Matthew 19:14
"Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."
You know, I am not quite sure how old these "little children" were that came to Jesus. From the pictures in Bible story books, they were little toddlers. BUT you never know. ha. All that to say, when I started thinking about what I would like to write about today that verse came to mind.
Cause in youth ministry, I think it's tempting for some (probably more so for those who aren't IN youth ministry and are just on the outside looking in) to think that because the people we are ministering to are young, maybe they are not going to retain everything and things just aren't that important.
But THE KINGDOM BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE.
Speaking as someone who has just recently got out of actually being in the youth group, I know that the times I was impacted the most were the times that my youth pastor didn't "give it to us easy." When he spoke the truth just as if we were mature people who needed to be CHALLENGED I received it much more.
Teenagers enjoy being challenged. They like to prove adults wrong. And sometimes this takes on a negative tone but as Christian teens most of them want someone to challenge them and then to be given the opportunity to rise up to and exceed that challenge.
Some practicals...
Service...challenging them to serve the Church or community or certain individuals in some capacity.
The Word...challenging them to read or meditate on and memorize certain passages of Scripture.
Prayer. Fasting. Giving. Yeah, you can challenge your kids in ANY area and if you show them the vision and who they COULD BE and what they COULD DO then most, if not all, of them will want to arise to that vision and will be willing to put the action in that is necessary to get there.
Any thoughts on challenging teens in your ministry to them?
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3 comments:
Meghan,
Sorry it's been for a while for me to respond to you.
First things first.
You wrote, "
Teenagers enjoy being challenged. They like to prove adults wrong. And sometimes this takes on a negative tone but as Christian teens most of them want someone to challenge them and then to be given the opportunity to rise up to and exceed that challenge."
It's so so true. At the same time when teens challenge adults trying to prove adults wrong they would like to be challenged back.
"Any thoughts on challenging teens?"
I think it would depend on the teen and there personality. I enjoy studying theology and going deep. So, my youth pastor would challenge us with different ideas even if they were wrong just to see our response to it. After a while, if we couldn't respond to it he would help us out.
It helped to get us thinking.
Now, you asked if I was a Youth Pastor. No I am not. I have thought about becoming one though. I will be starting college in the fall with Moody Bible Institute to become a Theologian.
My uncle/Youth Pastor's blog is www.xarispt2.blogspot.com. I'm sure he could be of some assistance.
-AgapeTheologian
P.S. I'm not sure or not if you've heard of this website or not. But I would urge your teens to become members at www.therebelution.com It's my favorite website of all time!
Wonderful post and thoughts. I have added your blog to my favorites. You, ministry and teens will be in my prayers. I think teens are so influenced by the culture in which we live. Music, dress, language but they want someone who loves and cares about them and their issues that they face. Keep trusting God in all things no matter how hard ministry gets. Understand that God is for you and with you. Know that other youth ministers and pastors are praying for you ministry as well. I hope you gain strength by understand this. God bless you and your ministry. I know God has great plans for you and your ministry as you strive to make a difference in the kingdom.
I have been youth minister for 8 years and preaching minister for 5 years. It is just my opinion that youth ministry in the 21st century is going to be more or less family ministry. I strongly believe that it is so important to minister not the teens but to equip the parents. I think ministering to the who family helps make families strong, relationship with in those families stronger and helps the family to function the way that God intends. Lone Ranger youth ministry will burn out any youth minister. Entertainment driven youth ministry fails as well. There must be balance. There must be communication. Mom's and Dad's need to be the ones who make a difference in the lives of teen. As I mentioned as youth and family ministers we can give them the proper resources, books, seminars, family retreats, family game nights and countless other things to build up the family. Thank you so much for bring up and discussing this so important topic. I pray God will bless, richly bless you and your ministry in a powerful way. Keep up the great work you do with this blog. I have added it to my favs.
One more note: I have a recent post on youth ministry in the 21 century and would love your thoughts and if you know of any other youth pastors that want to share their ideologies feel free to add to that discussion.
I hope you have a blessed weekend.
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