“The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old.” (Prov. 20:29)

Ever wonder why God has given energy, strength and vigor to youth? Perhaps you have given it much thought. Just as you never really consider your health until you become ill, the gift of physical endurance isn’t weighed until it’s beginning to fade. And it happens faster than you think.

Do you ever wonder why God has given you this gift (and it is a gift) for this particular time in life?

Most youth waste their prime years in frivolous pursuits. They either devote all their energy and strength to vanity or they squander their allotted time in front of the T.V. being fantasy warriors.

Both trajectories are wrong, both are foolish. [...]

Youth Ministry is hard enough without having to think about your ministry growing.  Believe me, I know.  There are several things about youth ministry that make it hard.  Conflict with parents.  Working with volunteer leaders.  Middle school students.  Small budgets.  High expectations.  Low salaries.  Low totem-pole mentalities.  Etc.  Yes, there are several amazing things about working with young people and their families but when you are busting your tail as a youth pastor and not seeing growth happen in your youth ministry (for now on YM) then it is time to re-evaluate your YM priorities, your vision for your YM, and where you are spending your time.

Here are 4 questions to think through if you find that your YM is not growing.  They are practical in nature and lean toward common-sense.  However, I have talked with several youth pastors over the past couple of months that are struggling with numerical growth in their ministries and have not really thought through some of these things.  I pray they help.

This is often the hardest thing to do in YM.  Good leaders are hard to come by and they are even harder to keep.  Who are you recruiting to be leaders.  Our YM has been in existence for a little over a year, and we have 15 adult volunteer leaders on my YM team. From college students to adults, our leaders are the back-bone of everything we do in our YM.  They are discipling students, helping me with events, leading small groups, and are consistent in their ministry to young people.

Don’t spend your time in public schools that are far away from your church.  Many youth pastors I talk to find themselves driving 20-30 minutes to speak at FCA’s and other school events that are not close to their churches.  In my opinion, I think ones time could be spent better elsewhere.  Target the schools that are in a 5-10 mile radius of your church.  If you find yourself driving outside of this radius for functions and events then ask yourself why you are doing it.  Is it for the benefit of your church and YM?

Many youth ministries do not have a philosophy for equipping parents.  This is, however, a growing vision in YMs across the country.  Ask yourself — are parents connected to your YM?  Do they know your vision for championing the home and equipping parents?  Do they understand that they are the primary disciple-makers of their own children?  Are they behind your vision for your YM?  When parents are on board and connected to the life of your YM then I guarantee you will begin to see growth.

What is your vision for growth in your YM?  At Foothills Church, we have grown tremendously lately.  One area of growth we have seen is found in our YM.  In the past 10 months, we have grown from about 30 students to over 100 students.  And we saw 170+ people at a relational/evangelistic YM event we did in November.  I have a goal to see 250 students at our Wednesday Doxa Service by the end of 2012.  I have a lot of work to do to see this happen, because we are still 150 students from my goal.  The vision, however, is there.  It is solid.  The plan has been put in place, and we are going forth on our knees with much prayer.

How are you doing with these questions in your YM?

INTRODUCTION:

Over the past year or so, I have been plagued with this question–Is youth ministry killing the church?  This has bled from another important question that is being asked all over the world–Why are so many young people leaving the church after high school?

Over the past couple of months, God has been teaching me several things about this up-and-coming generation.  Many of the things I am learning is simply having them — young people — as my teacher.  I am learning by talking with them.  I am learning by hanging out them.  I am learning by hearing their stories.  I am learning by watching what they do.  I am learning about their family backgrounds.  I am learning what it is they want to talk about, what they desire, and what types of questions they are asking.  Because of this, the pendulum swing in my philosophy of ministry has been tilting over to the relational side as of late.  And in all honesty, this is more of a let’s explore this idea together than for it to be a this is how it supposed to be type of post – RESOURCE: A helpful resource for finding classes that pertain to religion is Guide to Online Schools.

I have titled this post as Exploring the Relational Bandwagon because I want it to do just that — EXPLORE.   There is so much being said about relational evangelism and relational discipleship that many philosophies of ministry are changing to reflect this type of thinking.  I know mine has.  I definitely find myself leaning toward a relational and missional philosophy than a big program/event-driven and big evangelistic sermon type of philosophy.  The former reflects small groups in homes.  Authentic relational environments.  Using the word mission as adjective.  And probably wearing jeans on Sunday morning.  We use phrases like wanting to meet people where they are at and other phrases of the same nature.  The latter likes big programs, big events, big crowds, big heavy evangelistic sermons, alter calls, and probably Sunday School — that stuff.  I am not saying one is better than they other.  I am saying, however, that one definitely seems more effective than the other, especially as it relates to this generation.

In fact, the church I currently serve at as the Student Pastor and Missions Pastor heavily falls into the former category.  Our mission statement reflects this.  We desire to develop mature disciples of Christ in relational environments.  Obviously this type of mission statement champions relational evangelism and relational discipleship over the big events and programs, again, which I think is more effective for reaching this generation.  Why?  Because it is what they want.  It is what they crave.  It is how they operate.

I want to share two things that I think this generation is craving and one thing they don’t really want — with the purpose of exploring how we can best facilitate this as the church.  Remember, my purpose in this article isn’t to bash or be dogmatic.  If you think big programs and events are the way to go then I am happy to hear your reasons and I would love to learn from you as well.  But for the purpose of this article though, here are three thoughts I am currently having:

1.  This generation is craving real and authentic relationships.  

This concept, at first, seems to be mere common sense.  We know that young people desire to be in relational environments with other young people.  That is why ministries like Young Life here in East Tennessee are so big.  The weekday school experience is pretty much reduplicated into a Tuesday night hangout time with all of their friends.  As a student pastor, I constantly battling the non-profits who do well at recreating these weekday school types of relational environments.  There are 12+ schools that feed into my student ministry.  That means there are 12 FCAs, 12 Campaigners, and 12 Young Lifes that are taking our students time.  What’s more, that means there are 36+ ministries (not including other churches) outside of mine that are providing these relational environments as well.

HERE IS MY DILEMMA:  When it comes to a Wednesday night youth service, how are we creating a relational environment for them that is different from what they are getting at these 36+ ministries that they are getting throughout the week?  Are our Wednesday night programs merely functioning as programs?

HERE IS WHAT I AM LEARNING:  The Wednesday night experience for young people will only be a good experience if they have friends who already attend.  I could bring in David Platt or Mark Driscoll to preach the best sermon East Tennessee has ever heard but if that kid doesn’t have friends who already attend than they probably will not enjoy their time and they probably will not want to come back.

2.  This generation does not want to be around their parents.  

Yes, I am firm believer in family driven and family equipping philosophies of ministry.  I lean more toward a family equipping type of model myself; however, I am learning that no matter how you try to facilitate this, young people just don’t want to be around their parents in those types of environments.  Again, that is why these types of ministries — Young Life, FCA, Campaigners, YOKE, etc. — are all booming.  Now we can always ask how effective they are being once the students are actually there, however, we have to be honest with ourselves as well — they are doing a great job of providing these relational environments that kids want to be in.

HERE IS MY DILEMMA:  How do we couple relational environments that young people are craving and want to be a part of with intentional family equipping philosophies?  Are our philosophies of ministry actually driving students away?

HERE IS WHAT I AM LEARNING:  I am learning that you can equip the family without the student having to be a part of those family-equipping environments.  Think about it this way — you can be family driven or family equipping without having to take away relational environments for students.  You can have Wednesday night services, small groups in homes, camps and retreats, etc., all while equipping the family.

3.  This generation really wants to take part in loving their neighbor.

I am learning more and more everyday that this generation wants to be a part of change.  They want to make a difference in the world.  They want to be a part of something bigger than themselves.  In the analogy of the body of Christ, they want to be the hands and feet.  It is no different for middle school and high schoolers today.  They desire to take part in mercy ministries and things that allow them to love their neighbor.

HERE IS MY DILEMMA:  How do we begin to facilitate this for our students alongside of the relational and family driven stuff?  Do we maximize our efforts at all three or do we champion one over the other?

HERE IS WHAT I AM LEARNING:  I am learning to let students dream big.  I am asking thought-provoking questions, such as:  What do you want to do for Christ NOW?  If you could anything for Jesus right now then what would you do?  What are the top 3 things you want to do for Christ in your schools before you graduate high school?  And when they come to me with answers, I am learning to champion those dreams, help them think through them, equip them, and allow them to be the catalysts for making it happen.

One last thought…

I am sure that student pastors, much like myself, all over the country are asking some of these questions.  There has been so much stuff written on championing the family these days that stuff like relational environments and missional, love your neighbor stuff is kind of being put on the back burner.  Kids are desiring the relational and missional stuff more than ever today.  So, as we think through the development of youth culture and where it is continuing to evolve, let us not forsake what they are passionate about to the detriment of championing one philosophy of ministry over another.  Let us continue to explore, develop, and engage… for the gospel of Jesus Christ and his glory alone.

-GRG

With the progression of youth culture, young people face challenges today that we did not 10, or even, 5 years ago.  As parents, student pastors, teachers, and others who rub shoulders with today’s youth, what do you all see as the hardest issues facing today’s youth culture?

Be specific.  This conversation could be beneficial for many people.

Paul Washer, thought by many to be one of the greater prophetic voices of our generation, has been and continues to be used to impact the world for the Gospel. You may have already come across Washer’s video below. This sermon, which initially took the internet by storm, has come to be known as his “Shocking Youth Message.” It doesn’t take the listener long to understand why. I don’t want to present this video as a blanket judgment of the Western church, since there are good and Gospel-centered churches and student ministries to be found in America. However, I do think that a large percentage of churches, pastors, student pastors, and students would be benefited if they would take heed to the message presented here.

Washer has received a great deal of criticism for this message. In the following video, he provides some helpful context for the environment in which it was delivered.

We at TVN are so very thankful for Dr. Alvin Reid and his work in the area of student ministry, evangelism, and Christian leadership.  It is an absolutely humbling thing to interview him on The Veritas Network.  I hope you all enjoy reading this interview as much as I did, and that you are equipped and refreshed in your understanding and view of youth culture, as I was.

Dr. Alvin Read serves as Professor of Evangelism and Student Ministry at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he has been since 1995.  For the rest of his bio CLICK HERE.

———————————————————————–

Greg: What approach do you take in teaching young people apologetics?  What do you teach?  How often do you teach on it?  Can we focus too much on teaching apologetics to the neglect of the Scripture?  And what is the proper balance?

Dr. Reid: I do not actually think of it as “teaching apologetics” although I certainly value the discipline. I have observed the church overly compartmentalize disciplines from one another (evangelism from discipleship from apologetics, etc). There is a place to separate, but I think American individualism has driven too many to think of themselves as “apologetics” focused, “evangelism” focused, etc. Francis Schaefer considered himself an evangelist, for instance.

I prefer focusing more on a gospel centered life, where the gospel, not apologetics or some other discipline is dominant. Out of that context, or worldview, I try to help students learn to defend their faith.  For instance, I am about to lead a “Hard Questions” series with our college pastor at the church where I serve as director of young pros. I will deal with the problem of evil and the uniqueness of Christianity two of the nights. In each case I will make the gospel the focus of the discussion and the remedy.

We can certainly focus too much on any discipline to the neglect of Scripture. In fact, in the book The Convergent Church I co-authored with Mark Liederbach, we note where evidential apologetics, while important, “over-reached” in its focus on answering questions to the neglect of a larger framework of a gospel-driven life. [...]

Not too long ago I saw a CNN Poll which assessed the public perception of the President. In it, persons were asked about the religious involvement of the President. They had good news for him: the majority thought the President was just the right amount of religious. Not too hot, not too cold, he is just right.

So it is obvious that Goldilocks would really love the religiosity of the President, but should we? I am not writing this to bash President Obama; on the contrary, I am writing this to bash a culture which labels a man as “just the right amount of religious”. What does that even mean? [...]

It’s that time of year again when gobs and gobs of money are spent appeasing and pacifying the wants and wishes of small children (and 40-something-year-old kids) across the globe. On December the 25^th millions of men, women, boys, and girls throughout the world will receive their yearly injection of that oh-so intoxicating drug called materialism. While I’m all for giving gifts—and receiving them—I would like for us to at least give thought to the sorts of gifts that we are giving to our loved ones this year. [...]

HS Conversations is designed to engage High School students on why they believe the gospel.  In the first installment of our HS Conversations Series, Landon Reynolds discusses why he believes the gospel outside of his parent’s faith and the problems of emotionalism and apologetics in youth culture. [...]