Director of Student Ministries for Regular Baptist Press. He also is the co-founder and president of Vision For Youth, Inc., and the co-editor of Pushing the Limits: Unleashing the Potential of Student Ministry (Thomas Nelson, 2006).
Emphasize Mentoring over Methods
Youth ministry is always “method” crazy. Countless conferences and seminars tout the latest and greatest “what-works” technique for ministry. Methods are fine, but we must never forget that real youth ministry focuses on the concept of godly adults impacting students through practices of discipleship and mentoring.
Mentoring needs to be intentionally implemented into the fabric of our ministries. It’s the concept so aptly described in
Titus 2. Older men and older women should take the initiative to develop intentional growing relationships with young people. And I believe it is more likely to happen in smaller churches.
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Train, Don’t Just Teach
I have spent the majority of my life involved in various educational endeavors. I believe in the importance of preaching as in the proclamation of truth, but we must emphasize training, or equipping, not just the verbal presentation of fact. Our students need to see how biblical principles apply to life. I love the account in Luke 24 of Christ’s post-resurrection appearance to some of His disciples. Remember the two walking to Emmaus? Christ taught them the Scriptures while He accompanied them on their journey. What was the result? Verse 32 (NKJV) says, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
Perhaps that is an apt description of what real ministry is all about: showing students that God’s Word relates to life! Youth workers are probably more likely to have that opportunity in a smaller youth group.
After looking at all these factors, youth workers in smaller churches may have an advantage when it comes to impacting kids. Come to think of it, maybe size does matter.
1 See “Small Church Struggle to Grow Because of the People They Attract"