What’s crazy is this: If teens are set ablaze for Jesus in a youth group, that same fire often ignites the adults in “big church” as well. I’ve seen this in church after church during 30 years of ministry. Set ablaze, teenagers can ignite passion for Christ and his cause church-wide.
Youth Ministry Philosophy
Now that I’ve made the case for youth ministry, let me make the case for the right kind (philosophy) of youth ministry. And what’s that? The kind Jesus practiced with his mostly teenage disciples!
Most movies about Jesus’ life depict the disciples as young men in their late 20s or early 30s. But Scripture indicates that most were much younger. In fact, I’m convinced most were teenagers when they began following Jesus!
For Scriptural support, check out Matthew 17:24-27.
“After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?’ ‘Yes, he does,’ he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. ‘What do you think, Simon?’ he asked. ‘From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own children or from others?’ ‘From others,’ Peter answered. ‘Then the children are exempt,” Jesus said to him. ‘But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.’”
And if you cross-reference this with Exodus 30:14, you’ll get the punchline. “All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord.“
This verse refers to the Tabernacle/Temple Tax. Only those 20 and older paid it. Do you see the implications? When Jesus and the disciples went to Capernaum, all the disciples were there, but only Jesus and Peter paid the tax! This means Jesus was a youth leader…with one adult sponsor (Peter) and one really rotten kid (Judas Iscariot)!
Follow the Lead of Jesus
Jesus unleashed that small youth group to shake the world with the Gospel (Acts 1:8)! If he invested the bulk of his ministry efforts into reaching and mobilizing teenagers to change the world, shouldn’t we? If we really want to be like Jesus in the way we minister, then we must create more bandwidth and budget in our churches to inspire, equip and unleash teenagers to accomplish the mission of Jesus!
Jesus’ brand of youth ministry was Gospel Advancing. In his own words, he came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). He was on a search-and-rescue mission for the lost, and he recruited his disciples to join him.
What if we do the same with our teenagers? What if we scrap the traditional approach (heavy on games, light on truth and mission) and mobilize our teens to make and multiply disciples?
Please don’t underestimate teenagers and their potential to advance God’s kingdom! Every great awakening in American history has had teenagers on the leading edge. We don’t need to wait for kids to grow up. Jesus didn’t, so why would we?
Let’s harness all the adrenalin, idealism, hormones and cell phones of our teenagers. Let’s channel that to reach broken, hurting and hopeless people with the good news of Jesus!
Traditional youth ministry has had its chance for the last 50+ years. And the results have been, at best, weak. According to one recent and super-shocking report, The Great Opportunity, the church is on track to lose over 1 million evangelical youth per year between now and 2050!
This must-read-report makes it crystal clear. Not only are the majority of youth ministries failing to reach lost teenagers. They aren’t even keeping the saved ones in the fold for the long haul.
Switch to a Radical Youth Ministry Philosophy
Enough is enough! We must employ a radical “new” youth ministry philosophy (that’s actually 2,000 years old). It’s built on mobilizing teenagers as missionaries to their own circles of influence at school and online. This philosophy will work with any model you may have in place. As a matter of fact, it will energize that model in ways you never imagined!
What about discipleship? Don’t worry; your teenagers will “grow as they go.” In other words, the farther they take the Gospel into their circles of influence, the deeper they’ll grow in their faith. That’s why Philemon 1:6 reminds us, “I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith that you may know every good thing you have in Christ Jesus.” The more our teens share the Gospel, the more they know it, own it and grow in it.
Find out more about this philosophy of ministry at Gospeladvancing.org. You can also download a free digital version of my book Gospelize Your Youth Ministry here. It unpacks the seven values of a Gospel Advancing ministry mindset from the book of Acts in a powerful, practical way.
It’s time to double down not just on the importance of youth ministry but on the strategic potential of the right kind. Are you up for it?
This article originally appeared here.
