My wife and I have spent the past 30 years in youth & family ministry. Our burden is that this website becomes a blessing to many and a resource for which you can impact your youth for the cause of Christ. It's all about Jesus. The goal in a youth and family ministry is to assist parents in raising Godly youth who follow Jesus Christ. If there is no parent present or if they are not in church, then your goal is to help that youth become a Godly young person who follows and loves Jesus Christ. You should strive to train youth to continually keep their focus VERTICAL on Christ and the Word of God. I believe a biblical youth ministry is a family based youth ministry whose focus is on Jesus Christ and the Bible. When a a parent is absent the body of Christ becomes that family to help that youth grow in their relationship with God,
I like how Mark DeVries describes youth ministry in his book Family-Based Youth Ministry "It is about accessing the God-designed structures of the nuclear family and the extended family of the body of Christ (the church) to help young people grow toward mature Christian adulthood ."
PHILOSOPHY OF YOUTH AND FAMILY MINISTRY
PREPARED AND PRESENTED BY PASTOR JEFF WHITEFORD
The key to any successful youth and family ministry is based on one's perspective, or what is called a philosophy of youth ministry. The average span of a youth pastor at a church is 1.5 years. Many times a youth pastor's tenure is short because a philosophy of youth and family ministry is not established. A successful youth and family ministry is not….
· Having the best and latest program
· Entertainment
· Having a large youth group
· A bunch of exciting games and creative activities
· Something to keep young people from getting involved with the wrong crowd
· The result of a dynamic youth pastor
So what is the key? Successful youth and family ministry is built upon a philosophy that has its foundations rooted in the principles found in God’s Word.
Any structure is only as good as its foundation. The list above may not be all wrong, but if one builds their ministry on them they have created a weak foundation. There are certain foundational principles that, if followed, will lead to a God honoring, parent encouraging, teen growing (spiritual) vibrant youth and family ministry. The foundation of every youth and family ministry needs to be God’s Word. While your programs may dry up and you begin to repeat the same old games and programs, God’s Word is vibrant, alive and will never grow old.
This first foundational principal I like to call Our Purpose. While this is becoming less popular in many youth and family ministries today, the supremacy of God's Word is absolutely critical to a successful youth and family ministry. That includes supremacy of God's Word in preaching, teaching, memorizing, life examples, personal one-on-one discipleship, and encouraging teens to develop a personal, consistent, and daily relationship with Jesus Christ. Our purpose is that youth know Christ personally and intimately through the Word of God. Paul speaks in Philippians 3:10, 13-15 “ That I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto His death;… but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus…if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” A youth ministry should be designed to build teens in the Word of God, so they will be disciples, patterning their lives after Christ. If this is what we strive for in our youth and family ministry we will be focused VERTICALLY and IMPACT horizontally the people we serve.
The second foundational principal to successful youth and family ministry is Our Parent Ministry.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 Says
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Our #1 youth leaders should be our parents. Parents are the key to youth ministry.
A study was conducted about who youth spend their time with.
5% of their time under the influence of the local church
15% of their time 3x's the amount spent at church was spent under the influence of his friends
25-35% of their time under the influence of their school.
45-55% of their time under the influence of the home- Mom & Dad
That is why the HOME or the body of Christ is the most important factor in the life of a young person and their spiritual growth.
God has communicated his thoughts on a parents role as the primary teacher of their children in Deuteronomy 5:30-31. God said to Moses in verses 30-31
30 Go and say to them, (fathers)"Return to your tents."
31 But you(Moses), stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.'
After God Gave Moses the Commandments and statutes, Moses was to go and teach the fathers who are then to teach their children.
When you come to the next chapter of Deuteronomy, chapter 6, Moses begins to teach the fathers. Chapter 6 and verse 5 reads “You shall love the the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all my soul and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart and you (fathers) shall teach them diligently unto your children.....
You see it wasn't Moses' responsibility to teach the children, and it was not Joshua's responsibility to teach the children; it was mom and dad's responsibility to teach the children.
It was Moses responsibility to train the parents how to teach their children in order that the parents could teach their own children.
*** The Bible places the responsibility of youth work squarely on the shoulders of the parents.
We see a chain of command in Deuteronomy 6 regarding the communication of God's truth
1. God
2. Leader (Moses, Pastor, Youth Pastor, Sunday School teacher)
3. Father
4. Children
The old adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” is a good parallel. Many times a youth pastor is able, through God’s help, to bring a young person to a point where he wants to serve God, and he or she gets excited about God’s work in their life. The parents, on the other hand, are not as excited about serving God. Everything rises and falls on leadership. The old adage also goes on to say, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink, but you can salt the oats.” The key to having godly young people in a youth ministry are godly parents who are willing to be spiritual leaders and spend time training their children to know God and His Word. I've spent the past 20 years as an assistant pastor in full and part time youth ministry, and I am convinced that the parent ministry is absolutely critical to having a successful, biblically based youth and family ministry. I see the youth ministry in any church simply as an extension ministry of the home. The Youth ministry should back up, support and aid parents in their efforts to raise godly young people, with a goal to bring them to mature Christian adulthood. I don’t believe that the youth ministry is a replacement of the parent’s role, but a support of their role. I also understand that we minister to a generation of young people who come from a single-parent or no-parent homes, being raised by a grandparent or relatives. Because of this, it is absolutely essential for the body of Christ (the church) as a whole to see youth ministry as their responsibility. It is critical that every believer, whether they have youth or not, embrace our young people, mentor them, and disciple them to be followers of Christ. I also believe, and, by experience, have seen the need to help train parents and leaders in the church on raising godly teen-agers. My goal is to have routine parent meetings, which would keep parents informed on what is going on in the youth ministry. There is a great need for training and teaching times during the year to assist parents in raising godly children. My desire is to give the teens the tools to be godly teens and to give the parents the tools and training to be godly parents. By developing godly teens and parents, it will bring spiritual maturity and growth to the body of Christ. Even as a pastor teaches, disciples, trains and leads the flock of God, so I have a desire to help assist the Senior Pastor in helping parents of teens and children as they seek help to raise godly young people. The future of our church is our teens.
The third foundational principle is Personal Relationships or relationship building.
I believe in getting involved in the lives of the young people. This does not mean dressing, acting, or doing all that they do. It does mean getting actively involved in the lives of the teens in order to have an impact in their life. I don’t buy into the concept of lowering standards in order to relate to them. You can’t reach teens from a distance, you must be involved in their lives. (i.e. Sports, one-on-one discipleship, school functions, taking them out to eat.) Every teen is at a different spiritual level and may not be saved. My desire is to meet every teen at their level. While this is the third level on the foundational principles pyramid, I believe it is critical to reaching our teens. “Teens don’t care how much you know, unless they know how much you care.” If our churches are going to experience God honoring growth, we must play an active role in discipleship and one-on-one relationship building.
The fourth & final foundational principle for youth and family ministry is P.T.I.
This is in a continual developmental stage because I am a firm believer that you never stop learning. P.T.I. stands for what I call the Paul and Timothy Institute or Personal Training Institute. Basically as I get older, I want to impact other youth/assistant pastors and help them develop their philosophy of youth and family ministry and supply them with tools and training for effective ministry. I also want to help encourage pastors in their relationship with their assistants. The Paul and Timothy mentoring relationship seems to be much needed but greatly neglected. If we are to send out people from our church into full time ministry, I believe this mentoring process is absolutely critical to developing the current and the next generation of youth pastors, pastors, and missionaries from our local church.
I like how Mark DeVries describes youth ministry in his book Family-Based Youth Ministry "It is about accessing the God-designed structures of the nuclear family and the extended family of the body of Christ (the church) to help young people grow toward mature Christian adulthood ."
PHILOSOPHY OF YOUTH AND FAMILY MINISTRY
PREPARED AND PRESENTED BY PASTOR JEFF WHITEFORD
The key to any successful youth and family ministry is based on one's perspective, or what is called a philosophy of youth ministry. The average span of a youth pastor at a church is 1.5 years. Many times a youth pastor's tenure is short because a philosophy of youth and family ministry is not established. A successful youth and family ministry is not….
· Having the best and latest program
· Entertainment
· Having a large youth group
· A bunch of exciting games and creative activities
· Something to keep young people from getting involved with the wrong crowd
· The result of a dynamic youth pastor
So what is the key? Successful youth and family ministry is built upon a philosophy that has its foundations rooted in the principles found in God’s Word.
Any structure is only as good as its foundation. The list above may not be all wrong, but if one builds their ministry on them they have created a weak foundation. There are certain foundational principles that, if followed, will lead to a God honoring, parent encouraging, teen growing (spiritual) vibrant youth and family ministry. The foundation of every youth and family ministry needs to be God’s Word. While your programs may dry up and you begin to repeat the same old games and programs, God’s Word is vibrant, alive and will never grow old.
This first foundational principal I like to call Our Purpose. While this is becoming less popular in many youth and family ministries today, the supremacy of God's Word is absolutely critical to a successful youth and family ministry. That includes supremacy of God's Word in preaching, teaching, memorizing, life examples, personal one-on-one discipleship, and encouraging teens to develop a personal, consistent, and daily relationship with Jesus Christ. Our purpose is that youth know Christ personally and intimately through the Word of God. Paul speaks in Philippians 3:10, 13-15 “ That I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto His death;… but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus…if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” A youth ministry should be designed to build teens in the Word of God, so they will be disciples, patterning their lives after Christ. If this is what we strive for in our youth and family ministry we will be focused VERTICALLY and IMPACT horizontally the people we serve.
The second foundational principal to successful youth and family ministry is Our Parent Ministry.
Deuteronomy 6:6-9 Says
6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
Our #1 youth leaders should be our parents. Parents are the key to youth ministry.
A study was conducted about who youth spend their time with.
5% of their time under the influence of the local church
15% of their time 3x's the amount spent at church was spent under the influence of his friends
25-35% of their time under the influence of their school.
45-55% of their time under the influence of the home- Mom & Dad
That is why the HOME or the body of Christ is the most important factor in the life of a young person and their spiritual growth.
God has communicated his thoughts on a parents role as the primary teacher of their children in Deuteronomy 5:30-31. God said to Moses in verses 30-31
30 Go and say to them, (fathers)"Return to your tents."
31 But you(Moses), stand here by me, and I will tell you the whole commandment and the statutes and the rules that you shall teach them, that they may do them in the land that I am giving them to possess.'
After God Gave Moses the Commandments and statutes, Moses was to go and teach the fathers who are then to teach their children.
When you come to the next chapter of Deuteronomy, chapter 6, Moses begins to teach the fathers. Chapter 6 and verse 5 reads “You shall love the the Lord, your God with all your heart and with all my soul and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be in your heart and you (fathers) shall teach them diligently unto your children.....
You see it wasn't Moses' responsibility to teach the children, and it was not Joshua's responsibility to teach the children; it was mom and dad's responsibility to teach the children.
It was Moses responsibility to train the parents how to teach their children in order that the parents could teach their own children.
*** The Bible places the responsibility of youth work squarely on the shoulders of the parents.
We see a chain of command in Deuteronomy 6 regarding the communication of God's truth
1. God
2. Leader (Moses, Pastor, Youth Pastor, Sunday School teacher)
3. Father
4. Children
The old adage, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” is a good parallel. Many times a youth pastor is able, through God’s help, to bring a young person to a point where he wants to serve God, and he or she gets excited about God’s work in their life. The parents, on the other hand, are not as excited about serving God. Everything rises and falls on leadership. The old adage also goes on to say, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink, but you can salt the oats.” The key to having godly young people in a youth ministry are godly parents who are willing to be spiritual leaders and spend time training their children to know God and His Word. I've spent the past 20 years as an assistant pastor in full and part time youth ministry, and I am convinced that the parent ministry is absolutely critical to having a successful, biblically based youth and family ministry. I see the youth ministry in any church simply as an extension ministry of the home. The Youth ministry should back up, support and aid parents in their efforts to raise godly young people, with a goal to bring them to mature Christian adulthood. I don’t believe that the youth ministry is a replacement of the parent’s role, but a support of their role. I also understand that we minister to a generation of young people who come from a single-parent or no-parent homes, being raised by a grandparent or relatives. Because of this, it is absolutely essential for the body of Christ (the church) as a whole to see youth ministry as their responsibility. It is critical that every believer, whether they have youth or not, embrace our young people, mentor them, and disciple them to be followers of Christ. I also believe, and, by experience, have seen the need to help train parents and leaders in the church on raising godly teen-agers. My goal is to have routine parent meetings, which would keep parents informed on what is going on in the youth ministry. There is a great need for training and teaching times during the year to assist parents in raising godly children. My desire is to give the teens the tools to be godly teens and to give the parents the tools and training to be godly parents. By developing godly teens and parents, it will bring spiritual maturity and growth to the body of Christ. Even as a pastor teaches, disciples, trains and leads the flock of God, so I have a desire to help assist the Senior Pastor in helping parents of teens and children as they seek help to raise godly young people. The future of our church is our teens.
The third foundational principle is Personal Relationships or relationship building.
I believe in getting involved in the lives of the young people. This does not mean dressing, acting, or doing all that they do. It does mean getting actively involved in the lives of the teens in order to have an impact in their life. I don’t buy into the concept of lowering standards in order to relate to them. You can’t reach teens from a distance, you must be involved in their lives. (i.e. Sports, one-on-one discipleship, school functions, taking them out to eat.) Every teen is at a different spiritual level and may not be saved. My desire is to meet every teen at their level. While this is the third level on the foundational principles pyramid, I believe it is critical to reaching our teens. “Teens don’t care how much you know, unless they know how much you care.” If our churches are going to experience God honoring growth, we must play an active role in discipleship and one-on-one relationship building.
The fourth & final foundational principle for youth and family ministry is P.T.I.
This is in a continual developmental stage because I am a firm believer that you never stop learning. P.T.I. stands for what I call the Paul and Timothy Institute or Personal Training Institute. Basically as I get older, I want to impact other youth/assistant pastors and help them develop their philosophy of youth and family ministry and supply them with tools and training for effective ministry. I also want to help encourage pastors in their relationship with their assistants. The Paul and Timothy mentoring relationship seems to be much needed but greatly neglected. If we are to send out people from our church into full time ministry, I believe this mentoring process is absolutely critical to developing the current and the next generation of youth pastors, pastors, and missionaries from our local church.