It was the first day of my first job as youth pastor.  The senior pastor called me into his office to share with me what I hoped were a few words of wisdom and encouragement as I began my new career, boy was I disappointed.  The senior pastor looked over the top of his glasses across the desk at me and simply said, “Do your job and if I don’t hear about any problems, then there won’t be any problems.” so much for wisdom and encouragement.  As you can guess it sent the tone for the next 5 years of my ministry in that church.  We had a “youth church” relegated to the church basement with a handful of bean bag chairs, two couches, and the realization that we were not thought of as the church of today, but the church of the future, maybe, way into the future.

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This philosophy is still very prevalent in many churches today.  Youth ministry is provided as an “add on” to attract or keep families with teens, not as an integrated part of the church’s ministry to the community.  The often subtle and unspoken reasoning goes like this, “They (youth) don’t respect and care for OUR facilities,” “They (youth) don’t tithe and bring money into the church coffers, as a matter of fact they tend to drain funds for bowling nights and retreats,” and, “They (youth) don’t have the maturity and ability to be responsible for real ministry.”  So, the easiest solution for church leaders is to give them their own night of the week, a ping pong table, a few couches, a room segregated from the rest of the church, a can of paint for the walls, and the mandate that if no problems are expressed, there will be no problems.

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To be honest, many of these youth ministry stereotypes have some basis in reality.  As any parent can tell you, teens are tough on stuff.  I don’t think they mean to be, they just are, and the more of them you get together, the more you increase the potential for damage.  Most youth are dependent on their parents or odd jobs and babysitting for money and the reality is they would be more inclined to spend most of it on music, clothes, IPODS and movies rather than church programs and facilities.  Youth ministry does cost money.  Equipment, teaching supplies, retreats, events, and facilities require a substantial financial commitment from a church budget.  The reality is that most teens do not have the maturity, experience, education or training needed to pull off what many in church leadership consider “real” ministry, but frankly, neither do most of our adults.  So we relegate them to some subsection of the big church until they are old enough, mature enough, or financially affluent enough to be productive members of the congregation.  Sadly, we know from statistics that most teens will never reach this goal and will leave the church about the same time they graduate high school and leave home, but it doesn’t have to be this way.

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I firmly believe that the youth of today are the church of today, and the church of the future.  As youth pastors and church leaders we have a biblical responsibility to integrate youth into the church as fully functioning members and ministers.  Paul tells is in 1 Corinthians 12:13 that “…we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body…” (NIV)  In Christ’s view of the church, it is not about us (big church) and them (youth and children), but us (the body) and Him (Christ who is the head).

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After 14 years of youth ministry I am now the senior pastor of a growing church with two youth pastors on staff, and we are working hard to develop a youth ministry that focuses equally on ministering to youth, and helping youth to minister as a part of the body of Christ.  Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

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1. Identify the youth ministry with the church

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A quick browse through church websites on the internet shows an alarming trend.  Many youth ministries in the local church have developed a different website, ministry team name, then the home church.  Often the only thing that connects the two is a link on the ministries page and a picture on the staff wall.   I understand that youth need to create and identity and have a place to call their own, but I recently saw a youth ministry website that had a cool logo and the name of the youth ministry in bold print, but the only place where the name of the home church was communicated was on the address contact page. 

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If we want to have an integrated ministry to youth in the church then we must attach to and identify with the whole church.  One way to accomplish this is to add the identifier under the name of the youth ministry on every publication used to represent the ministry.  An example of this might be, “Sold Out Youth…A ministry of the one body at This Place Church.”  By adding a statement such as this you have communicate the value of one body, the place of youth ministry in the church, and the value of an integrated church without compromising the unique identity youth want and need.

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2. Integrate the vision of the church into the youth ministry.

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Most churches and ministries today have some kind of vision statement that describes the character of their ministry and their core values.  At OCCC our vision is “Real Life, Real faith, Equals Real Results.”  Authentic transformation is the core value of our ministry and life together.  We communicate this vision to every ministry team on a regular basis. All of our elders, staff, and leaders are encouraged and trained to develop and evaluate all ministry by this core value.  What would happen if our youth ministry did not hold this vision or believe in this core value?  We would cease to function as an integrated body.   Having the same vision and core values, using the same language and expectations will help youth to integrate more successfully into the life and ministry of the whole church, now and especially as they transition from high school to adult life in the church body.  Two important questions need to asked and answered at this point.  If you don’t know the vision and core values of the church, find out.  Talk to senior pastor, elders, and adult ministry leaders, ask them communicate the vision and core values then work with them to understand how to integrate them in ministry to youth.

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3. Incorporate youth into the life of the body.

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Rather than having all youth retreats, service projects, mission trips, and small groups.  Incorporate youth into these activities with adults.  Do a joint youth/adult mission trip.  Ask adult small groups if a youth small group can join them once a quarter.  Identify the gifts and ministry skills of teens and integrate them into those ministry teams with the adults.  Some youth are really friendly and enjoy meeting new people, encourage them to join the greeting team on Sunday morning to welcome now visitors.  If you have a youth with a heart for missions, have the missions committee invite them to join the team and help steer the vision for local and global missions.  As members of ministry teams expect them to participate in the same training and activities as the adult team members.  This will create an environment of validation, integration, and encouragement to both youth and adults.  Rather than have a youth led Sunday, train and encourage youth to serve on the worship team, read scripture, serve communion, share testimonies, and even preach as a regular part of the Sunday morning service team.  Be creative and be look for ways to involve youth in every aspect of church life, not just the youth ministry. 

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4. Encourage elders and leaders to get to know youth by name not just by family.

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Most adults in the church will recognize youth by their parents last name, “oh, that’s so and so’s kid.”  Set a goal for each adult ministry team leader and elder to learn the first names of at least 10 youth and greet them by name at least once a month.  Teens may seem aloof and indifferent, but in reality they desperately want to be known and know that someone cares about them.  You will be amazed at how these simple name based relationships turn into incredible opportunities for discipleship and mentoring.

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5. Teach youth to invest not just spend.

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We live in a consumer based society and it comes natural to today’s youth.  So much of our time spent training and teaching youth is focused on what they consume.  We talk about not consuming drugs, alcohol, sex, lying, R rated movies and inappropriate music.  These are all real pressures and dangers to our youth culture, yet we should spend as much time teaching and training them to invest their time in positive things, not just avoiding the consumption of the negative.  Teach teens to tithe of their time, and their money.  Show them in the budget where their money is going and how they are helping to make a difference.  Celebrate their investments in time and energy in front of the whole church not just the youth ministry.  When youth learn that they can invest in the kingdom side by side with the adults they will have a newfound sense of ownership and responsibility for church life and ministry, and the adults will really begin to see today’s youth as today’s church.

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6. Communicate Follow through.

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One of the biggest criticisms I hear from parents and church leaders about youth ministry in their churches is the apparent inability of youth workers to communicate the activities and involvements of the youth ministry.  Parents, staff, leaders and members of the congregation cannot support and encourage your ministry if they don’t know what’s going on.  This is one area where too much is never enough.  Inundate your congregations with information on your youth ministry.  Bulletins, newsletters, calendars, websites, and information tables should be filled with information about the programs, activities, and accomplishments of the youth ministry.  Get creative; we have even put youth newsletters on the back of bathroom stall doors in the bathrooms (think about it, you have a captive audience).

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One rule you must follow; if you communicate it, follow through on it.  Nothing frustrates parents and other church leaders more than not following through on your communicated events and activities.  If things change, let people know.  With all of the tweets, twitters, peeps, plops and whatever else their coming out with next, there is no reason not to communicate with youth, parents, pastors and ministry leaders.

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The church of today needs the youth of today.  With a little extra attention and intentionality you can grow and develop and integrated youth ministry that will benefit the church today and develop youth for a lifetime.

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Ken Swatman

Senior Pastor

Oregon City Christian Church

14 year youth ministry veteran