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Characteristics of an Effective Youth Ministry: 6. Values-Based

The youth ministry has a conscious culture based on shared Biblical values and unique strengths. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ. (Philippians 3:8)  In my first year as a youth pastor I did something I now tell youth leaders never to do. I had just completed a one year internship in an effective and vibrant youth min...

Characteristics of a Healthy Youth Ministry: 5. Purposeful

The youth ministry emphasises making disciples who live out the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:19,20)  In his bestselling book, “Start With Why”, author Simon Sinek explains that all successful ventures must start with a “why...

Characteristics of a Healthy Youth Ministry: 4. Christ-Honouring

The youth ministry is a place where Christian values and standards are upheld, and God is glorified in all that takes place. Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)   1 Corinthians 10:31 makes a great motto for a youth ministry: “Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God!” While it’s true that Paul was talking about “eating and drinking” (a vital ingredient of any youth ministry!) it’s also true in a much broader sense. What does it mean to d...

Characteristics of a Healthy Youth Ministry: 3. Christ-Consciousness

There is a sense of expectancy when the young people meet, as Christ is recognised as immanent and desiring intimacy. Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16) Many of you will be all too familiar with the Great Commission. In the final verses of Matthew’s Gospel, before ascending into heaven, Jesus charged his followers with the imperative to “go make disciples” (Matthew 28:19). Your familiarity with t...

Characteristics of a Healthy Youth Ministry: 2. Christ-Focussed

The youth ministry is “all about Jesus”. The gospel message of His life, death, resurrection and the new life is frequently taught. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. (John 12:32) I used to teach a Bible-in-schools class for 11 and 12-year-olds in our local school. There was a young girl who I discovered had no Christian upbringing but was highly engaged and interested in what I had to say each week. One morning before class she asked to speak to me. She...

Characteristics of a Healthy Youth Ministry: 1. Christ-Led

The ministry intentionally seeks to discern and follow Christ’s leadership and can give examples of how He has led. Christ is also the head of the church, which is His body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So He is first in everything. (Colossians 1:18) As youth pastor, towards the end of each year, I would begin approaching people who I believed could make effective small group leaders and shepherds for our young people. I recall talking to two young women who, ...

Seven questions to start the year right

I recently listened to a podcast that outlined a few simple questions to use when making decisions. I found myself thinking about questions I’d ask when considering if my youth ministry is being effective. Here is my list: If God withdrew His Holy Spirit from my youth ministry, how would I know?If Jesus replaced me as the leader, what might He do differently?Would I be happy for my teenage son/daughter to be discipled by any one of my leaders?If we were to stop meeting as a youth group, would ...

Passing on the baton (1 Timothy 6:20-21)

Timothy, guard what God has entrusted to you. Avoid godless, foolish discussions with those who oppose you with their so-called knowledge. Some people have wandered from the faith by following such foolishness. May God’s grace be with you all. (1 Timothy 6:20,21) I once heard the story of a runner in a 4 x 100m relay team who was running the third leg. The starter’s pistol fired and the lead-off sprinter left the blocks and gave it all they had, earning a narrow lead before passing the baton...

Treasure (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life. (1 Timothy 6:17-19) If you’ve ...

The core business of youth ministry

The retail operator Blockbuster was once the giant among video stores, dwarfing a mail-order DVD service run by a company called Netflix. When the market changed one died and the other flourished. Why? Because one saw their core business as providing DVDs while the other saw their core business as entertainment.  Now is a good time to remind ourselves that as youth leaders our core “business” is not to run programmes but to make disciples (Matthew 28:19,20). Programmes contrib...

The end of the story (1 Timothy 6:15,16)

For, at just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen. (1 Timothy 6:15,16) Have you ever read a book or seen a movie knowing how it will end? While knowing the outcome won’t necessarily ruin the experience of reading or viewin...

Fight the Good Fight (1 Timothy 6:12-14)

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. (1 Timothy 6:12-14) It's generally agreed that the greatest hea...

Know who you are (1 Timothy 6:11)

But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11)As a young person, there has come a point in your life where your parents have given you greater freedom to go out and spend time with friends in situations where you might be tempted to act in ways that are contrary to how they have raised you.Most I'm sure will agree that what makes you most inclined to act responsib...

Seven suggestions for key volunteer leaders during lockdown

Have you ever signed up for something only to find out that what you signed up for was not exactly what you expected? It’s happened to me a few times and left me with a mix of disappointment, frustration and uncertainty. Those of us leading in youth ministry could be excused for feeling any or all of these things right now as our leadership role has suddenly changed. We’ve become used to preparing programmes at which we can interact face to face with the young people. Now there is no weekly ...

Desire and the love of money (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:9,10)You may have noticed that there are some phrases in popular use that have come from the Bible. If you say things like “Go the extra mile”, (Matthew 5:41), “A wolf i...

Contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-8)

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (1 Timothy 6:6-8) Years ago I managed to convince myself that I needed an iPad. When it was first released it looked to me like a big iPod and I couldn't imagine why anyone would need it. However, before long, Apple's advertising had me hooked. (When it comes to the sin of covetousness, I confess that I'm most...

Bible truth and ungodly living (1 Timothy 6:4,5)

Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy. (1 Timothy 6:4,5) I recently spoke to a group of students at a Bible College and in my opening ...

Biblical truth and godly living (1 Timothy 6:3)

Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life.(1 Timothy 6:3) I've often played a game with young people in which one person is blindfolded and two people are selected: one to guide them through a maze of objects by giving verbal directions only and another who tries to have them knock over the objects by giving false instructions. The twist is that the person blindfolded has no idea which person is t...

Crisis, danger and opportunity

It’s a shame that the old meme that the Chinese word for “crisis” is a combination of the words meaning “danger” and “opportunity” is not true. A shame, because there is certainly truth to the saying itself. At times like this, it’s easy to focus on what we can no longer do, rather than the opportunities that present themselves. Yet I wonder if the greatest opportunity presenting itself to us is in danger of being overlooked. It’s the opportunity to experience something of a Sa...

Care for yourself

A lot of people are asking how they can best keep doing effective youth ministry in the current situation. I think the #1 answer is, care for yourself! (And the #2 answer is care for your family.) This situation is causing stress and the stress is likely to escalate. Before adding more stress by putting unnecessary pressure upon yourself and your leaders to keep the youth ministry train moving, take a step back and remind yourself of an important truth. Ready? God is more concerned about you tha...

Respecting leaders (1 Timothy 6:2)

If the masters are believers, that is no excuse for being disrespectful. Those slaves should work all the harder because their efforts are helping other believers who are well loved. Teach these things, Timothy, and encourage everyone to obey them. (1 Timothy 6:2) An exercise I've often done with youth ministry teams is to divide them in half and have one half list all the benefits of being part of a team while the other half lists all the disadvantages. I then have them present their points and...

Hope amidst anxiety

I recall being on a flight into Wellington airport on a wet muggy day and when we landed a mist caused by condensation rose from the floor of the aircraft. A young man with an intellectual disability was seated a few rows in front of me and on seeing the mist started loudly yelling in a panicked voice, "FIRE, FIRE!" What stuck in my mind about the incident was not his cries, but the look of alarm on the face of a member of the cabin crew as she rushed down the aisle. Moments before I had thought...

Where's the evidence? (1 Timothy 6:1)

All slaves should show full respect for their masters so they will not bring shame on the name of God and his teaching. (1 Timothy 6:1) Some time ago there was a song out with a line that read, "If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?" The song was not talking about evidence such as how often you went to church or even how often it read your Bible and prayed. It was not even talking about whether or not you had some leadership responsibility in ...

The Need to Be Known (1 Timothy 5:25)

In the same way, the good deeds of some people are obvious. And the good deeds done in secret will someday come to light. (1 Timothy 5:25)  I spent hours helping a young person, and in the process a real change took place in their life. They accepted Christ and choose to be baptised. Before they were baptised they had the opportunity to share in front of the whole church how they came to  know and trust Christ, which they did, but in the process of sharing they made not a single mentio...

Revealing Hidden Sin (1 Timothy 5:24)

Remember, the sins of some people are obvious, leading them to certain judgment. But there are others whose sins will not be revealed until later. (1 Timothy 5:24) One of the dangers we face in living out our faith in front of those we are leading is that we make it all about appearances. We look for ways to sound spiritual and look holy. We learn to say the right things and to drop in some Christian jargon and a little theology - just enough to impress people into thinking we know what we're ta...