I get a lot of questions (even on this blog already!) about the necessity of student ministry. Most recently, the question arose when I stated my hearty support for Voddie Baucham’s teaching on family worship and discipleship, while disagreeing with him on the issue of whether or not local churches should even have student ministry at all. Dr. Baucham has stated plainly that he believes “Youth Ministry as we know it has three key problems: The model finds no support in Scripture, it undermines the biblical practice of family discipleship, and it has failed to accomplish the goal for which it was established.” Therefore, his answer (part 1, Part 2, Part 3) to the issue has been to abandon student ministry within the church altogether, taking on the family integrated approach in all church ministries and teaching. Dr. Baucham is fair in his assessment, and clearly articulates the main arguments that I have heard against student ministry. I myself have struggled with these issues and would like to address them here. This is not a rebuttal of Dr. Baucham’s articles, but I have pointed you to them so that you can read a well articulated argument against student ministry from a well thought out and fair perspective. With that said, I will be outlining my reasons as to why I believe student ministry is important and necessary over several blog posts in the next few days.
Falling Off the Tightrope on Both Sides
Like most issues within the church, student ministry has two extremes — some will say that students need to be isolated from the rest of the congregation so that they are ministered to in ways that the larger gathering cannot provide. This includes generational Sunday school, worship, small groups, prayer times, etc. Essentially, it is a student church within the local congregation. The other extreme is an anti-student ministry position that says it is completely unnecessary, unbiblical, and always harmful to the overall church. Those who hold to this extreme typically cite an increased failure on the part of parents to disciple their children because they place the responsibility in the hands of the church, an eventual abandonment of solid biblical teaching for the sake of entertainment, and an overall failure to produce life-long disciples. Many also conclude that having a student ministry within a church automatically leads to a congregation having lower expectations of the students than they do of other members.
In my opinion, both of these extremes represent error. Whenever these type of positions are taken, it is usually the result of failing to do the work of maintaining a difficult balance on a very thin rope. Usually, extreme positions are held because they are opposing the opposite extreme. When taking rigid stances, we often forget that it is very easy to fall off the tightrope on both sides. In other words, we see the other side as fallen, yet fail to recognize that the rope is nowhere to be found under our feet either. “How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye” (Luke 6:42).
How do we walk the tightrope? I have some ideas, and I want to hear yours. Stay tuned as I dig deeper over the next several days. And please, feel free to comment — This is an important conversation to have and we all have room to grow.
Filed under: Ecclesiology, Ministry, Students, discipleship, family
Nick,
I actually agree with Dr. Baucham’s first problem with youth ministry: it doesn’t appear anywhere in scripture. However, I don’t think this automatically has to mean that we should do away with all youth ministry within the local church. It seems that the church we read about in the bible was a united one, lacking the age separations we see today. Therefore, if a church does have specific youth ministry, it should be the goal of that ministry to help join the youth with the other members as much as is possible.
As for Dr. Baucham’s second problem (youth ministry undermining family discipleship), I see that as a failure on the part of the fathers in particular to teach their children. Most youth ministers would be absolutely thrilled if the parents within the church saw it as their responsibility to teach their own kids the bible. Also, if a church did away with all youth ministry, this would not automatically mean that the parents would quickly begin discipling their kids.
As for the third problem (not achieving the goal for which it was established), I think the local church should determine what the goal of youth ministry should be. Some churches are probably reaching these goals today, although I imagine most aren’t. Frankly, I think the majority of churches have no real goals for their youth. That may be a key issue in this entire discussion – what goals are biblically sound for youth ministry?
Thanks, Eric
first things fist… Nick dude that picture of the tightrope is freaky… it makes my stomach drop every time I look at it.
Couldn’t or shouldn’t youth misinsty be to help equip youths to not only be lights to those around them by their conduct but also to be disciples to their peers… if they had worship, sunday school, small groups and all that, that were devoted to them they could more easily invite thier friends or class mates and more effectivally reach out to them. I’m thinking that just as much responciblity is on them as their older church member counter-parts. We offer singles groups, groups for women, groups for men,etc. why not for the youth. I think that by negleticng them we sent them the message that they are just smaller adults. and we all know that they aren’t and they aren’t going through the same things as say the “golden” members are. But I think that the parents that do shirk off the duty of leading the family spiritually need to be yelled at. what is that that Mark Driscoll says? ” you need to be yelled at once a week” I know he was talking about going to church and listening to the sermon but I think that if you aren’t doing your duty as a parent it’s the responciblity of the shephards of the church (pastors) to yell at, wave sticks at, and push if need be, the sheep back going the way they should go.
Man I never knew I had so much to say on this subject… anytime you want me to shut up Nick just say the word bro and I’ll zip it.
I love the discussion you are having. As a senior pastor, I see a need for a strategy that continues to equip parents to disciple their own students. However, a majority of the teens we are touching right now do not come from Christian homes – in fact, in some cases the parents are only marginally supportive of their involvement in any church activity. They are simply happy the kids are out of the house. A part of our strategy must be to equip these students to be fully devoted disciples.
I don’t think a church can take an either/or approach. Perhaps the biggest challenge our youth workers face is building a ministry that serves those who come from a solid Christian home and those who have no Christian influence at home.
God bless as you continue to shape the lives of students.
@Eric: Great comments, thank you. I will attest to the fact that it certainly would be a wonderful thing if parents took seriously their responsibility to disciple their Children, teaching them to do private and family worship, and preparing them throughout the week to enter into the corporate worship gathering. I think there is an assumption that since a church offers student ministry, that the parents are allowed to be “off the hook”. This isn’t a fault of the church for having student ministry (as is assumed by Dr. Baucham’s third point), but rather the misunderstanding that parents have about their role in the spiritual lives of their children. I think another issue that is important (and that I will raise in a future post) is that most pastors of students do not see their role as it relates to the parents/families — typically, the emphasis is solely on the students, when the reality is that student ministry needs to be all encompassing to include the parents.
As for goals — again (as usual), you have raised a question that needs to be answered in a separate post, not the comments section! I’ll hit it soon!
@Jessica: I think my approach is different than what you’re assuming — the very problem is that we have considered students to be a separate group within the church. They need to be seen as members of the overall body. BUT, we also need to recognize that many of them are unchurched and have non-believing parents, therefore needing more attention, they have different likes and can utilize different forms of worship that may not be used in the corporate gathering, and they will be addressed in ways that are understandable to them in their context. I will write on this in my next post. A big problem with all of this is that we tend to lessen our expectations — we assume that students are incapable of big thinking and greater understanding, therefore we get stuck in a rut of simplicity and repetition. We need to teach/preach at their level, but never shy away from the bigger issues and theological concepts. These are the very things that give us depth to our Christian life — if we spend 18 years in loop, we have done a great disservice telling our students that they have to “grow up” before they’re ready for more. So in a sense, we have to treat them as “little adults”, as you have said, because if we do not, we bring in a lot of unnecessary and harmful assumptions.
@northpointcc: Thank you for coming by — I hope you will join the conversation often.
I agree with you completely — I spend time with many students that have unbelieving parents, therefore no means by which they can be discipled in the home. Additionally, many parents are never taught about or how to do family worship and discipleship. We absolutely must always have a both/and approach. Students with Christian parents/Students without. Parents who do private worship/parents who do not. The Church (and its leaders) has a great responsibility in both of these areas — train student disciples AND parent disciples. Discipline is an important aspect of this. We must continually emphasize daily family worship and personal devotion. This is the key to success in this area, across the board.
Thank you for your kind words!
so now you are a circus attarction, huh? tightrope walking and such, I knew you were peculiar but brother you really are going over the {big} top. hehe
Actually, I think that is a great comparitive analogy for this discussion. I heard Ravi recently say something (probably a quote, usually is with Ravi) about how the church is the only organization that exists for the people outside its walls rather than for those inside. Parents gotta do our jobs as parents and the church needs to have shepherds in place to lead those who do not have parents that are stepping up to the plate. The student ministry that is in place in most churches though, is increasingly less effective because it has become less focused on God and more focused on fun. When parents are always fun, they are no longer parents, they become friends. Having friends at home instead of parents is why we need to have a good bible teaching student ministry.
hey nick,
found you via Jared at the gospel driven church.
I think Jesus’ model of discipleship (read no model at all but a life lived transparently for/with those he was called to) is pretty close to what a healthy youth ministry could look like; a mentor with several mentorees. While not spelled out in the text of scripture, it is definitely there in the historical context of Jesus day.
So maybe that’s where the tightrope walk could begin.
just thinking out loud.
thanks for the post
tk
[...] been posting as frequently as I’d like (approx. every other day). I need to get moving on the series I introduced a few days ago asking “Is Student Ministry Necessary?” We have a great conversation going, so I’d like to keep it up. Until the next post of the [...]
what’s a pingback?
@ Bobby: Good points — again, the key is balance!
@TK: Thanks for stopping by. I agree with you — I think what you are explaining is actually laid out in scripture. Everyone likes to talk about the 12 disciples that followed Jesus, but tend to forget that he had an even closer group — Peter, James, and John. Jesus was leading and teaching the 12, but out of that group he focused even more on the 3. We certainly need to develop this model in our churches — in the days to come, I will outline how I think this works and what it looks like in my student ministry. Thanks!
@Jessica: A “pingback” is when another article (person) references this article in a link. This article is being pinged by the link in the other article. Make sense?
gotcha! thanks
[...] Is Student Ministry Necessary? :: A Failure to Communicate This is part two of my series, “Is Student Ministry Necessary?” Make sure you read the introduction first. [...]
From a the perspective of a parent, it just does not “feel right” to step inside the doors of the church and have the family go in different directions. The concept (philosophy) of age stratified education is fairly modern. It began with the Sunday School movement and the Public School system. The Church tends to adopt (slowly accept) societal trends without questioning them.
Parents must be called (by church elders) to teach. Equiped to teach and disciple. And held accountable. Right now the Church does not focus on these (with exception of a few – one being John Piper’s church – Bethlehem Baptist).
In fact, the Church may even have a strong “confict of interest” here because they want to build their programs. Usually at all costs. Grow the youth program is a mandate (unspoken) in most congregations. So family worship is NOT a priority.
Family worship has a power that no youth group will ever have… a generational blessing from father to son, mother to daughter, etc. Seeing your father sing praises to his God is more powerful to a kid than a lock-in. More info below:
http://www.visionforum.com/search/productdetail.aspx?search=evolution&productid=68216
Great questions here.
Also, I have serveral posts on the topic.
http://johnpalm.wordpress.com/2007/08/31/jesus-focused-on-building-people-not-organizations/
http://johnpalm.wordpress.com/2007/09/17/three-strikes-of-the-church-discipleship/
are you saying that Youth minstry is unnessasary totally?
You are using and/or accepting the term “youth ministry” in its modern meaning. Modern meaning late 1700’s. Modern Youth Ministry has roots in the Sunday School Movement. That was a “charity type ministry” reaching out and teaching Negro Slaves. Then later giving children working in factories something to do on Sunday (the day they where off work and wandering the city streets causing problems).
I guess my point is: there was a defined need to teach children and the segregation of children was not by choice but rather by necessity (parents were working or no parents).
So, to answer your question of “am I saying Youth Ministry is totally unnessesary?” NO – not at all. All ages should be ministered to.
But if your asking in the modern sense of automatically segregating youth for comfort, convienience, and just because we feel we “have to do it that way”. I just blind focus on “methodology”. The first thing I learned in youth 101 is first have a biblical philosophy THEN build the methods after that.
I think youth ministry needs a wake up call to go back to the days of TRUE innovation (not just adding bells and whisles and fancy program names). But truly rethinking methodology from the ground up — STARTING FROM THE BIBLE.
God instituted the FAMILY structure in Genesis. Then the CHURCH structure in the New Testament. Those are the only 2 God ordained organizations that I know of. “Youth Ministry” is not on that list.
Studies show that teens are influenced most by there parents (34%) second by there peers (33%) and way down the list is pastor at (8%) on sexual issues.
I’m suggesting new thinking for youth pastors to think out of the box. Not be concerned about protecting their “territory”. And not be afraid to empower parents in their ordained job and minstry — to teach their children.
Maybe the new name should be “Family Ministry” or “Family Discipleship Director” etc. etc. It’s time to Think again.
John:
Thank you for joining the conversation — you make several great points and bring out items of discussion that are near and dear to what I believe is necessary for student ministry reformation.
The church’s primary responsibilities are worshiping God and equipping the saints for the work of the gospel (serving the community, loving our neighbors, missions, etc.). Within the responsibility of equipping the saints, I agree wholeheartedly with you that we need to spend the same, if not more energy on training, exhorting, and encouraging parents to be discipling their children than we do in student ministry. Simply stated, the Church and student ministries struggle and often fail when parents have fallen down on the job when it comes to family worship and discipleship. The focus must be on the family and on parenting.
Nevertheless, I maintain a view that also holds student ministry to be an important part of the local congregation. This DOES NOT mean that we automatically separate everyone by age and keep it that way every time we gather. In fact, I hold to a methodology that seeks to integrate the family as much as possible. I loathe local church ministries that do everything by age — especially during “corporate worship.” It is simply not corporate worship when we cart the kids off to another room so they won’t be a “distraction.” So, I suspect that it seems as though I’m sitting on both sides of the issue, but I think there is an appropriate tension that must be maintained. I see a need for regular times when the students within the church are meeting together separately. The question arises then, “who is considered a ’student’”? This is where I differ from most “youth ministry gurus” and why I don’t call it “youth ministry,” but “student ministry.” (sorry about all the “”"”!). I think the age lines need to be a gray area. I love seeing the older, college students mentoring and encouraging the younger 4th and 5th grade students, showing them what Christians should strive to be in their early adult years. This establishes a foundation for discipleship. Additionally, this encourages younger students to raise the bar on their learning and comprehension as it pertains to theology and spiritual things. Most adults and ministries have very low expectations when it comes to students, yet when you take a look at what they are studying in school on a daily basis, it is clear that they are capable of learning and understanding much more than Jonah and the fish and Noah and the Ark.
I would love to see parents get involved in student ministry. I would love to see pastors to students be more direct in involving and exhorting the parents. We must maintain a proper balance so that our local church ministries are holistic and helpful as we strive to teach people to worship, and equip the saints for the work of the gospel.
Absolutely agree with “student ministry” points. That does create a richness when mixing students of different ages. We homeschool mainly for these reasons. That is the mix of our children’s ages along with adult (parents) allows younger more immature children to learn from and be socialized by older more mature children. The old “school house” on the prarie model.
I have heard that the roots of strict age stratification/segregation come from a philosophy that is rooted in evolution. I don’t have source for that. Dividing children/students/teens this way discourages the mentoring aspect you spoke about and encourages “foolish” behaviour based on strict peer on peer relationships. It also bleeds into the home — causing strife between siblings who long for the time with thier peers and who easily grow tired or frustrated with younger siblings at home.
You and your church are an exception to the norm. I don’t think student ministry should be thown out. Just re-evaluated. The pendulum needs to swing back to the wholeness of families and the unity of the (whole) body of Christ. Crying babies and all.
Do you think that youth ministers/ student minsters have a conflict of interest here? Many have a “unspoken” mandate to grow their groups and programs. Will this look like a “copout” to parents and the congregaton? How would such a ministry to families look?
Thanks for the lively discussion.
John: Great questions. I will be addressing those issues in an entire post to come, so I won’t hit it all right now. But you have hit on something that is very unfortunate, yet predominately prevalent in American evangelicalism: success is improperly measured, programs (methodology) trumps theology, and pastors to students are typically not viewed as pastors at all. These three things are an explosive mix that quickly degenerate into a man-centered party hour every week. Unfortunately, this is all that many people know, so anything different certainly will see this as a copout… a lot of teaching and mentoring is important when making a transition to holding parents responsible for the discipleship of their children and widening the margins for participation of various aged Christians. Better explanations need to be offered regarding what the role of the Church is, and how that plays out in each ministry. I think most people see student ministry as a separate entity within the church, so to make any attempt to assimilate the students with the entire corporate body is going to ruffle some feathers. And that’s exactly what needs to be happening if we want to see teenagers who stay in and remain strong in their churches even after they leave home.
Let’s keep in touch regarding this. And you keep on with what your doing. We have young boys (3,5,6) and what a blessing it would be to see church ministry to parents and youth reformed for their sake and the sake of the body of Christ and the gospel.
God Bless you.
John
[...] ministry is necessary within the local church. If you have not yet done so, read the introduction here, and part 2 (a failure to communicate) [...]