Youth Ministry: Engaging Youth in Religion
Youth Ministry
“Train children in the right way and when old, they will not stray.” These are words which we often here from our parents, grandparents and ministers, and most likely have memorized, since we were young. As youth and teenagers these words probably seemed easy enough for our parents and later for ourselves to fulfill; but the more mature we became, the more we realized what a gigantic task, “to train children in the right way” is. The Lord has entrusted to us; whether we are parents, grandparents, ministers, teachers, etc., a large task. We should feel honored by the trust which we have been given, and therefore need to take the task as it is a matter of life or death. Hence the purpose of this paper is to identify how we as Christian Educators can fulfill this task through Youth ministry and how we can lure the youth in to participating and focusing on what we are trying to teach them. For Youth ministry’s future will be determined largely by the choices and timing of decisions that we make today.
However, before I can elaborate on fulfilling this important task, we must first define Youth Ministry is and its purpose. Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as Youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry and is the way in which a faith group, or other religious organization involves and engages with the young people who attend its place of worship, or live in its community. Christian community use Youth ministry to reach out to the youth with the love of God as revealed to us in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. It helps youth and their families adapt the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ so that they may develop a deeper committed relationship with Him. It also works to foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person and seeks to draw young people into responsible participation in the life, mission and work of the faith community. It is therefore the Church 's efforts to help each and every
“Train children in the right way and when old, they will not stray.” These are words which we often here from our parents, grandparents and ministers, and most likely have memorized, since we were young. As youth and teenagers these words probably seemed easy enough for our parents and later for ourselves to fulfill; but the more mature we became, the more we realized what a gigantic task, “to train children in the right way” is. The Lord has entrusted to us; whether we are parents, grandparents, ministers, teachers, etc., a large task. We should feel honored by the trust which we have been given, and therefore need to take the task as it is a matter of life or death. Hence the purpose of this paper is to identify how we as Christian Educators can fulfill this task through Youth ministry and how we can lure the youth in to participating and focusing on what we are trying to teach them. For Youth ministry’s future will be determined largely by the choices and timing of decisions that we make today.
However, before I can elaborate on fulfilling this important task, we must first define Youth Ministry is and its purpose. Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as Youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry and is the way in which a faith group, or other religious organization involves and engages with the young people who attend its place of worship, or live in its community. Christian community use Youth ministry to reach out to the youth with the love of God as revealed to us in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. It helps youth and their families adapt the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ so that they may develop a deeper committed relationship with Him. It also works to foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person and seeks to draw young people into responsible participation in the life, mission and work of the faith community. It is therefore the Church 's efforts to help each and every
Bibliography: Anthony, Michael J. Introducing Christian Education: Foundations for the Twenty-first Century, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001 Anti Essays. Youth ministry, accessed on October 10th, 2012. http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/37916.html Bowman, Clarice M. Ways Youth Learn, New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers, 1952. Douty, Mary Alice. How to work with Church Groups, New York, Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998 Fields, Doug. Purpose Driven Youth Ministry, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998. St. Bernard, Youth Ministry and Religious Education, accessed on October 15th, 2012. http://www.stbernardla.cc/administrative/ministries/ym/ym.htm.