Lately I've been wrestling with what to do about our student ministries. I really want to get our young folks to the point where they can explain and defend the Christian faith against attacks from their unbelieving friends, the media, and false teachings.
The problem is, I can't seem to find any good resources from people who train their students well. I'm sure our ym and I could write something on our own, but I'd like some input from other places, also.
Do y'all know of any biblically sound resources for student ministry? What is your philosophy of youth ministry? What role should the church have in equipping our young people?
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3 comments:
Just 7 months ago I was a "Youth Minister." It seems like ages ago.
I used Piper's "Blazing Center" which was originally preached at a youth retreat.
I used CJ Mahaney's "Cross-Centered Life" for a D-now weekend. The student's loved it and grew as a result of it.
The best book out there directed at "church kids" is Graustein's "Growing Up Christian." I took the kids through this book chapter by chapter. It is excellent!
Ultimately, the best thing for a student ministry is the consistent exposition of the Scriptures.
One soap box: Youth ministry should be intimately connected to the life of the church. Too many student ministires are disconnected. Students need to observe a healthy church and not just be entertained in their own little room.
Thanks Justin,
I'll check out those resources.
I completely agree with your soapbox. That's one of the things I want to get away from. It's so easy to end up having two churches (or more) meet in the same building... one for youth and another for everyone else.
Personally I think that Sovereign Grace has a good philosophy of ministry, but it probably wouldn't fit into your church right now. You can probably read up on how they have more of a family ministry and see some helpful suggestions from that. I think Bethlehem (Piper's church) has gone to a very similar model for youth. When I was a youth pastor I talked with Brad Nelson, the youth pastor at Bethlehem, and they were working toward going to more of a family ministry. I personally feel that is the best way to go.
However, I understand that would probably be a very radical change, so I would just encourage you to see what they do and gain some suggestions from their ministries. I would agree with you and Justin that the main thing that will help you have a healthy youth ministry is that they remain connected and hear a steady exposition of the Word. There is no other substitute.
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