationship with Jesus. An engaging,
vision-driven youth ministry requires well-equipped leaders who
desire to be agents of change and proclaimers of the gospel to
the next generation.
And if they can play guitar, that’s fine too. •
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