How Youth Ministry Can Fail The Church
Where will the church get its next great leaders? What does the future of the church look like? How can the present church secure their future?
If we are honest with ourselves, the children’s and youth ministries are the leadership factory for the church. The next great pastors, deacons, elders, teachers, worship team members, A/V team, and volunteers are mostly going to come from the house.
These next young leaders will come from within the culture of the church and they will be the church’s greatest resource for sustainability.
How do we answer these questions? We must make children’s and youth ministry in the church a priority for development. If the church doesn’t have a plan for sustainability that includes the children and youth of the church, the church and its future will be a miserable one.
Here are 5 ways youth ministry could fail the church:
Unhealthy Youth Leaders
One of the fastest ways a youth ministry can fail the church is by having unhealthy youth leaders. This is simple math. Or sowing and reaping. Unhealthy youth leaders create unhealthy youth ministries that create unhealthy youth. And that is dangerous math for the church and its future.
With this in mind, the spiritual disciplines of the youth leader are vital. This would include, but not be limited to, the following:
prayer, reading, worship, fasting, giving, simplicity, rest, and solitude.
The spiritual wellness of the youth leader must be a priority if the youth ministry is going to be healthy.
Every youth leader must also consider that their own exercise, sleep, emotional quotient, social relations, and economy will have a large role of creating a healthy lifestyle.
Consider these practical steps:
set a regular time of prayer, reading, worship, and fasting
try going to bed at the same time and getting up at the same time as much as possible
get at least 2 hours of exercise every week - that’s basically 15 minutes daily
eat well and drink plenty of water and stay away from too much sugar
your mental health is foundational to your whole body health so practice meditating on Proverbs and Psalms
Loss of the Context of the Teenager
We cannot remove the youth ministry from the world of the teenager. Keeping the ministry to students in the walls of the church is not healthy.
It is too easy to create co-dependent teenagers who only serve God at church and never realize that they should be serving God in the context of their lives - home, school, team, work, peer circles, and community.
We must do neutral site ministry settings so that our students understand the gospel works outside of the church setting also.
This can happen through youth leaders who are present in each of these settings above. Youth ministry is nothing if it is not contextual.
Consider these practical steps:
plan the youth ministry service outside of the church building at a school, mall, airport, park, or community center every quarter
as a youth leader we must be seen in the teen world - such as at school, games, events, work, or in the community
teach students good apologetics and how to share their faith
Having a Mono-strategy Toward a Diverse Student
When we think mono or singular strategies for evangelism and outreach, we will only reach that student. Our philosophy must go beyond an approach to one or two circles or sects of students.
For example, if all I do is use language and events toward the ATHLETES then all I am going to reach are athletes. AND IT IS THE SAME WAY WITH ACADEMICS, ALTERNATIVES, OR ARTISANS.
We must be willing to create diverse strategies and approaches to reach all of the kinds or types of students in our community.
For instance, there are all kinds of teenagers to reach - alternatives, academics, hipsters, artisans, geeks, conservative, progressive, race, gender, and even religious background. All of these traits require a youth ministry to use varied approaches to reach these students.
Consider these practical steps:
of the following approaches, we should be using a combination of these approaches or models every quarter: discipleship, small groups, evangelism, fine arts, theology, campus access
that might look like changing up the youth service or if you don’t have a youth service by creating one for a season
do not get stuck programming in one of these areas, but, spend time using all of these different approaches to reach all of the different tribes of students
Loss of the Veteran and Rookie Relationship
There is something about the longevity and faithfulness of the veteran youth leader in relationship with the passionate and beginning effort of the rookie.
This mentoring partnership could be explosive. Do you see the wisdom and experience of the veteran fueling the energy and the ideas of the rookie? I love this about youth ministry.
When I get to sit with young leaders and hear their enthusiasm it fires me up. It is like reverse-mentoring. I may be sitting down to help them, but, in turn, I am the one who is learning.
We must be careful to think that younger leaders do not have capacity. Or that the veteran doesn’t have the energy. Be careful to place lids on each other.
Consider these practical steps:
my practical advice to older leaders: Find younger youth leaders, new teachers or coaches or administrators, and even student leaders who you can sit with and hear their dreams and ideas. This will become like a re-invention of your own lost skills or abilities that you forgot that you have.
my practical advice to young leaders: Find older and more experienced teachers, coaches, veteran youth leaders, and para-church leaders who have been working with adolescents longer than ten years. They may have a short cut for you that will help you to avoid the mistakes they made.
Poor Youth Ministry Ecclesiology
Youth Ministry today that is focused upon slick Wednesday night programming and pulling off one exciting event each month will produce students who will shed the Church as soon as they graduate from High School.
Many Youth Leaders fail to think through the big picture. It is the responsibility of the youth team to be strategic in the connecting and retention of students and leaders into the church body.
Youth Leaders who simply build a sub-culture of Youth Ministry separate from the whole church are missing the rewards that could arise from inter-generational relationships.
And aside from the inter-generational rewards, an isolated youth ministry misses the opportunity to prepare the next leaders of the Church.It should be clearly understood by all volunteer and paid Youth Leadership in the Church that the future pastors, elders, deacons, department leaders, and administrative staff are coming from within the Youth Ministry. It is detrimental to do Youth Ministry in isolation of the Church.
If the Church is in the hands of the young people that I see across America, the Church is in great hands. The Spirit of God is moving through a generation in ways that reflect a bright future for the Church
Finally
If the future of the Church is in the hands of the young people in our Youth Ministry, we should be placing much more thought and strategic planning in the placement of Youth Leadership in the Church.
Because if we are not careful to deal with these 5 fails, we will continue to place unhealthy Youth Leadership in roles that influence a generation of unhealthy students who will then lead an unhealthy Church in years to come.
Please read over these and share with other leaders that might be asking the same questions. None of us want to create unhealthy youth ministry. But sometimes we can get sidetracked and lose our edge. A little mid-course correction will go a long way in re-focusing our work and seeing a greater return on investment.
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