Like many men in ministry, I began in youth ministry. This week marks 40 years since I transitioned from youth minister to preaching minister. It only lasted 1 1/2 years because I never intended to be a youth minister, but that’s really the only kind of position young men can find in churches. So, though barely out of being in a youth group myself at the age of 20, I applied for a weekend-only position at a small town church in rural Kennard, Indiana.
During my junior & senior years of Bible college in Cincinnati, Penny & I drove 2 hours there & back every Sunday. I taught children’s church in the morning, led the small teen group in the evening, & held special events like all-nighters & VBS. It’s wild to know those teens are all in their 50’s now. I made only $75 per week, but gained lots of experience. I’d been blessed with a great youth minister who inspired me to go into ministry, so the way I ran the youth group was mostly based on what I remembered from him.
I became the interim minister when the senior minister retired, & I’ve been a preacher ever since. Even though youth ministry wasn’t really my interest, I appreciate the great value of discipling the next generation. When we started Southpoint Church, we had no youth minister (or any staff), but I thought it important to start a youth group anyway. So we’d invite the few teens we had to our home on Sunday nights. The first person I hired for a ministry position 2 years later was a young Bible College student who traveled from Lansing about 2 hours away, as I had done. We’ve had a student minister ever since.
But youth ministry itself is still a relatively new thing. Christian education for teens used to take place in the home & with the rest of the adults on Sundays. But since the 1940’s, with the recognition of adolescence as its own stage of life & the developing youth culture, churches have really only had youth ministries since the early 1970’s.
Has it been a good thing for Christianity? It’s a mixed bag, depending greatly on who’s leading & what’s being taught. If teens are being taught Scripture in a way they can understand & relate to their lives, it’s a tremendous help. They get to experience caring adult leaders, positive peer pressure, moral guidance, & life-changing lessons. They’re also less likely to get involved in bad habits & risky behaviors.
But that’s not always the case. More often than not, when students graduate & leave the youth group, they drift away from church & even faith. Upwards of 60-70% of regular high school evangelical church attendees walk away. Some come back to faith later when they settle down & start a family. At least that used to be the case. It’s not as true anymore.
Part of the reason may be due to youth groups setting up unrealistic expectations for what church should be. For a few years teens enjoy playing goofy games, having pizza, & singing praise songs to their own style of music. Sometimes, churches try to make youth groups more relevant & cool by competing with what the world offers, & it becomes its own generationally-segregated environment. There’s nothing wrong with teens having a great time, but when they eventually graduate from the youth group into the “big church,” all that’s gone. It’s not as fun anymore.
It could be that many walk away because there wasn’t much learning of Scripture. They were fed inspirational pep talks instead of serious biblical & theological training. So they don’t know what they believe or why they believe it. Another concern is the typical youth minister is only around for about 1½ to 4 years, like I was. A leader needs at least a couple of years just to build some trust & momentum. But that rarely happens because the turnover rate is so high.
Young men being placed in such leadership positions isn’t often a good idea. But that’s usually the only kind of person a smaller church can afford. Some do great, but many struggle. They may be energetic & dynamic characters who understand youth culture & can draw a crowd, but they don’t have the experience, wisdom, or biblical knowledge yet to lead well. Once they’ve run through their limited “bag of tricks,” they move on to the next church.
I’m very happy to say that at our church, God’s Word is the focus for youth meetings. I’m grateful for our solid & engaging youth leaders. Yes, students have a good time, but they’re learning what Scripture says & being challenged to commit to Christ. They’re seeing how the Bible answers their questions & deals with controversial issues. In fact, many of our teens right now are on their annual mission trip in a poor Kentucky community to serve for a week. During that time, they have daily personal study time, devotional talks & discussions, worship, & chances to pray with those in the community.
Teens don’t need us to compete with what the culture offers them. They need us to be the alternative to all that junk. We don’t need to just amuse & treat them as silly juveniles. We want them to stretch, so we expect more of them. But youth ministry cannot take the place of parents’ responsibility to train their children in the instruction of the Lord. If we’re not serious about this, we’ll lose the next generation.