by Jon Davis
Youth groups, like churches, comes in all shapes, sizes,
settings and styles and no two are exactly alike.
Although there are numerous differences existing
I believe there is a logical process in growing a
healthy youth ministry in your church. We should
probably ask the question "What does a healthy
youth ministry look like?". A healthy youth
ministry is one where: Jesus is changing lives; people
love God and each other; church is fun; the group
is growing in size and depth. That kind of health
does not simply happen. There is a plan and a number
of things that must take place in order for a youth
ministry to grow.
Our churches are
in many ways like land. Some land is ready for planting,
other land is rough
and in need of clearing. Clearing the land is a tedious
task. There are many obstacles and barriers in a church
to growing a youth ministry that need to be overcome.
Some of those obstacles can be the ever present "We've
never done it that way before." to "Why do
we need a youth minister on staff anyway?" Those
and many other obstacles are real. "To clear the
land" we need to be advocates for youth and youth
ministry proclaiming the facts: 90% of the people who
make a decision for Christ do so before age 20; that
the number one reason for people joining churches in
the last five years has been because there was an active
youth ministry program available for their children;
youth ministry is cost effective. We need to hold our
church accountable to its Baptismal Covenant (BCP pg.303)
of "Will you who witness these vows do all in
your power to support these persons in their life in
Christ?", WILL WE?. Pool parties, pizza dinners
and outings to the bowling alley do very little in
fulfilling our baptismal promise. We need to clear
a field and make it fertile for youth ministry to grow.
We need to dedicate space and funds to bring in this
future crop of believers in Jesus. Those obstacles
can seem overwhelming at times but our greatest tool
in clearing is prayer; gathering people in our churches
to pray for young people and to see the church take
a responsible role in ministering to our children.
We need farmers to get out there and work
the land. They need to be trained so that they know
when to plant, water, fertilize, weed, and harvest.
Jesus' words echo here...
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers
are few; therefore ask the Lord of the Harvest to send
out laborers into the harvest." Matthew 9:37-38
There is a lot more to being
a farmer than riding a tractor and driving a truck
and so with youth ministry
there is a lot more to being a youth minister than
playing volleyball and having a van. In this day and
age there are so many things to know when working with
kids. Youth workers need an understanding of ; roles & relationships,
budgets and finances, group dynamics, teaching and
sharing the scriptures, guidelines for youth workers,
outreach, missions, leading meetings and retreats,
and much more. People who work with youth need comprehensive
training that will give them a base of knowledge so
they know what to do and when to do it. We might say
the more experienced and educated the "farmer",
the better the chances for a successful harvest.
When I started in youth ministry there was no place
to go to get such training. I had to go outside the
Episcopal church and be trained by another denomination.
I am glad to say there are youth ministry training
opportunities that exist in our church today. Trinity
School for Ministry offers The Youth Ministry Study
Program on a Masters level in conjunction with Youth
Quest. Youth Quest also offers a placement service,
the "Josiah Project" for college students
and other training in youth ministry. The Institute
of Professional Youth Ministry offers a two year internship
program supporting paid lay people in professional
youth ministry. Episcopal Renewal Ministries offers
a variety of training from the comprehensive Youth
Leadership Training Institute to the National Youth
Ministry Conference. In addition there are ecumenical
trainings offered by Youth Specialties, Reach Out Ministries
and Group to name a few.
Farmers need
tools. The size of the farm will often determine how
much equipment is needed.
Tools in youth ministry can be things from sound systems;
overhead projectors; computers; vehicles to transport
kids, sports equipment; resources & books on drama,
retreats, games, youth ministry models, and once again
the list could go on. Regardless of how big or small
a church might be the tools will fall into certain
categories. Our Baptismal Covenant becomes helpful
again in illustrating some of those categories. (BCP
pg. 304) "Will you continue in the apostle's teaching
and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers?".
The Apostle's Teaching: Young people as well as all
of us need the scriptures. In an age when there are
few absolutes young people need to know that the scriptures
are accurate, reliable, containing truth on which they
can base their entire life. The limits on human behavior
that the Bible mandates are not there to constrain
our freedom but rather to protect us from our own destruction.
More than governing our human actions and interactions
the Scriptures reveal to us who God is and that is
the deepest treasure the scriptures hold. In growing
a youth ministry you cannot be successful unless you
use the primary tool of God's word to plant and in
a very real way be the seed that brings forth life.
We all have
a need for fellowship. Young people need to be in a
place where they are loved and
cared for, a place of refuge where they can come and
be refreshed and renewed by God's love. The most common
way to experience God's love is through another person.
This "tool" in youth ministry softens the
soil and makes the ground receptive to the seed. In
cultivating young lives we need a soaking rain of God's
love through the Holy Spirit. Soft and caring hands,
patient ears and welcoming smiles go a long way in
producing new life.
Young
people need worship and prayer. We all need to learn
about being
in the presence of God. This needful element often
washes away the impurities as we are bathed in the
light of His presence. At the heart of being a Christian
is the sense of relationship we have with God. God
is no longer far off because of our sin but rather
he has been brought near by the redemptive work of
His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Worship and prayer
are an expression of our relationship with God. This
relationship is constant in our lives. Youth ministers
and young people especially need to know that God is
with them, always, and that we have been "called
out of darkness into His marvelous light." (I
Peter 2:9).
This
is often the hard part. After we have the trained farmers
doing their tasks, using
their tools and taking constant care of the field we
must wait for the seed to germinate and grow. When
I started in youth ministry I used to hear... "It
takes 2-3 years to become successful in youth ministry".
That was hard for me to understand. I remember 3 months
into the ministry at Saint Andrew's in Destin we had
a "successful" first retreat. Many young
people made decisions for the Lord, many were Baptized
in the Holy Spirit and the youth ministry was off and
rolling. Over the next two years or so we had many
successes in ministry, a few failures and to be honest
there were times of great struggle. I was growing and
at times felt I was being painfully pruned by the Lord
to grow in a better way. The adult leadership team
was growing as well. Becoming a team takes sacrifice
and humility which at times can be painful.
There was reason to be excited. Over the first two
and a half years we saw growth. Young people breaking
forth with new life in Christ just like little green
plants breaking forth from the ground. Some grew faster
than others. All of the growth was exciting. Something
amazing happened at the two and a half year mark. The
ministry got easy. We hit a stride where young people
were studying the Bible on their own, evangelizing
their friends, and committing to the Lord and each
other. It was remarkable. The fruit we had hoped for
was sweeter than we could ever have imagined. Over
the next three years the labor was still demanding
but their was a joy in the work. There is nothing more
exciting to a farmer than to see a healthy and productive
harvest. We still had to do all the basic work but
we were seeing the fruit of all that had been done.
The call to youth ministry can be a difficult one.
Sometimes it is for a short season in which we simply
work the field. Our job might not be to harvest but
rather to plant and nurture. One person's gifts might
be in one specific area and they in turn share their
gifts in different locations. Every worker, from the
beginning to the end of the process, has an important
role in producing a harvest. Our task is to be faithful
to the Lord where He places us.
Growing a youth ministry is never easy. It takes time.
I personally believe that those working in this "field" need
to make a four year commitment. Too many get frustrated
early on and end up quitting with too high expectations.
Statistics from Group magazine say the average stay
of a youth worker in one church is 18 months or less.
Most leave before becoming "successful".
In laboring in one field for several seasons I have
discovered the longer you stay the sweeter the fruit.
Though youth ministry is full of its struggles and
obstacles it is a good field in which to work. As a
fellow youth worker has said, "We just happen
to work with very fertile soil; the life of a teenager.".
She's right and it is time to dig in!
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