A New Kind of Youth Ministry

by Dan Walsh

Most Christian churches having a strong outreach to families will have a Youth Ministry of some kind. Sovereign Grace Church is no exception. But if I asked you to search the Bible for that famous chapter on Youth Ministry, could you find it? No? How about if I shorten the assignment? Can you find that great passage on Youth Ministry? Well, how about a single verse?

The point is (and I do have one), there aren’t any verses in the Bible about Youth Ministry. Not a single one. Does that surprise you? Do you think it should say something to us as parents? We do.

An American Tradition

Over the last forty years, a new tradition has formed in America, a tradition of turning over the care and training of our children to others. Children are often put in the care of outsiders from six weeks of age. It may start off with the daycare center or a nanny, then it’s on to nursery schools and elementary schools, middle schools and high schools. After school, they’re watched by someone else until mom and dad get home; or else they’re latchkey kids, being entertained by the TV, videos, or Nintendo.

Even after they get home from work, moms and dads are often too tired to interact with their kids in a meaningful way. Soon, the children enter their teen years and start to prefer the company of their peers. And all too often, parents seem willing to just let them go.

What this tradition has produced since 1960:

A 560% increase in violent crime.

A 200% increase in teen suicide.

1.3 million teens now run away from home each year.

Two-thirds admit to being "sexually active" before they reach high school.

Just in the last 6 years, 225 students and teachers have been killed at school by teens.

 

"In the last 3 decades Americans have been conducting a social experiment along these lines: Let's see how many children we can have, but not parent them. Well, the results of that experiment are now in."

- Bill Bennett, Former US Education Secretary

Culture Creep

Sadly, during this time the family life statistics for most churches have not fared much better. Instead of the church impacting the culture with the power of the gospel, it seems the culture has crept into the life of the church.

Many churches have not taught their members the life-changing truths about family life from God's word, nor have they held them accountable to obey. Instead they have often catered to the culture, adapting the same wrong focus the world has on these issues. For example, in most churches the parents of teens rarely spend any time personally discipling them, believing instead it's the responsibility of the church's youth leaders to lead them to Christ.  There are no verses for this, either.

More...