 
## Principles of Youth Ministry

By Ted Johnston and Jeb Egbert

Copyright 2015 Grace Communion International

Scripture quotations, unless noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The "NIV" and "New International Version" are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Cover photo by Alagich Katya. Creative Commons License Attribution 2.0. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teenagers_in_Moscow.jpg

Table of Contents

What Is Youth Ministry?

Youth Ministry Values and Mission

Youth Ministry: The Emphasis Must Be Spiritual

Loving God: The Foundation for Youth Ministry

Youth Ministry — The Importance of Prayer

Youth Ministry and the Great Commission

Nurturing Young Believers

Disciplemaking Youth Ministry Includes Equipping Workers

Youth Ministry Includes Developing Young Leaders

Equipping Our Youths for Peer Evangelism

The New Evangelist

Nurturing Young Believers Through Community

Nurturing Young Believers Through Adoration

Nurturing Young Believers Through Nurture

Nurturing Young Believers Through Serving

Disciplemaking Ministry: Introduction

Creating an Atmosphere of Love

The Adoration of Christ

Prayerful Dependence

Communication of the Word

Creating a Biblical Group Image in Your Youth Ministry

Having a "Commitment to Contact" in Your Youth Ministry

Disciplemaking Ministry: Conclusion

How to Make Your Congregation Youth-Friendly

How Camps Support Healthy Youth Ministries

Teen Ministry: Rethinking Our Paradigm

Intergenerational Ministry

Confessions of a Youth Evangelist

How to Reach a Younger Generation

About the Authors...

About the Publisher...

Grace Communion Seminary

Ambassador College of Christian Ministry

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## What Is Youth Ministry?

I was sitting on the deck outside the house at a youth summer camp a few years back. It was early in the morning. Over a rise to the west, I heard the soft sounds of guitars, and young people singing. Like a magnet, the music drew me in its direction. I walked to a location where I could identify what was happening.

There, sitting in a small circle, were eight to ten teens. They were singing hymns of praise and worship out near the canoe area. I searched the small group to see who the coordinator was, but I could not find any adults. What I was witnessing was youth ministry in full bloom.

We are committed to youth ministry. Young people need Jesus in their lives as much as anyone. Satan has strategically focused his warfare on youths. We must be more intentional about our vision of youth ministry. At one of our planning meetings, a group of concerned members described what a youth-friendly fellowship would look like. Some of the hallmarks include:

• A wall of love surrounds every youth who comes in contact with us.

• Every congregation will provide a safe and loving environment for youths.

• Every congregation knows its youths by name, and the major events in their lives are joyfully celebrated.

• All age groups, including youths, are integrated into the worship and work of each congregation.

• Every congregation has an active and effective youth ministry with a nursery, a children's ministry, a teen ministry and a young adults' ministry. There will be both youth oriented and intergenerational small groups.

• Every region will have a team of gifted youth ministry leaders made up of older teens and college-age and older adults.

• We will be the fellowship preferred by our youths, their families, and their unchurched friends.

• Youths will freely and actively reach out to youths in their schools and communities, introducing them to Jesus and bringing them to a place to grow as Jesus' disciples.

• Our youths will become stronger in their devotion to Jesus, even as they encounter the hardships of life.

• We will mentor youths who will become pastors and other key ministry leaders in our congregations.

Ultimately, youth ministry will have the look and feel of what I saw early that morning at summer camp. Young people will be ministering, encouraging and loving one another. They will be praying for one another. They will worship together — without a program, without an adult organizing it or telling them what to do. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, they will reach out to one another with love and compassion, and share the gospel message.

Young people _are_ reaching out to their unchurched friends and inviting them to join our happy throng. Young people are becoming more actively involved in their congregations. Young people are _ministering to each other,_ and that is the essence of youth ministry.

Jeb Egbert

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## Youth Ministry Values and Mission

In youth ministry, we need to ask three key questions:

1. Why youth ministry? (What are our core values?)

2. What should youth ministry be? (What is our mission?)

3. How should youth ministry be conducted? (What is our strategy?)

We believe that youth ministry should be grounded on the following core values and directed toward the following mission.

### Youth ministry core values

We begin with some essential beliefs about God, God's will and the church's appropriate response:

God deeply loves all youths. It is the appropriate response of the church to value and cherish youths.

By God's design, youths are relational beings. The church's appropriate response is to provide a relationally based youth ministry.

The Holy Spirit is drawing and gifting youths for lifelong, personal relationships of devoted service to Jesus Christ. We want to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in actively evangelizing and discipling youths.

God is the Creator of families and often draws people to his Son working in and through families. We therefore desire to work with youths in partnership with their families wherever possible.

### Youth ministry mission

Grounded in these core values, we feel led by the Holy Spirit to propose the following two-part mission for youth ministry:

Create an environment in which youths are exposed to the gospel and brought into the presence of Jesus Christ.

Prepare, equip and release the youths for ministry in their congregations, their communities and in the world at large.

Ted Johnston

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## Youth Ministry: The Emphasis Must Be Spiritual

For a good deal of my 25-plus years in youth ministry, I held to a mistaken philosophy. I believed that if you bring young people (children, adolescents, young adults) into an environment where good people with good thoughts, good motives and good activities existed, good things would happen. Although good things often did happen, an entire arena of spiritual focus and value was missed.

I think for instance of the basketball tournaments that I used to organize. At one of them, we had about 40 teams with almost 50 representatives (coaches, parents, players, cheerleaders) per team in attendance. It was terrific. We played lots of basketball. But we didn't have a praise and worship session. We didn't have a special chapel. We didn't look at the experience intentionally as an opportunity to share the gospel.

Richard Dunn and Mark Senter make the following observations about youth ministry in their work _Reaching a Generation for Christ:_

Youth ministry begins when adults find a comfortable method of entering a student's world, happens as long as adults are able to use their contacts with students to draw them into a maturing relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and ceases to happen when either the adult-student relationship is broken or the outcome of that relationship ceases to move the student toward spiritual maturity.

Some quality gurus in the business world have the motto "start with the end in mind." Shape your activities to reach the outcome that you desire. The definition of youth ministry that Dunn and Senter provide helps those in youth ministry to focus, intentionally, on the important outcome of helping each young person to develop a maturing relationship with Jesus Christ. Anything different than that may be valuable, but it is not youth ministry.

I look back at the thousands of young people I've worked with. I was one of those good people with good motives coordinating good activities, and in some cases, it led to some good stuff. But I also look at it somewhat as a missed opportunity to preach the gospel in a more intentional way. More recently, I am impressed with how willing young people are to be nourished on a spiritual diet. This is the essence of true youth ministry.

Jeb Egbert

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## Loving God: The Foundation for Youth Ministry

"Is there anything else you would like to discuss before we conclude?" I asked the group of counselors sitting before me. We had just spent two days in counselor training in preparation for summer camp. During that time, we prayed, planned, discussed scenarios, set goals and shared thoughts about the young people God would be sending our way.

A young woman raised her hand. "I can't wait until the campers arrive." Her eyes began to fill with tears. "I can't wait to see how God will use this experience to make a powerful impact in their lives."

### Why make disciples?

Jesus told his disciples to make disciples in Matthew 28:19-20. This is the Great Commission. Youth ministry is a disciple-making gold mine. But what is the motive? Why make disciples?

Simply put, because we love God with our whole hearts, souls and minds, and we love our neighbors as we love ourselves. That's why we want young people to experience the greatest gift of all—the gift of an eternal relationship with Jesus. This is the great commandment Jesus spoke of in Matthew 22:37-38. As we learn to love God, he gives us love for others.

### Loving God, loving others

Jesus loved God first and foremost. He showed this through his prayerful dependence on God. The disciples knew Jesus prayed (Luke 9:18; Luke 22:32; John 17:1). He showed them how to pray (Matthew 6:5-13). Jesus' prayers demonstrated a life of dependence on the Father, not self. Prayer needs to be an essential component of our youth groups.

A second way Jesus showed his love for the Father was through the priority of the word of God in his life. He made the words of life, the Scriptures, his source of wisdom and authority.

Finally, Jesus showed his love for God by focusing on God, not on himself. Even as he approached death, Jesus subordinated his own desires to the desires of the Father. He set his own desires aside in favor of what God wanted for his life.

Jesus loved God, and he loved people. The Gospels frequently note Jesus' compassion for others (Matthew 9:26; 14:14; 15:32). Several years ago I watched the _Matthew_ video, which chronicles the life of Jesus as told in the first Gospel. It struck me how many times Jesus physically reached out and touched or embraced others. An individual bathed in love often becomes less resistant and is thereby prepared for the gospel message.

### Feeling loved

Young people in the church need to feel loved, appreciated and important to the adults in their congregation. When I was growing up, an elderly woman learned the children's names and always had candy for them. I felt that I was important to her.

Jesus ministered to people. All people. As he did, he gave them hope (Luke 7:36-50). Whether it was a blind man, a Samaritan woman or a Roman centurion didn't matter. While religious leaders stayed away from them for fear of becoming defiled by contact, Jesus valued and was drawn toward them.

Jesus sacrificed self for the benefit of others. He put himself in the intersection of needy people's lives. While sports heroes today often can't be bothered by simply signing an autograph for an eager fan, Jesus spent countless hours, no doubt physically exhausting himself in the process, to serve those who needed to be served.

As Jesus lives in us, congregations need to find ways to reach into young people's lives in a positive way. Successful youth ministries advise participants to go where the kids are and show an interest. As we seek out young people both inside and outside the church, and make a difference in their lives by expressing the love of God to them, we further the Great Commission.

Jeb Egbert

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## Youth Ministry — The Importance of Prayer

It's a tough world. The devil, our fallen nature, a self-centered and materialistic culture, all are having a powerful effect on a vast segment of the population, and nowhere is this more evident than among young people.

As adults, our best intentions in working with youths are not good enough. Ultimately, the battle for the hearts, minds and souls of (young) people is spiritual. One thing I've learned in youth ministry is that I just don't have the means to win that battle. There is nothing I can do to ensure a young person will turn from the lures of this world and toward Jesus. But God can!

I pray often for young people. I pray for the youths in the world. I pray for the young people in our church. I pray for the three children in my family. I implore God to counteract the magnetic pulls of this world. Programs, plans, mission statements and activities on a human level have little effect. But when we humbly bow and ask for God's intervention, awesome things begin to happen.

It is important for our children to hear us pray. It is important for them to hear us pray for them. As we model prayer, they begin to see that talking to God is something they can do. Some of the most powerful and inspiring prayers I've ever heard have come from children.

Impressing other humans is not the purpose of prayer. But I've eavesdropped on prayers of young people. I had the privilege of listening in on prayers of a group of teenage boys at camp some years ago. These boys were 14, 15 and 16 years old. They were gathered in a circle, hands clasped. One after another, they opened their hearts to God, sharing the challenges they face in their schools, neighborhoods and families. Tears came to my eyes as I listened to these remarkable, heartfelt prayers of teenage boys. If they were concerned about how they sounded in front of each other, I couldn't tell it. It sounded as if they were all alone with their Creator!

Regardless of whether we are working with children, preteens, adolescents or college students, prayer should be central to our ministry. In fact, would you mind pausing now and praying for some young person that you know? Why not go to the Source of all power, wisdom and glory to ask for help for the wonderful young people that he has put before us? Why not now?

Jeb Egbert

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## Youth Ministry and the Great Commission

Healthy youth ministry, like all authentic Christian ministry, originates with God and flows from the person of Jesus through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Christian ministry is the sovereign work of God, yet God, in his divine freedom and grace, invites us to partner with him in his disciplemaking work. As followers of Jesus, we are disciples and equipped and commissioned to be disciplemakers.

We seek to encourage, resource, train and otherwise equip those who are committed to leading and participating in this movement of the Holy Spirit in our midst. Our desire is to share some of what we have learned with all of you. We'll discuss foundational youth ministry principles as well as offer real-life examples and how-to tips and strategies for implementing effective youth ministries in your setting. Our goal is to help us all understand how youth ministry is a vital way in which we may experience and share Jesus' person, Jesus' passion and Jesus' mission.

### Jesus' person, passion and mission

Regarding his person, authentic youth ministry is always Christ-centered: fully embracing Jesus, the Son of God and Son of man who has come for our salvation, sanctification and glorification. Youth ministry is an important way to seek Jesus, to be with Jesus and to make Jesus known to a new generation.

Regarding Jesus' passion, authentic Christian youth ministry is motivated by Jesus' great passion—his love for God and love for people. Jesus was (and is) perfectly obedient to the great commandment of love.

Love (Christ's love shed abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit) is expressed toward God by exalting Christ, by practicing prayerful dependence and by giving priority to God's Word. The same love is expressed toward people by actively contributing to an environment of love and grace, by intentionally building redemptive relationships with others and by extending Jesus' disciplemaking ministry into the lives of others.

As we embrace and express Jesus' person and passion, we come to desire fuller participation in Jesus' mission on earth. We refer to that mission as the great commission—summarized in the command given by Jesus to his disciples just before his ascension (see Matthew 28:18-20).

Our participation in this mission of Jesus is far more than simply a series of tasks to achieve—it flows out of who Christ is and who we are in Christ. Because we are his disciples, we seek to make more disciples. An appropriate Christian motto would be "being and building disciples."

So it is with youth ministry. We want to see young people being disciples and then being equipped to participate in building disciples. They do this with Jesus and for Jesus, motivated by Jesus' passionate love for God and for people, and assisted along the way by caring adult disciples who catch the vision and desire to participate in what God is doing among youths in our day.

This mission of building disciples is both simple and complex. It is simple in that Jesus models for us a clear and concise strategy to follow. That strategy involves inviting people to meet Jesus (seeking the lost), building up those who receive him (nurturing believers) and then equipping believers to be workers in Jesus' service (equipping workers).

Easy enough to understand, isn't it? But sometimes the steps in implementation can seem a bit complex and daunting. How, for example, do we seek out lost youths and introduce them to Jesus? And how do we build up a young believer in his or her love for God and for people? And how do we equip a young believer so that he or she becomes active and skillful as a worker in Jesus' service? And, by the way, what does it look like for a child, teen or college-age young adult to be serving with Jesus in his disciplemaking work?

I'm glad you asked. It's not that we have a one-size-fits-all formulaic answer. But we have experienced and seen what God is doing in our day among young disciples of Jesus—he is giving birth to a disciplemaking movement that includes adults and youths—living and sharing the gospel together.

In other articles in this series, we'll share what we've learned as we unpack the how-to details of seeking, nurturing and equipping young disciples of Jesus. We'll also talk a lot about how to lead youth-directed disciplemaking ministries. So stay tuned. Prepare your heart. Seek after the equipping you need. And please pray for us, and most importantly for our youths.

Ted Johnston

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## Nurturing Young Believers

The great joy of those who minister to children, teens and college-age young adults is seeing them in fellowship with God and with the community of Christ's body, the church (1 John 1:3-4).

This fellowship is theirs through Jesus Christ, manifested in the love God extends to them through caring peers and adult mentors and teachers who reach out to young people in Jesus' name. These adults include the parents and youth ministry leaders and workers who are so important to the birth and development of young followers of Jesus.

### Sacrificial service

What a joy it is for me to serve alongside many adults and teens who are active in youth ministry within our fellowship. I want to express my deep appreciation for their sacrificial service to the young people that God so deeply loves.

Our calling in youth ministry is to glorify our heavenly Father by participating with Jesus, through the Spirit, in his work to multiply young disciplemaking followers of Jesus. In advancing this work, we seek after lost youths with the intention of introducing them to Jesus.

We then work to nurture young believers by helping them share in Christ's love for God and for people. Then, as they grow, we work to equip them to participate with Christ in his work within the church, in the youths' homes and friendships and in the world at large.

This seek-nurture-equip work is patterned after Jesus' own disciplemaking lifestyle that he pursued during his ministry on earth. Now ascended to the Father, he sends the Holy Spirit to indwell us so that he may now live that lifestyle in our world, through us. What a blessing and privilege! How rewarding to participate with God as he ministers to young people.

### Jesus' disciplemaking lifestyle

In the next several articles, we'll be exploring ways Jesus' disciplemaking lifestyle relates to ministry to and through children, teens and college-age young adults. We'll address those three aspects of Jesus' ministry patterns in the following order: 1) nurturing believers, 2) equipping workers, 3) and seeking the lost. Then we'll add a fourth aspect: multiplying and sending shepherd-leaders. This article focuses on the first: nurturing young believers.

Once a young person turns to Christ in faith, they begin to experience the salvation that is theirs in God who, through Jesus, has granted them full forgiveness and credited to them Jesus' own righteous standing with his Father. In Christ, they are newborn children of God, adopted by the Father and given membership in the spiritual family of God, where they have an awesome inheritance awaiting them in eternity.

Having been born from above, they are now invited and enabled by the Holy Spirit to grow in Christ—built up as believers toward the fullness of the maturity of Christ. It is our goal in youth ministry to partner with the Holy Spirit in nurturing these young believers. But how are we to do this?

Once young people have accepted Christ and become believers, their immediate need is to be nurtured—built up in their emerging love for Christ and for their spiritual family, the church. Youth ministers seek to assist in this nurturing process by doing what Christ did with his group of followers.

### Building relationships

For the first half of Jesus' ministry, it seems that his primary focus was on building relationships—helping the disciples know and love him more and helping them know and love one another more. Jesus advanced this strategy by providing environments in which such loving relationships would grow and thrive.

In following Jesus' disciplemaking patterns, we advocate the use of four associated tools useful for providing nurturing environments in which God works to grow love-filled, Christ-centered relationships. We summarize these tools in the acronym C.A.N.S., which stands for community, adoration, nurture and serving.

### Community (reaching in)

Jesus took a diverse group of followers and built them up by bringing them into a close-knit community where his disciples spent time with Jesus and together found fulfillment of three great needs: love, significance and belonging.

Young believers today find the same fulfillment in Christian community, where people worship, love and work together focused on Christ. Within a community of Jesus' followers, they find that the aloneness that sin has produced in their lives begins to be replaced by the oneness that Jesus offers in his community of faith, the church.

Youth ministry seeks to be and thus provide a loving, close community where young believers find a place to belong. In a later article, we'll discuss some of the details concerning how to build loving community within a youth group. We'll also discuss what makes a congregation youth-friendly—a place where youths feel part of the community.

### Adoration (reaching up)

In the presence of his disciples, Jesus openly and unapologetically worshiped the Father. In doing so, he modeled a life of adoration, openly expressing wonder, gratitude and trust toward God. When Jesus was revealed to the disciples as divine, they came to adore and worship him and, in turn, taught this adoration of Christ to others.

We seek to follow their pattern in our youth ministries. We seek to show young believers more of the majesty, beauty and holiness of God their Savior and model to them a lifestyle where God is so regarded and worshiped that he is glorified by our thoughts and actions. The worship of God is the heart of youth ministry and in a later article, we'll present ideas for advancing passionate worship in our youth groups.

### Nurture (reaching down)

Through his incarnation, God came down to us and lived in the flesh. Jesus was God in our midst as one who served. As a servant, he ministered to his followers. Through this personal presence, he offered direction and guidance for living and loving.

In youth ministry, we seek to minister to young followers the personal presence of Jesus. We do so by helping them follow the Holy Spirit, who brings Jesus, the living Word, into their lives in accordance with Holy Scriptures, the written Word.

Such nurture yields an abundant life in step with the Spirit. In a later article, we'll discuss how parents, youth leaders and workers may cooperate with the Spirit in ministering God's nurturing care to young followers of Jesus.

### Serving (reaching out)

Jesus also built up his believers by helping them serve others in his name—expressing love through personal contact and support of those outside the immediate group. In youth ministry, serving beyond the youth group is an essential part of helping young believers grow in their love for God and for people.

Such growth is seen as young believers begin to value others so much that they adjust their own lifestyle to express care for and meet the needs of others. In a later article, we'll offer suggestions for teaching youths the value of such service.

It is our goal in youth ministry to build young believers in their love for God and for people. We do this by using the tools of community, adoration, nurture and serving. I encourage parents of youths to capitalize on these four tools in working with their children and teens. Together we are participating with Christ as he advances the kingdom—one person reaching out to another; one generation reaching out to the next. There is no higher calling.

Ted Johnston

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## Disciplemaking Youth Ministry Includes Equipping Workers

In our youth ministry articles, we are focusing on following the disciplemaking ministry patterns that Jesus modeled and then commanded his disciples: "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).

What is often overlooked is the _process_ Jesus outlined—the same process he used in his earthly ministry that culminated in commissioning the disciples to go and do likewise. If the Gospel accounts only shared that Jesus called and commissioned his disciples, we would be left wondering how he did it. Thankfully, however, the Gospels give us many details about Jesus' disciplemaking ministry. They provide us with a rich source of direction as we seek to follow Jesus in obeying his command to make disciples.

### Hallmarks of Jesus' ministry

Hallmarks of the early years of Jesus' ministry include the following:

News about him spread throughout the region (Luke 4:32).

People were amazed at his teaching and authority (John 2:23-25).

Crowds gathered to see and listen to him (John 4:39-42).

Somewhere around the middle of his ministry, Jesus began to focus his attention on those who wanted more than to simply eat the food he provided or watch miracles. He began to invest in a few in an intentional way. He challenged these few to become fishers of men.

We find, for instance, that Andrew, Peter, James and John became a priority of Jesus' ministry. He ate in their homes (Mark 1:29; 2:15). He spent additional time with them (Mark 9:2). He withdrew from the masses to spend time with just a few (Mark 7:17; 9:30-31). He was intentionally equipping those who showed a level of interest beyond simply wanting to sit in the audience. Such equipping doesn't happen by accident. It is a strategic component of the development of a disciplemaking ministry.

### CPR

Jesus' strategy for equipping believers to become active in his disciplemaking work can be summarized by the acronym _CPR._

_C_ refers to _cultivating_. Jesus set an example of investing time in developing enduring relationships with the few who wanted more. Although this took time away from the masses, it was Jesus' intent to build an enduring ministry. To do so required equipping and developing a cadre of those who would enthusiastically continue a disciplemaking ministry once Jesus' own earthly ministry was complete.

_P_ refers to _planting_. The Gospels have numerous accounts of Jesus sharing with his inner core of disciples the attitudes and skills necessary to become productive workers in Jesus' harvest ministry. Jesus set up and capitalized on what we sometimes refer to as teachable moments. Such teachable moments are most productive when the teacher has cultivated an enduring relationship with the student. The disciples also sought teachable moments with Jesus. In Matthew 17:10, they ask him questions about the teachers of the law. In verse 19, they ask why a demon could not be driven out. In 18:1, they ask about the kingdom of heaven.

_R_ refers to _reaping_ a life-changing harvest by holding each other accountable to walk like Jesus walked. In John 13:12-17, Jesus set an example for his disciples, and gave instructions that they should follow his example of humble service. Accountability was increasing as Jesus' ministry neared an end. Expectations were on the rise that the planting and cultivating would ultimately produce a disciplemaking harvest.

### Equipping those who want more

Effective youth ministry does not end with bringing students to Jesus or in nurturing those students in the faith. Rather, effective disciplemaking youth ministry includes following Jesus in identifying those who want more, and investing in equipping them for active participation in Jesus' work on earth. This equipping occurs through sharing teachable points of view that are biblically based, and then holding the student accountable to do something with what they are learning.

How do we identify those who want more? Candidates for equipping have some distinct characteristics. For starters, they make themselves _available._ Being a disciple who makes disciples becomes a priority. They clear time to learn more. I was once told: "You can hear what people say is a priority to them, but the best way to validate this is to check what they do with their money and their time." Those who want more demonstrate a greater level of commitment by freeing their calendar and other resources to engage more actively in ministry.

### Eager desire

Candidate for equipping will show themselves to be _faithful._ They have track records that demonstrate an eager desire to focus on things that are important to Jesus, not just themselves. The fruit in their lives begins to reflect Christ's priority in their day-to-day conduct.

They are _teachable._ Jesus' disciples demonstrated this characteristic as they began to ask more questions of him. They had a thirst for learning.

A final characteristic is that they are _responsive._ Jesus provided what some might see as mundane expectations associated with service, such as passing out the loaves and fishes, to observe how his disciples responded to his leadership in their lives.

It is difficult if not impossible to pour oneself into the lives of hundreds or even dozens of people for equipping purposes. Jesus' own example was that he invested in a small group that he expected would, in turn, invest themselves in equipping a small group to become disciplemakers—thus perpetuating the disciplemaking cycle.

Jesus' method for equipping went far beyond offering a two-hour workshop. For Jesus, equipping was a life-style—a 24 hour a day, seven days a week investment in the lives of his inner circle of disciples.

### Significant challenges

Following Jesus' methodology for equipping workers presents significant challenges for us. How do we find the time and the appropriate places? The answers are not easy, but when it comes to equipping youths and the adults who serve in youth ministry, I have found that time away together for concentrated equipping is of great value.

One such place is a summer camp, which provides an immersive experience where youth leaders actively equip youths who want more. If you are a teen, older preteen or college-age young adult who is hungry to be equipped to participate in youth ministry, I encourage you to come to camp. If you are a youth ministry worker who wants to be further equipped and to help equip our youths, I invite you to apply to work on the staff of one of our camps.

Another option for intensive equipping are youth ministry conferences. While such conferences do not take the place of long-term equipping relationships, they are significant short-term and intensive equipping opportunities for those who want more.

In Matthew 9:37-38, Jesus said: "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Please join us in asking for these additional workers, and please consider whether God is answering your prayer by asking _you_ to be one of them. If you sense God asking you to seek equipping, be sure to let your pastor or youth ministry leader know—they will be happy to help you get the equipping you seek.

Jeb Egbert

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## Youth Ministry Includes Developing Young Leaders

For any ministry to have lasting impact, new leaders must be identified, trained and mobilized.

During his earthly ministry, Jesus was active in making disciples. That work included seeking the lost, nurturing believers and equipping workers. But Jesus did not stop there—he placed high priority on another essential aspect of disciplemaking: multiplying and sending leaders. Jesus' apprentice leaders, led and empowered by the Holy Spirit, gave birth to the disciplemaking movement we know as the Christian church.

Through the church, Jesus continues his disciplemaking work in our world today. An essential part of that work is multiplying and sending a new generation of leaders. Youth ministry is a particularly fruitful place for such leadership development to occur.

Within a youth group in a local church, young believers who have developed into workers are identified, encouraged, equipped and mobilized to become leaders within the youth group itself and within the congregation at large. But what is involved in helping a young disciple of Jesus to become a leader? For starters, the right candidates must be identified.

### Identifying emerging leaders

An appropriate candidate for leadership development within a youth group is a young disciple of Jesus who is AFT'R more—one who is available, faithful, teachable and responsive.

**A** vailable young disciples are ones who have been willing to clear their calendar to make great commandment/great commission ministry a priority in their lives.

**F** aithful young disciples have demonstrated endurance over a period of time. The fruit of God's Holy Spirit is evident. They exhibit a spiritual consistency and predictability. They have shown themselves "faithful in little."

**T** eachable young disciples are humble enough to learn and to be accountable to leadership within the youth group and congregation. To be a good leader, one must first be (and continue to be) a good follower.

**R** esponsive young disciples have team spirit expressed through contagious enthusiasm and passion. Through a young leader's appropriately directed passion, youths catch a commitment to Christ, to the local church, to the youth group and to the church's disciplemaking mission.

### Critical success factors of multiplying leaders

Would you as a youth ministry leader like to be more active and successful in giving birth to young leaders within and through your youth group? Would you like to be a multiplying leader? If so, you need to be aware of certain success factors that you must possess.

First, you need to have a clear vision about the future and be able to articulate it regularly and clearly to the members of your group—particularly to the emerging young leaders. The vision is not something that needs to be created, because Jesus already provides it. Jesus' vision for our ministries is that we would fulfill the great commission (to make disciples who make disciples) motivated by a great commandment heart of love for God and for people. A multiplying leader passionately and clearly articulates this vision for emerging leaders.

The second critical success factor is the ability to actively pursue ministry in and through the local church within the limitations of local resources and conditions. For example, what type of outreach activity might be most successful in your community, given the resources (people, time and money, to name a few) available? Multiplying leaders have the ability to pursue the great commission within their own context.

The third factor is passion. A ho-hum attitude neither sparks nor sustains movements. Relentless, God-anointed enthusiasm does.

The fourth factor is making leadership development a top priority in your life and ministry. Multiplying leaders requires lots of energy and lots of time to provide focused mentoring and coaching for emerging leaders, which includes sharing ministry vision, discussing issues and providing developmental feedback. Jesus himself invested heavily in a small number of individuals, even though the masses were constantly vying for his attention.

The fifth critical success factor is the ability to share leadership with emerging leaders. We see this factor in Jesus' earthly ministry—he carefully, intentionally and frequently sent out his disciples into ministry. Emerging leaders must be allowed to try on what they are learning. Much like a parent with a child, a multiplying leader allows the emerging leader to gain lots of hands-on leadership experience—moving from theory into practice. This strategy means taking risks—allowing the emerging leader to make mistakes, to fall down from time to time in the process of gaining experience.

### Multiplying leaders are prayer-dependent

Before the selection of the twelve disciples in his inner circle, Jesus did a remarkable thing. He spent all night in prayer. Though he was fully God, Jesus was fully human, and he faithfully and consistently sought the will of his heavenly Father. He did so in the selection of those who would partner with him in leading a world-changing ministry. As those who are responsible for selecting and developing emerging young leaders, we too must rely on God's direction through prayer. In prayer we seek to see in people what God sees—things not always discernable to human eyes. As we do, we may be in for some surprises.

You may remember how God surprised his servant Samuel and taught him an amazing lesson about leadership when it was time for King Saul to be replaced. Samuel was certain that he had found the next king of Israel when he was introduced to Jesse's strapping first-born son. But God told Samuel that he was looking at the wrong thing. It was not until the rather unimpressive (by human standards) youngest brother was reluctantly brought before Samuel that God confirmed the next leader of his nation: the young shepherd boy David.

Jesus would probably not be considered a good candidate for leadership in the corporate world of the 21st century. He spent an enormous amount of time with people, loving them and serving them. What corporate leader would get down on his knees and wash his employees' feet? Which one would enter the city on a lowly donkey? Which one would have the humility to give up the glory of heaven in order to experience the reality of life in our fallen world?

The point is, developing leaders is serious business—we need God's constant guidance. We understand that God's thoughts are not our thoughts—his ways are not our ways. The worldly model of what makes a leader is not his model. Some of the most inspiring godly leaders I have known have been common people who, filled with the Holy Spirit, did remarkable things on behalf of the kingdom.

For youth ministry to be sustained, the model that Jesus demonstrated in prayerfully investing in a few available, faithful, teachable and responsive leaders is instructive. For our youth ministries to be outposts of the kingdom that will make disciples who make disciples, the charge to us is clear: let's be active in multiplying and sending young leaders.

Jeb Egbert

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## Equipping Our Youths for Peer Evangelism

Our goal in youth ministry is to help children, teens and college-age young adults become active followers of Jesus. A follower of Jesus is one who is in communion with God, through Christ. In that relationship, Jesus gives them the Holy Spirit, through whom they share in Jesus' love for God and for people, and they are equipped and empowered to actively participate with Jesus in his ministry patterns.

### Jesus' ministry patterns: seek, nurture, equip, multiply

The four Gospels illustrate the patterns of Jesus' earthly ministry that culminated in Jesus' command to his followers to continue doing what he had done in their presence— "make disciples" (Matthew 28:19). This work, often referred to as the great commission, has four essential, interrelated parts:

Seek the lost: seek out those who do not know Jesus and invite them to be his followers.

Nuture believers: build up in the faith those who have come to know Jesus.

Equip workers: train and coach believers to become active and skillful workers in Jesus' disciplemaking ministry.

Multiply leaders: identify, coach and then deploy leaders who will lead other workers in disciplemaking ministries.

In the previous two articles in this series, we examined youth ministry from the perspectives of nurturing believers and equipping workers. In this article, we'll look further at how youths can be equipped for their part in seeking the lost—reaching out to friends, family and classmates who do not know Jesus, with the intent of introducing them to their Savior and Lord.

### Essential perspectives

In order for disciples of Jesus (including his young disciples), to be effective in seeking the lost, there are some biblical perspectives they must understand and embrace:

1. People not in communion with Jesus are "lost." Jesus contrasts those who are lost with those who are saved. Those who are lost have a Father in heaven who loves and accepts them, but they don't know it. They are not aware of what Jesus has done for them. We cannot be effective at reaching out to the lost until we understand their need.

Our reaction to their "lostness" is not one of panic, revulsion or condemnation. Rather, our reaction is that of Jesus, who loves them and seeks after them in order that he may give them what they need: salvation. "The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10). Jesus invites his disciples to participate with him in seeking the lost as shepherds searching for lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7), catching people (Matthew 4:18-20) and laborers bringing in the harvest (Matthew 9:37-38).

2. Seeking the lost is not a passive activity. Jesus actively seeks out lost people as illustrated in his parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son (Luke 15). Jesus invites his followers to partner with him in seeking lost people in order that they may come to know Jesus as their Savior. Only God can save a lost person, but Jesus calls on his disciples to be like Andrew, who brought his brother Peter to Jesus (John 1:40-42). Our goal is to bring the lost to Christ.

3. The motivation for seeking to bring the lost to Christ must be Jesus' motivation—a heart of love for people. Another way to say this is that our great commission work must be motivated by a great commandment heart. We seek to bring lost people to Christ because, and only because, we love them.

### The heart and life of an evangelist

But how do we equip children, teens and college-age young adults to be involved in seeking their lost peers—bringing them to Christ? A word of caution is in order. We often seek after programs and formulas. But when it comes to bringing the lost to Christ, what we need is a heart that is expressed in a lifestyle, a certain rhythm of relating with others — in this case, with those who do not know Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

In seeking the lost, Jesus is our model, and so we desire to understand and embrace his heart—in this case his passionate and tender love for people who are alienated from him. Jesus loves the lost, he weeps and aches for them—he reaches out to them. Jesus' love for the lost, like all aspects of God's love, is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5). Therefore, we seek communion with Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, so that we might share in Jesus' love for lost people.

When Jesus' love is in our hearts, we are led to take action to seek out lost people. In Jesus' own ministry, embraced and replicated by his first disciples, we see this action involving a three-part pattern that may be summarized in the acronym _CPR,_ which stands for _cultivate_ (friendships with lost peers), _plant_ (gospel truth) and _reap_ (a new follower of Jesus). As youth ministry leaders and workers practice these patterns in our own lives, we are enabled and emboldened to teach the same patterns to the youths we serve. Let's examine each one.

### Cultivate friendships with lost peers

Bringing a lost person to Christ involves a relationship with us through which our friend is introduced to a relationship with Jesus. Lost people are not enemies for us to conquer, nor are they projects for us to complete. Rather, they are people created in the image of God, yet alienated from God and in slavery to sin. They are in desperate need to know their Savior.

Because we love them, we seek to befriend them. Because of Jesus' love for the lost, we are intentional about cultivating friendships with lost people. As we do this, we are careful not to compromise our obedience to Christ. Like Jesus, we are "friends of sinners" (Luke 7:34), yet we do not participate in their sinful behaviors. This is a challenge, but it is one that Jesus has met and will help us meet.

As youth ministry leaders and workers, we seek to encourage and train our youths to make contact with and establish friendships with peers who do not know Christ. We model for them genuine love for the lost, and a commitment to go where they are—seeking to show them Jesus' love by being with them in their lives—in their joys and sorrows. Just showing up is half the battle. We also teach them to be in continuing prayer for their lost friends, knowing that God alone can open a heart to be receptive to us and to what we will share with them.

### Plant gospel truth

Much of our impact in the lives of the lost comes through good deeds—actions that convey Jesus' care and concern for hurting people. Jesus' earthly ministry included feeding the hungry, healing the sick and blind and setting the oppressed free from demonic influence. However, Jesus did not stop with good deeds—he paired his acts of mercy with words that proclaimed the gospel (Luke 4:18-19, 43; 9:10-11).

Jesus calls on us to participate with him in his compassionate deeds and his words of testimony (Luke 9:1-2, 6). When accompanied by good works, our testimonies about the goodness of Jesus will have a much greater, positive impact on lost friends. Our desire in both our deeds and words is to help them develop a positive outlook on Jesus.

As we share life with lost friends, it is inevitable that they will encounter times of difficulty and pain—life happens to us all. At such times, our words of comfort and of encouragement that God loves them and seeks to help them are particularly appropriate and powerful.

If our words are not positively received, we are not offended, nor do we abandon our lost friends. Rather, our love for them is unconditional and we are willing to continue cultivating and planting for as long as circumstances allow. We trust the timing and the outcome to the Holy Spirit.

As youth ministry leaders and workers, we seek to equip our youths with the ability to share their testimonies about the goodness of Christ in their lives. We help them to see God at work in their own lives, and we give them encouragement, models and opportunities to practice sharing with others about God's goodness.

### Reap a new follower of Jesus

As we continue to cultivate friendships with lost peers, taking advantage of opportunities to plant truths about Jesus into those friendships, the time will often come when the fruit of our efforts will be ready for reaping. The reaping of a new follower of Jesus involves sharing the gospel with our friend. We explain that God gives salvation through Jesus' death and resurrection, and that they need that salvation and may experience it by turning to God in repentance and faith.

We explain this and invite them to respond. We pray that we will reap a genuine response that will show that they have been reborn as children of God—members of his family and citizens of his kingdom.

In our youth ministries, we work to be sure that our youths understand the essentials of the gospel of salvation in Christ and are able to explain it to others in age-appropriate ways. Our goal in this is not to pressure our kids to be evangelists, but to help them experience the joy of knowing Jesus, the joy of understanding the glorious gospel of grace and the privilege and blessing it is to share that gospel with a friend.

### Strategies for equipping youths for peer evangelism

In describing the basics of CPR, I have noted several goals we have as youth ministry leaders and workers in equipping our youths for their personal involvement in leading lost peers to Christ. To help you in thinking about the effectiveness of your youth ministry, let me conclude with a list of questions to stimulate your thinking concerning how you can be more successful in this equipping (my thanks to Sonlife Ministries for this list):

### Cultivating

Are the youths in your group consistently praying for their lost friends to experience salvation?

Are you regularly challenging your youths to make new unchurched friends?

Are you providing regular events designed to help your youths build friendships with the unchurched?

### Planting

Do your youths share their testimonies in evangelistic ways at school?

Do you host activities where unchurched youths can be exposed in positive ways to truths about Jesus?

Are you encouraging and equipping your youths to have on-going "truth based" dialogues with their unchurched friends?

### Reaping

Do you regularly equip your youths with the ability to share the gospel?

Do your youths "own" the conviction that everyone needs salvation and that Jesus is the only way for that salvation?

Do you regularly share the gospel in relational ways with the non-churched visitors to your youth group?

Ted Johnston

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## The New Evangelist

Two years ago my wife and I were attending a church in Joliet, Illinois, alone as our children searched for a place where they could worship. They came home one night from a youth group and asked if they could start their own group in our home. Not wanting to disappoint them, we allowed an invasion of our personal space, not to mention our comfort zones. Or should I say, we surrendered to the will of the Spirit, because what has transpired in our little family room can only be described as miraculous!

From a group of 10 teens and a commitment from our pastor, the fledgling youth group grew to about 25 faithful young people. Our home is invaded with laughter every week as teen after teen walks in the open door announcing his or her arrival with a hug and a "Hello mom and dad." They go to the family room, where everyone is greeted with another round of hugs before the room is filled with songs praising God and a lesson on life principles.

Of the original 10, only three were from our fellowship. Most were invited from school by two of the youngest girls. Since then we have had five baptisms, and four of the older ones counseled about becoming ministers.

Most of the teens participate in other youth groups, fellowshipping with countless other teens professing their love for God. Diversity spans racial and secular lines, encompassing various faiths. One girl was into Wicca and now is asking to come with us to church.

The Joliet church was quick to open their hearts with prayer for the young people, along with accepting a contemporary service. We brought with us on the average eight teens, and at times we had enough to make up a third of the congregation. That alone would be enough to give praise to God about, but there is so much more!

Out of the youth group came a need for a worship band. Three teens organized a band called Cranial Halo. They played at several youth conferences, more than 15 churches of various denominations, at four summer festivals, and at a fall festival in Iowa. They also have opened for two mainstream Christian bands.

Their messages are simple: No matter who you are or what you have done, God loves you and he cares about you, so "Live for him."

I see evangelism as an open house where the love of God abides, where teens are not afraid to show themselves as believers in their high schools, inviting others to salvation. The rock and roll beats of a drum, bass and guitar, praising God, leads others to dance, jump and scream for the one who came, died, rose and will come again.

I see evangelism as the surrender of everything you have and know so you can watch God at work. This been an incredible ride. I can't wait to see what God has in store in the coming years.

Dave Davis

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## Nurturing Young Believers Through Community

In this series of articles, we have been discussing strategies for advancing healthy youth ministry in and through our youth groups and congregations. Ministry is far more than programs—it involves relationships where young people, assisted by caring adults, come to know and embrace God through a life of faith in the presence of a living person—Jesus Christ.

As young disciples walk with Jesus and experience his life, they share Jesus' passion—his love for God and for people (the great commandment). Motivated by his passion, they participate with Jesus in his ministry patterns that center on making disciples who make disciples (the great commission). This participation is guided and empowered through Jesus' provision of the Holy Spirit in accordance with Jesus' faithful promise to be with us always.

It's a joy to assist young disciples to embrace Jesus' person, share Jesus' passion and participate in Jesus' ministry patterns through Jesus' provision and promise. This joy is the blessing that comes to those who are active in Jesus' disciplemaking ministry to, with and through children, teens and college age young adults.

### Nurturing believers using community, adoration, nurture and serving (CANS)

In previous articles, we noted that Jesus' commission to the church is fulfilled through youth ministries that pursue the four primary disciplemaking patterns modeled by Jesus in his earthly ministry: seeking lost youths, nurturing young believers, equipping young workers and multiplying young leaders. A primary responsibility of youth ministry leaders and workers is to provide ministry environments conducive to these patterns.

We noted further that Jesus nurtured believers by helping them grow in their love for God and for people. He advanced this work by using four growth-enhancing tools: community, adoration, nurture and serving (summarized in the acronym CANS). Starting with this article, we will take a deeper look at CANS, starting this time with community.

### Community

Jesus ministered to his disciples (who were probably youths) by bringing them into a caring community where they spent time with Jesus and with each other. In and through the relationships developed within this community, the disciples found fulfillment of their God-given needs for love, significance and belonging.

Young people today have the same needs—and youth ministries help young believers grow spiritually by being disciplemaking communities where participants find an atmosphere of love, a cause to live for and a place to belong.

### An atmosphere of love

God, who is love, created humans to receive his love and to share that love with others. Healthy disciplemaking youth ministries operate in harmony with God's design by being close-knit communities with an atmosphere of love. In such environments, young people feel accepted, valued and welcomed into the lives of adult Christians who partner with the Holy Spirit to help them receive Jesus and then grow as his disciples.

Consider how Jesus created an atmosphere of love in his community of disciples. First, he genuinely and deeply loved his disciples. He then consistently communicated that love through acts of encouragement, support and comfort. Through verbal and nonverbal affirmations, he reassured his disciples that he cared for them and would never abandon them. As the disciples spent time with Jesus, they began to grow in their love for him and for one another. Jesus constantly coached them in expressing this love and sent the Spirit to live within them so that their love for him and for others would be full and lasting.

Imagine a youth group characterized by an atmosphere of love—a place where adult youth leaders and workers, as well as young believers, warmly accept and care for one another. Imagine a place of unconditional positive regard (grace) that faces the reality of human weakness and sin, yet ministers to the weak and the sinful with Jesus' love.

Imagine a place where a wave of love washes over members and visitors of all ages. Such a wave is more than a feeling (though it involves powerful emotions). It is characterized by loving actions that convey the reality of Jesus' love, flowing to and through us by the Holy Spirit (see Romans 5:5). A youth group or a congregation that offers an atmosphere of love is a powerful attraction to youths who desperately need love in a world where genuine, holy love is rare.

A young member of our fellowship wanted to feel the impact of a new Christian environment. She visited a community church, arriving about 20 minutes before the service began. She was greeted warmly at the door and thought, that's a good thing. But once inside, no one came up to introduce themselves to her. Though she was their sister in Christ, she felt like an outsider. Do young people feel like outsiders in your congregation?

An atmosphere of love is conveyed through _actions_ that convey love. A youth group or a congregation that consistently expresses Jesus' love in tangible ways is a magnet that attracts not only young believers but also their nonbelieving friends.

I challenge each of us to help make our youth groups and congregations places where a wave of love washes over all people, particularly the young. Pray that God's holy love—his outgoing concern—will be expressed through our lives in ways that positively impact children, teens and young adults. In a culture saturated with self, let's express the selflessness of Jesus, who has given himself, in love, for the entire world. For additional ideas on creating an atmosphere of love, see the article titled "How to Make Your Congregation Youth-Friendly."

### A cause to live for

By God's design, people crave meaning, significance and purpose for their lives. This is particularly true of young people, who tend to be energetic and highly idealistic. Sadly, the causes they pursue and the groups they join are often dead-ends that lead to heartache and emptiness. What a blessing and privilege it is to offer to a young person the cause for which they were created—to be with Jesus as his disciple forever.

The cause of Christ is found and experienced in the community of Christ—his body, the church. Disciplemaking youth ministries help believers grow into the fullness of their God-given potential and purpose by connecting young believers to local churches where they can share in God's mission in communities of expectancy and hope.

Disciplemaking youth ministries understand that young believers need far more than entertainment. For young believers to grow as God intends, they need to learn about the high calling and compelling purpose of being a disciple of Jesus. They need to learn about Jesus' vision for their lives, including their part in his community of faith. In short, they need Jesus' cause to live for.

Consider how Jesus constantly cast a compelling vision for his group—challenging his disciples to work together in his cause as fishers of people, ambassadors for Christ and harvest workers. Jesus gave his community a reason for being and then he gave them many opportunities to participate and grow in that purpose.

A disciplemaking community nurtures believers in the faith because it provides, teaches and models a cause to live for—Jesus' great commission to make disciples who make disciples. I want to challenge each of our youth groups and congregations to be clear in their vision of that mission and then to share that vision with all members, including young ones. Challenge them to participate and then provide meaningful, age-appropriate ways for them to make meaningful contributions to Jesus' disciplemaking mission. In short, be a community that provides a cause to live for.

### A place to belong

What a paradox—our world is more over-populated than ever, yet people seem to be lonelier and more disconnected than ever. Such is a world apart from God, characterized by the terrible aloneness that sin produces. But in a disciplemaking youth group, that aloneness begins to be replaced by the oneness that Jesus offers in his community of faith, the church.

God has designed us to need others—to share community. The church is not an optional add-on to Jesus' disciplemaking process—it is the process. So important is participation in community for believers, that Paul refers to the church as Christ's body, where all the parts are interconnected and thus essential (see Romans 12:4-8).

Youth groups participate in God's growth-enhancing design for the church as they plug young believers into the life of the church, helping them experience the church as the place to belong. It is contrary to God's design when young believers are disconnected from the church, and it is equally contrary when youth ministries are disconnected from the life of the local congregation.

It is essential that youth ministry leaders and workers embrace and model the importance of active participation in a local church. By doing so, they help young believers become deeply connected to the fullness of the community of Christ where they encounter God-ordained opportunities to mature in Christ.

I challenge each of us to make our youth groups and congregations thriving places where young people are encouraged and inspired to belong. Let us all be committed to participation in the local church—and then let's make those churches communities that welcome and nurture young believers.

What a high calling it is to participate with Christ in taking "baby Christians" and nurturing them on to maturity—helping them grow in Christ-likeness. Jesus provides us with both the model and the means for this work—faith communities of love, significance and belonging. May God guide and bless us as we seek to provide such communities for young believers within our fellowship.

Ted Johnston

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## Nurturing Young Believers Through Adoration

In this youth ministry equipping and training series we are exploring ways youth ministry workers and leaders may actively participate in Jesus' disciplemaking ministry patterns—partnering with the Holy Spirit to seek the lost, nurture believers, equip workers and multiply and send shepherd-leaders.

In the previous article we began a series exploring ways to nurture believers using a set of powerful tools we refer to as CANS (community, adoration, nurture and serving). We started with community; in this article we explore adoration.

### Nurturing believers through adoration

In a poignant moment in the movie classic _Fiddler on the Roof,_ Tevye asks his wife, Golde, "Do you love me?" Golde is almost taken aback by the question. She responds by telling her husband about all the things that she does for him. "I wash your clothes, I cook your meals, I ...." "Yes, yes," Tevye says, "but do you love me?"

Growing up in the church, my response to a question about whether I loved Jesus or God would have been similar to Golde's. It would have almost given me the creeps to say, "I love Jesus." I could have rattled off a dozen things that I did out of obligation for God, but to bring myself to say that I love him? A bit too mushy. Yet God, like Tevye, wants to know. Jesus indicated that loving God was the great commandment.

Do we create an environment within our families, youth groups and congregations in which expressing love and adoration for God is encouraged? My personal journey of moving toward adoration of my God—of open, unbridled expression of my passion for Jesus—has had its share of potholes.

### Uncomfortable praising God

I remember being at a summer camp in Orr, Minnesota several years ago when the camp rose to express adoration to God in community through song. I had been singing hymns in church for 33 years. This part of the service was routine for me. But the songs we sang that summer were different. "I Love You Lord," "Majesty—Worship His Majesty," "The Heart of Worship."

I hadn't sung those songs before, and I wasn't sure if I could. They were so blatant. They expressed open devotion and adoration for God! That was the hard part. I hadn't ever told Jesus, "I love you." I don't remember ever having been in a church service where we openly told Jesus, "I love you." Like Golde, I could respond to the question about whether I loved the Lord or not by saying: "Of course I love the Lord. I obey him!"

Another interesting phenomenon occurred that summer. As I uncomfortably mumbled these lyrics that expressed a deep, abiding love for my God, I couldn't help but look around behind me and, with some level of dismay, see hundreds of teens who were not mumbling at all. They were singing with fervor! This was perplexing, partially because it was that kind of emotionally charged worship that I had ridiculed earlier in my ministry.

But I have met hundreds of teens who not only sing about the Lord, but who do love the Lord. Their thoughts, their words, their actions, their expressions are congruent—they love Jesus and they want to express their love for him.

Part of the challenge for adults is seeing the emotional side of worship in adolescents. Traditionally, some have concluded that since music is the language of adolescents, and since they become emotionally stirred by music that speaks to their hearts, and since much of the more contemporary praise and worship music is written with them in mind, that they may not be sincere in their expressions of devotion and adoration to God. This may all be an emotional charade, the thinking goes. But what of it?

### Heart of teens

Paul said he would do all he could to win the lost. What if the gospel actually entered into a teen's heart first? What if they hadn't sorted out all the theology, but they were moved by expressions of adoration to God? And what if the substance followed the form of that love? Praise God!

So how do we ensure that we have adoration toward God in our families, youth groups and congregations that will resonate with our children, teens and young adults? One way is to understand what this adoration is about. It is a profound expression of wonder, awe, trust and love toward our awesome, Triune God. Music is a powerful conduit for an adolescent, so in the family, we might keep the radio tuned to a Christian music station, or have a playlist of worship songs. In our family, we began a band. While we were having band practice, we were worshiping God!

Another way to worship within the family is to talk around the dinner table about how wonderful God is. Conversation within the family can be a form of worship and adoration if the focus is on how awesome God is.

It seems that it is easier to worship God when you get out into his creation. For this reason, the family might schedule a trip to the mountains, a beach or park. Getting away from the city and coming face-to-face with the handiwork of God facilitates conversations about how we adore him.

### God speaks to us

Parents can lead discussions and prayers of praise by being tuned in to moments where God's power seems to speak to us. I often find myself talking about the incredible creativity of God to my family when we go outside on a clear, moonlit evening. The sound of thunder also makes me mindful of God's awesome power, and one can use such a moment to thank, praise and exalt God.

For youth groups, it doesn't take much to praise God in worshipful song. A mobile device or a guitar may be all that is necessary. We have found that teens feel connected to God through these powerful worship songs. Prayer is also a way to explicitly express our adoration. In your youth group, you may want to consider having a time of praise through prayer after a time of praise through song. This experience is tremendously unifying. The music tends to soften the heart. Lowering the volume of the music during prayer can be helpful.

Allowing teens to share how great God is in their lives not only exalts him, but allows others to see what God is doing in the lives of peers. Another possibility is allowing teens to share their musical gifts and asking them to focus on adoration of God. Whether the music is contemporary, rap, alternative or country, you may be surprised at what adolescents come up with to express worship to God.

For preteens it is also important to provide time for adoration. "Jesus Loves Me" is a hymn that many children know that helps them understand his love for them. You can follow that with a discussion for children as young as 6 or 7 years old to learn how they would best want to show their love for Jesus.

### Adoration in congregations

What elicits a feeling of awe and adoration will likely be different for each person. One of my favorite hymns is "How Great Thou Art." A blended worship service that allows for some of the great traditional hymns will help adolescents and children to see how worship music is handled in the congregational setting. It can be powerful to follow this with a time of congregational prayer.

Perhaps your congregation can allow teens to lead worship from time to time. While the music may be different from what you are accustomed to, it is likely that the lyrics will be expressions of relentless adoration.

Another way to express worship within a congregational setting is the weekly offering. An offering can be a way of saying, "You are so glorious and wonderful that I want to give you what I have in the form of this offering." What a great thing to encourage children and teens to do.

How well does your congregation facilitate expressions of adoration from the heart for all ages? No doubt, many congregations have an intellectual focus on God. We want to know him. We want to study about him. We want to defend our faith. Those are all good things. But we also find in the Bible that David played a musical instrument and danced before the Lord. The New Testament church praised God (Acts 2:47). These expressions of adoration reflect the emotional side of our relationship with God.

Just before his death, Jesus and his disciples were in the home of Simon the leper. A woman approached him with a vial of perfume that cost, according to some commentaries, as much as a year's wages. The woman anointed Jesus' head with this perfume. Some of the disciples were upset with what they considered ridiculous extravagance. Jesus, on the other hand, appreciated the heart of adoration in which this worshipful act was presented. This woman showed her adoration for Jesus by personally serving him with an enormous gift.

Do we love Jesus? Do we tell him that we love him? Do we show this openly and expressively? Do our families focus on this love for the Lord? Do our youth groups? Congregations? An essential element of a maturing Christian's development is the ability to have time to focus exclusively on thoughts and expressions of adoration to our awesome God.

Jeb Egbert

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## Nurturing Young Believers Through Nurture

Those who minister to youths (parents, pastors, youth ministry workers and youth ministry leaders) have the rewarding challenge of assisting young disciples of Jesus as they grow in their relationship with God. We refer to this essential aspect of youth ministry as nurturing believers.

In this series, we have been exploring the use of CANS—four tools that are essential for nurturing believers. Those tools are community, adoration, nurture and serving. A helpful way to understand CANS is to view each tool from the perspective of the flow of ministry:

**IN:** Through **C** ommunity, we assist youths as they reach in to experience the love, significance and belonging found within the community of faith, the church. (See article on community.)

**UP:** Through **A** doration, we assist them as they reach up to express to God a profound sense of wonder, gratefulness and trust. (See article on adoration.)

**OUT:** In the next article, we'll look at serving—assisting young believers as they reach out to **S** hare God's love with people outside the group.

**DOWN:** In this article, we explore the tool of **N** urture, where we assist children, teens and college-age young adults as they receive the nurture that comes to them from God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit. Through this nurture, young believers receive God's guidance for being and building disciples of Jesus.

### Early church example

In the book of Acts, we read this of the early church:

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)

Note how the Spirit guided these believers to reach in to one another in loving fellowship (community), to reach up to God in worshipful praise (adoration) and to reach out to those in need (serving). Note also how they were connected to the grace of God that built them up in their faith (nurture). That grace came in several ways, including through the sharing of communion and worship, but first on the list of their activity is devotion to "the apostles' teaching."

A vital way the Spirit nurtures Jesus' followers is through the provision and illumination of God's Word. Ultimately, that Word is Jesus. Jesus, the living Word of God, is the full and final expression of God's person, God's will, God's way and God's plan. God nurtures disciples of Jesus as they are connected to his Word—a connection that comes in many ways, including through what is called "the apostles' teaching."

Following his ascension to the Father, Jesus sent the Spirit to minister to and through the church. Part of the Spirit's ministry in the early church was to inspire the apostles to give verbal, and eventually written, testimony about Jesus. Their calling was to preach the Word—to proclaim Jesus and his gospel, the message of the saving grace of God in Christ.

Through the Bible, the Spirit nurtures Jesus' followers with the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. A disciplemaking youth ministry cooperates and partners with the Spirit in this essential ministry as it carefully and continuously teaches God's word, the gospel.

But the Bible often seems intimidating, inaccessible and irrelevant to young Christians (and some "old" ones as well). "After all," some youths might say, "What do a bunch of stories about people who lived 2,000 years ago have to do with my life?" Our challenge is to show them—for the reality is that these stories, contained in Scripture, present the gospel and thus have profound meaning and relevance for every human life.

### Scripture comes alive

In my experience teaching youths, I have found that Scripture comes alive for them when they begin to understand that Scripture is about the One who is alive—in them and for them. The Bible is not a dead book about a bunch of dead people. It is the testimony of many real men and women who through faith in God came to understand something about God's plan for human beings. That plan is a man—Jesus. He is fully God and fully human—God come to us in the flesh. And he has come (as we sing in a popular praise chorus) "from heaven to earth, to show the way." Indeed, Jesus is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6).

So, what's the Bible about? It's about Jesus, the Word of God. Scripture is given to testify about Jesus (John 5:39-40). Scripture contains and presents the gospel—the good news about Jesus—the good news about God's salvation through Jesus, God's gift of grace.

### Knowing Jesus personally

Scripture comes alive as the inspired, living Word that it is, when young people find the living Jesus in its pages. Our task is to help them do so: not just to learn something about Jesus, but to come to know Jesus personally. Not just to get head knowledge about Jesus, but to be connected to the life-transforming presence and power of Jesus found in the gospel. Not just to read about that Word, but to live it—to obey it, and thus to be changed. By being nurtured in the Word, Jesus' disciples grow to be increasingly like their Master and Teacher (Luke 6:40).

Young believers are deeply impacted by teaching that connects them to the life of Christ. I like to take them to the Gospels—the four books of the New Testament that describe Jesus' incarnation (including his birth), his life, his earthly ministry, his death, his resurrection and his ascension to glory. (I find it useful to use a contemporary translation with language that youths readily understand.)

In the Gospels, Jesus is directly encountered—seen clearly for who he is: a living person. From this base in the life of Christ, young believers are equipped to understand the rest of the New Testament and the books of the Old Testament, given to the church to proclaim the fullness of Christ and of his gospel.

### Small groups ideal

I find it helpful to give youths a chance to talk and pray together about what they are hearing and reading in Scripture. Small groups are ideal for such interaction. In our summer camps we have small group "debrief" gatherings at the close of the daily chapels where the campers, assisted by their counselors, huddle to discuss and pray about what they have heard in the chapel messages. In this relational setting they share and process the nurture they have just received from God through his Word. I encourage you to use a similar strategy in your youth groups and congregations.

One of my colleagues in ministry began a house church with a target audience of young adults and teens. The focus of this group's study together was the life and ministry of Jesus. To assist in that study, each group member obtained a copy of a harmony of the Gospels (a book that places the four Gospel accounts in parallel columns). Each week they would discuss several verses from the harmony, with the discussion being led by one of the young members.

Such small-group-based dialogue is an effective tool with young people, providing a safe setting in which to openly interact with Scripture and with one another. Rather than sitting passively in a lecture, participants in small groups are actively involved in a journey of discovery. This relational, interactive format provides openings for further conversations with the participants during the week.

Scripture is a gift of God to the church. The Holy Spirit inspired the writing of Scripture and now uses Scripture (the written word) as a primary tool to nurture God's children. Those of us who are called to teach the written word have an awesome challenge and a profound blessing.

Young believers need far more than our thoughts—they need God's thoughts, conveyed through Scripture. They need far more than lists of principles gleaned from human wisdom—they need to be connected to the perfect man who is the sum of all wisdom—Jesus. And Jesus is found, through the illumination of the Holy Spirit, in the Holy Bible. The Bible is God's Word—his love letter, through the church, to the people he created—and the focus of his letter is Jesus and our life in him.

May all of us who are called on to partner with the Holy Spirit in nurturing young believers, re-commit to keeping the Word of God front and center in our own lives and in our youth ministries. May we all faithfully, persistently and skillfully teach the Word so that God who so deeply loves them, may nurture Jesus' young disciples.

Ted Johnston

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## Nurturing Young Believers Through Serving

In this series of articles we've been addressing strategies for advancing healthy youth ministry in and through congregations in the United States. This ministry is far more than programs—it involves personal relationships, where young people come to know and embrace a living person—Jesus, our Savior and Lord.

We have written about nurturing young believers using the model of CANS. This acronym stands for:

**Community:** where young believers are embraced by and included in a body of believers who are committed to Jesus' mission.

**Adoration:** where young believers are led to be passionate worshipers of God, in Christ, through the Holy Spirit.

**Nurture:** where young believers are helped to feed on the living Word of God present in Scripture, in the Spirit's presence in that young person's life, and in the Spirit's ministry through other believers.

We come now to the _S_ of the acronym, which stands for **Serving.** Why is serving an essential part of nurturing young Christians?

### Jesus' example

The first reason is that Jesus is our example, and he came to "serve and not be served." Many theologians refer to Jesus as the "suffering servant." Throughout his ministry, Jesus subordinated his own desires to those of the people around him. Whether it was the healing of a leper (unthinkable to even get close to a leper in those days) to the willingness to stay up into the late hours of night to heal those in Capernaum (Mark 1:32-34), Jesus reached out to and served others.

Jesus' own example shows that he served believers (his disciples) and nonbelievers. The miracles he offered—healings, casting out of demons and feeding hungry people (to name a few) showed a care, concern and compassion for others that was born out of love and was expressed in acts of service.

One of the best known of these acts of service is found in John 13, where Jesus washes his disciples' feet. He tells them: "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master.... Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" (John 13:14-17).

The most remarkable act of service was that Jesus would come to this earth at all. Paul writes that Jesus, "being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant" (Philippians 2:6-7). But Jesus went further, laying down his life at the cross in the most remarkable act of service imaginable.

We learn from Jesus' ministry that he engaged his disciples in acts of service as well. In Luke 9:10-17, we have the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000. The disciples were not simply spectators of the supernatural. Jesus asked them to participate. "Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them. Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people" (verse 16).

### Why serve?

It is important for several reasons to engage young Christians in acts of service. As already explained, serving models the very life of Jesus. Ultimately, Jesus did not ask us to simply be converts. He asked us to be disciples, following his example. Jesus set an example of service.

Second, the nature of God is paradoxical to the nature of humans. "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither my ways your ways, declares the Lord" (Isaiah 55:8). Human nature prefers to be served rather than to serve. We prefer to do the eating rather than the feeding and the washing of dishes. Yet something amazing happens when you reach out to serve. It is inexplicable, but a remarkable feeling of fulfillment washes over a person who has served someone else. This is especially so for one who has Jesus living in him or her. Why? Because it reflects the nature of Jesus to lay down one's life for others (John 15:13).

Third, acts of service lead to a sense of ownership. If I serve in my family, I have invested in my family. It feels more like my family after I have served in it. The same is true for serving in my church, school or community. If I serve in my church, it feels more like my church. I become more aware of its needs and more interested in its development. We do ourselves a disservice when we only serve our young people instead of letting them serve one another and the church at large.

Fourth, one of the great ways to develop a sense of community is through acts of service done together. Having young believers serve together is a powerful way to build their sense of commitment and connectedness. This also can aid in the development of intergenerational relationships.

### Where to invite acts of serving

A vital part of a child's development within the family includes his or her acts of service to the rest of the family members. Whether it is washing the dishes, mowing the lawn or cleaning the bathroom, acts of service help our children feel more invested in our own families as well as teaching them important life values.

We may also consider ways to get our young people more involved in serving within our congregations. Perhaps it is helping with the sound system, serving as an usher or greeter, or creating a service function of their own. Each of these forms of serving will help strengthen a young person's conviction and commitment.

A word of caution on this—forcing people to serve against their will may easily alienate them. A better approach is to encourage their involvement, and to model humility by being willing, as an older adult, to participate in service alongside them.

Doug Fields makes an interesting observation about youths serving within the church in his book, _Purpose Driven Youth Ministry:_

The more our staff focuses on teaching students about service, the more I am surprised at how open students are to the concept of ministry.... [However], in some churches, getting students to do ministry isn't as big a challenge as convincing the church congregation and leadership that teenagers can play a vital role in the body of Christ.

Paul wrote Timothy and said, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young" (1 Timothy 4:12). Congregations seem to retain young Christians when they are nurturing them by getting them involved in serving opportunities.

One of the reasons our summer camps are successful in nurturing young believers is that young campers and young staff members are instrumental in pulling together all of the activities, programs and facilities. They become passionate about their roles and soon have a more firmly and deeply held passion about what Jesus is doing in their lives. This passion is a function of their investment in camp, which is a function of their serving there.

### The serving continuum

Serving can be tricky. Pushed into serving in a role where a young believer does not believe his or her service really made any impact can lead a person to become jaded. For this reason, it is helpful to start service opportunities that are relatively small in scope and have a good chance of being successful.

In addition, it may be useful to start by serving with projects that do not involve serving people. Road clean up, dish washing, food preparation and yard work are examples of service projects where there is no direct interaction with a "customer." As a young believer becomes more committed, it is important that they are given opportunities to move up the continuum toward service projects that involve direct interface with people and that ultimately include sharing the gospel with unbelievers.

There is another reason why serving can be tricky. It can become a form of works-based religion. An unhealthy approach to service is when a believer begins to think that the only way to get favor with God is through service. We serve because we are _already_ favored by God. Because of his grace and the lead of the Holy Spirit, we are disciples of Jesus, and Jesus lives in us. Service is an outward manifestation of love—not an attempt to get more gold stars with God.

To help nurture young believers, we need to develop a sense of _community_ , lead in the _adoration_ of our Lord, _nurture_ those who are babes in Christ, and find ways to invite them to participate in _serving._ Creating an environment where these elements exist will enhance the likelihood that young believers will become more firmly established in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Jeb Egbert

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## Disciplemaking Ministry: Introduction

In this series we have been presenting basic principles and strategies concerning the development of youth ministry in our congregations. We've noted that this essential ministry involves obedience to the great commandment to love, expressed through obedience to the great commission to make disciples. This ministry flows out of our encounter with Jesus where we embrace his love and share in his ministry patterns to make disciples who make disciples.

### Disciplemaking ministry patterns

In the Gospels we observe basic patterns of disciplemaking ministry as modeled by Jesus. Then in the book of Acts and the epistles we find these patterns developed further by those Jesus trained and commissioned. The patterns of this great commandment-great commission ministry include seeking lost people, nurturing believers, equipping workers and multiplying shepherd-leaders. In this series we have explored several ways youth ministry leaders and workers may co-minister with the Holy Spirit to advance these disciplemaking patterns in and through their congregations.

We turn our attention now (in the next several articles) to the related issue of _disciplemaking ministry environments_. We will note foundational characteristics of environments that are conducive to making and developing disciples of Jesus.

### The foundations of disciplemaking environments

We know from Scripture and experience that disciplemaking is a process whereby a person is born anew and grows to become an increasingly mature follower of Jesus. This growth process is the sovereign and gracious work of the Holy Spirit from start to finish. We also know that we are called to co-minister with the Spirit as stewards of his gifts of grace (1 Peter 4:10).

One of the primary ways we cooperate with the Spirit in his disciplemaking mission is to provide ministry environments that are conducive to the Spirit's work. Such mission-enhancing environments possess certain essential characteristics—ones we refer to as _ministry foundations_. Over the next several articles in this series, we will examine these foundations one by one, offering tips concerning how youth ministry leaders and workers can effectively establish and develop these life-enhancing environments within their ministry contexts.

The reason to create and develop these ministry environments is to provide fertile soil in which the Spirit grows disciples of Jesus. Certain elements in this soil tend to produce corresponding characteristics in a disciple. Though this growth process is dynamic and multifaceted, a correspondence exists between the characteristics of the soil (the ministry environments) and the characteristics of the plant (the growing disciple).

This correspondence is illustrated in the table below. The column on the left lists six essential Christlike characteristics of a disciple. The column on the right lists the ministry foundations that support and enhance the development of the corresponding characteristic.

Note in the table that a disciple of Jesus is _grace-based_ (relates to God on the basis of his love, acceptance and provision in Christ). What type of ministry environment produces a grace-based follower of Jesus? It is one characterized by _an atmosphere of love_ (where people are embraced by God's love and are encouraged to relate to God on the basis of his grace in Christ).

Taken together, the six particulars summarized in this table describe a balanced disciplemaking ministry in which healthy disciplemaking followers of Jesus are born, grow to maturity and participate actively in the ministry of Jesus their Lord and Savior. This correspondence between ministry environments and growth in personal characteristics is the basis of this series of articles.

However, disciplemaking involves more than the provision of particular environments. Jesus' example is instructive. Though he created such environments for his disciples during his earthly ministry, it was not until these disciples were born of the Spirit that they began to evidence significant growth in the characteristics of disciples. Disciplemaking thus involves co-ministry with the Holy Spirit. We are commissioned by the Spirit to provide and maintain growth-enhancing ministry environments in which the Spirit develops Christ-like maturity in disciples.

What a blessing to take part with the Holy Spirit in Jesus' ministry! It is a challenge, to be sure, but we have the benefit of the Spirit's power, of our Lord's example, of the example of other disciples of Jesus who have gone before us, and the assistance of current disciples who are anxious to partner with us to advance what Jesus is doing on this earth.

I invite you and challenge you to be a disciple who makes disciples. And please continue to read these articles as we learn more about providing disciplemaking ministry environments.

Ted Johnston

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## Creating an Atmosphere of Love

"Love expressed and experienced among members of the body is absolutely essential if that body is to be healthy and alive. Thus the development of love within the group must be the primary concern of spiritual leaders" (Larry Richards, _A Theology of Church Leadership_ ).

Love is an amazing language. It has a remarkable way of breaking through a hardened, indifferent exterior. It is the language of God. God gave his one and only Son so the world might be saved. In this matchless gift, God showed a love that is far above human love—the love of the Creator for his creation.

When we receive Jesus as our Savior and Lord, we share in the love of the Triune God: the love that led the Father to give his Son, the love that led the Son to give his life, and the love that is given to us through the Holy Spirit, who lives and loves in us. Through the Spirit, God's love is expressed in our everyday relationships. In a world of coldness and indifference, God's love expressed through us can have a profound impact on the lives of others—including those who many see as unlovable.

I have learned about this kind of love from an unlikely source. Let me tell you about a three-year-old dog named Lucky. I was playing basketball in the little park across the street when my daughter, Brittany, brought Lucky to meet me for the first time. We obtained him from a pet foster home. I have to be honest—he wasn't cute to me. But what was more interesting is that I somehow repulsed him. Lucky was terrified of me.

My initial reaction was, "Take him back." I had grown up with dogs, and have always been good at quickly developing relationships with them. But not Lucky. I tried the high, squeaky voice. That terrified Lucky. I tried to reach out and hold him. He wouldn't have it. I gave him wonderful doggy treats. He continued to give me a wide berth. It seems that Lucky had been abused as a young puppy.

Lucky is still wary of me. But he has grown on me as well. I'm convinced that Lucky has come into my life to help me learn more about God's love—his enduring, relentless love and grace for the unlovable. It's made me think more deeply about how much God loves us in spite of our lack of responsiveness, and it makes me wonder sometimes what kind of love I have for others. It also causes me to think about how we express (or don't express) God's love and grace in and through our congregations, our youth ministries and our families.

As we are connected to Jesus we bear the fruit of his love. That love, when openly and consistently expressed by the members (and particularly the leaders) of our groups, will lead to the creation of what we refer to as an atmosphere of love. In such an atmosphere, believers and non-believers alike experience God's unconditional love for the unlovely (we call that grace).

In such an atmosphere, followers of Jesus learn to more fully express the love that is in them through the Holy Spirit. This is Jesus' way—the way he lived when he walked this earth. Consider the following examples:

**Jesus touched people.** In Mark 1:41 we see, "Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man."

**He expressed love through what he said.** "When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, 'don't cry'" (Luke 7:13).

**He was sensitive to the needs of others.** For instance, he asked the invalid in John 5:6, "Do you want to get well?"

**He invested in the lives of people.** For example, Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha deeply (John 11:3, 5, 35-36).

Jesus intentionally put himself at the crossroads of people's lives. He was approachable, not distant.

**His love was sacrificial.** He was willing to give up something that he cherished—his life—for the good of others.

Contrast Jesus and his way of love with the way most people live today. When I go to work, I see solitary people in cars, absorbed by the radio or whatever is necessary to get to work. I see people on a mission with little time for others or for their needs. Yet the way of Jesus and his love is to reach out to others—particularly to the unlovely. It means pushing the pause button on life and letting go of our agenda for the sake of meeting their needs. But to do so requires that we get to know them—and that's neither easy nor quick.

I find myself often seeing people at church and asking the same superficial questions: "How was your week?" "How are you doing?" "What's new?" Superficial conversation is not bad, but it does not lead to really knowing someone—and learning what they really need. It does not create an atmosphere where God's love flows freely.

Let me suggest some ways that we can go beyond the superficial and create an atmosphere of love in our congregations in general and our youth ministries in particular:

Call a different person each day just to let them know you were thinking of them.

Recognize special days in the lives of members. Birthdays, anniversaries and significant events such as graduation are examples of events when it is nice to receive a special note or gift from others. When my eldest son graduated from high school, I was impressed that a pastor of a congregation hours away sent me an e-mail in advance and asked if he could come to the graduation. He showed up and he had a gift. I could tell it made a big impact on my son, although that impact may not always be readily evident at that moment.

Send a note, text or e-mail out of the blue.

Find out what a person needs from a close acquaintance and surprise them by providing them with a gift or an act of service. Finding ways to engage in acts of service creates an important bond for those who are on the giving end, and allows the receiver to see the nature of Christ at work.  
It is not difficult to work with your town's social services department to find opportunities to reach out and make a difference in the lives of needy people. Doing so will cement a loving bond within your group.

Find ways to socialize outside of congregational time. Potluck activities, picnics, bowling together can all help to build a depth of relationship that transcends the 10-minute superficial church experience.

Pray for others by name.

A word of caution here: people value expressions of love differently. My daughter, for instance, appreciates social activities and gifts. When I give her a gift, she feels loved, and would prefer that to a hug. My wife appreciates the things I do for her to make her life a little less hectic. Some people simply love to talk. Whatever it is, we all tend to translate acts of love differently on the basis of what is important to us.

But whatever the expression of love, love must be expressed. When God's love is openly, consistently expressed in our congregations and ministry groups, the result will be an atmosphere of love. In such an atmosphere, the Spirit brings the lost to Christ and builds up those who are believers in Christ. In an atmosphere of love, disciples of Jesus become grace-based—they learn to relate to God and to other people on the basis of God's unconditional love in Christ.

When people come into contact with your group—your congregation, or youth ministry, or family, what do they experience? If they find an atmosphere of love where people visibly demonstrate love to one another, they experience a joy that is palpable. Conversely, if they find an absence of love, or a love that is unexpressed, the atmosphere is cold and flat.

Most people respond positively to an environment where they are warmly greeted by name, where they know people have a genuine interest in them, and where others reach out of their own comfort zones to assist in whatever way possible. Please join me in reflecting on our families, our youth groups and our congregations. What can each of us do to help provide an atmosphere of love?

Jeb Egbert

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## The Adoration of Christ

One of my favorite Christmas hymns, "O Come, All Ye Faithful," invites people to "come and behold him," Jesus—the One who is "born the King of angels." The hymn then invites our response: "O come, let us adore Him—Christ, the Lord!"

The adoration of Christ is an essential part of the foundation of all Christian ministries (youth ministries included). This foundation is present in ministries where Jesus is clearly presented for who he is (Christ the Lord) and where the appropriate response of worship is both invited and facilitated. The adoration of Christ involves far more than programs or tasks—it's a life-style of active participation in the Holy Spirit's ministry to and through the church.

During the evening before his crucifixion, Jesus spoke with his followers concerning the Spirit's ministry in their midst. He promised to send the Spirit to be with them and in them as their Counselor or Comforter (John 14:16). The Spirit's ministry would be focused on Jesus: reminding his disciples concerning Jesus' teachings (14:26), testifying about Jesus' person (15:26) and bringing glory to Jesus (16:14). In these and other ways, the Spirit would develop the disciples by giving them a proper concept of Jesus, which would lead them to adore him as their Savior and Lord.

A youth ministry has the privilege and joy of joining with the Holy Spirit in this ministry through the church on behalf of children, teens and college-age young adults. A youth ministry does so, in large part, by providing ministry environments where the adoration of Christ is placed front and center. Such environments are the fertile soil in which the Spirit grows Christ-centered youths.

But what does the adoration of Christ in a youth ministry setting look like? How can pastors, youth ministry leaders, youth ministry workers and parents provide environments where Jesus is fully seen and openly and consistently adored for who he truly is? Consider the following ideas and principles.

### It begins with the leadership

The adoration of Christ will grow within youth ministries where the group's leaders, workers and parents are openly passionate for Christ and share that passion with the youths. This is vital to understand, because the adoration of Christ is more caught than taught. Teaching about adoring Jesus is essential, but a youth minister's life-style that models open and unashamed devotion and passion for Jesus is far more powerful. The group will tend to reflect what the leaders model.

If you work with youths, let your life be connected to and grounded in Christ. Let me encourage you to cultivate that connection—to spend time with Jesus, to adore him in times of prayer, time in his written Word (Scripture) and time worshiping him together with other Christ-followers. In such times let the Spirit fill you with the Father's adoration for his Son Jesus.

As you are filled with that adoring love, it will overflow to the young people in your group. They will adore Christ along with you—particularly if you include them with you as you show adoration for Christ in ways that are meaningful to them.

### Focus on the gospel

The adoration of Christ involves more than getting a youth group to chant, "we love Jesus, yes we do." It's great to openly and enthusiastically express love for Jesus, but you can't simply tell a person to adore Jesus and expect it to happen. The adoration of Christ flows from a personal encounter with him. A primary place for such an encounter is in the message of the gospel—the good news of what Jesus has done for us that we might have forgiveness and eternal life with God. We effectively focus on the gospel as we personally embrace and then effectively teach the following gospel-centered truths:

**Who God is.** The adoration of Christ flows out of a proper concept of Christ—a biblical understanding of the glory and majesty of who Jesus Christ is in his union with the Father and Holy Spirit. The more we appreciate who God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) is, the more we will worship and adore his priceless gift, Jesus, the one and only Son of the Father.

Help your kids to know this God in age-appropriate ways. Introduce God to them as the One who is infinite, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, good, merciful, all wise, faithful, just, gracious, loving, holy and personal. Help them know him as Creator, Sustainer and Savior. In your teaching, praying, worship and discussions, focus on the majesty of God.

**What God has done for us.** The adoration of Christ intensifies as one begins to grasp the magnitude of what this awesome God has done for us—we who are undeserving sinners. Paint a vivid picture for your kids of all that God has given us by grace in and through Jesus Christ.

Look at Colossians 1 and 2 for examples. There we learn that God has qualified us to share in an eternal inheritance, has delivered us from evil, has redeemed us, forgiven us, reconciled us, presented us to the Father as holy, works through us with his power, has made us complete and alive with Christ and has cancelled our debt to God.

As we relate the essential truths of the gospel of Jesus to the lives of young people, they will rejoice—they will adore Christ. Lead them to that place, and they will be transformed.

**Who we are in Christ.** The transformation that we want to see in our kids flows not from mere behavior modification focused on obedience to rules, but from the kids' union with Christ and their understanding of who they are in him. That understanding leads them to adore Christ in their whole being—including in their behavior.

Youth leaders, workers and parents struggle with the misbehavior of some youths. Many teen group leaders have spent sleepless nights agonizing about group members who are involved in drug abuse, illicit sex or other God-dishonoring, dangerous behaviors. Youth ministry leaders should have basic codes of acceptable behavior in the group, and parents need the same within their homes.

But more than codes of behavior, we need to help our kids understand that, as followers of Jesus, they are new creations. In Christ, kids are forgiven and released from the enslaving bondage to sin. They have been given new freedom, through the Holy Spirit, to live in newness of life. This life transformation is supernatural and is rooted in a relationship with Jesus that is grounded in the worshipful adoration of Christ.

Do you want better-behaved kids? Then lead them to understand who they are in Christ—to experience the joy of knowing Jesus—and thus to adore him. Do this and the Spirit will transform their hearts and minds—and new, Christlike behaviors will follow. (For a good study on who we are in Christ, I recommend the publication "Thirty-Three Things That Happen at the Moment of Salvation." It can be ordered from Sonlife Ministries at  http://store.sonlife.com/33-things-that-happen-at-the-moment-of-salvation/ or by calling 971-340-4675. The cost is $3.19 for each copy, plus shipping.) [URL and cost verified July 2015]

### Provide spaces for adoration

Jesus may be adored anywhere, at any time. But one of the responsibilities of youth ministry leaders and workers is to provide appropriate spaces (times and places) where youths are focused on adoring Christ. One of the best tools for creating such spaces is worship entered into through music.

Music is the heart language of youths in our culture. For most Christian youths, worship music is the preferred language for adoring Christ. Christian worship music provides a powerful and biblically appropriate way for young disciples to adore Christ—fully engaging their bodies and minds. Music that is passionately Christ-centered and Christ-adoring leads young worshipers into the Lord's presence where they are filled with the Father's love for Jesus and God's love for them.

To the tool of worship music may be added the spiritual discipline of prayer. Teach young disciples to pray together—to praise Christ and pour out their hearts to their heavenly Father together. Getting rid of timidity in group prayer takes time for some, but in my experience, most soon learn to open up. A key here is to provide a non-threatening, loving environment (see previous article on creating an atmosphere of love in your youth group).

Another powerful tool for leading youths to adore Christ in worship is to involve them in the dramatic reenactment of the main events of Jesus' life. By reenacting Jesus' birth at Christmas, for example, young people are drawn into the reality of Jesus' self-giving through the incarnation and thus experience more fully the magnitude of his sacrifice on their behalf.

One more idea about providing spaces where youths can adore Christ: take them into nature, where the glory of their Creator may be seen and experienced. How about a float trip down a beautiful stream (caution: wear life vests), or a Discovery Weekend in a rural camp? When Jesus is lifted up in such environments, adoration flows. Much more can be said about providing an atmosphere characterized by the adoration of Christ. It's not about a set formula, but these are some ideas and principles that work.

In closing, let me encourage each of us to ask ourselves a couple of key questions: Do I adore Christ? Do I express that adoration openly so that I'm adding to an atmosphere of the adoration of Christ in my congregation, family or youth group? Let me encourage all of us to develop a life-style that answers yes to both questions. As we do so, we'll be contributing to the building of congregations, homes and youth groups where Christ is openly adored. In doing so, we will be making a positive contribution to Jesus' disciplemaking ministry on earth, walking in step with the Spirit, to the glory of our heavenly Father.

Ted Johnston

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## Prayerful Dependence

### Inspiring event

I crept closer to the circle of about 20 adolescent boys to listen in on their conversation. They were standing in a circle, hands clasped. They were praying. As I listened to these 14-, 15- and 16-year-old boys pouring their hearts out to Jesus, tears filled my eyes. The notion that they would be praying at all was something to celebrate. That they would do so with others like themselves was even better. But to listen to the intense, focused prayers that they offered was truly inspiring.

Jesus created an environment punctuated by prayerful dependence. I have often mused over the fact that Jesus, fully God and fully human, would put such a premium on prayer. His desire to be fully connected to the Father should be a powerful reminder of our need to, as Paul said, "pray without ceasing" (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

One of the most remarkable insights on Jesus' priority of prayer is found in Mark 1:35. Here, after a day of preaching, driving out demons, healing Peter's mother-in-law, then performing miracles on behalf of the whole town (verse 33), Jesus must have been exhausted. After a day like that, he had every right to sleep in. Instead, we find Jesus getting up "very early in the morning, while it was still dark" to go to a solitary place to pray. The Gospels have numerous references to Jesus' praying.

### What others have said

Much has been said and written about prayer. Evangelist Dwight L. Moody (1837-1899) wrote: "Some people think God does not like to be troubled with constant coming and asking. The only way to trouble God is not to come at all." Further, Moody said: "We are not told that Jesus ever taught his disciples how to preach, but he taught them how to pray. He wanted them to have power with God; then he knew they would have power with man."

Corrie ten Boom, who offered refuge to Jews in Holland during World War II, said the following: "As a camel kneels before his master to have him remove his burden at the end of the day, so kneel each night and let the Master take your burden." Ten Boom continued: "If you have some time on your hands, spend part of it on your knees."

Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910), one of Britain's most famous preachers, wrote: "The true end of prayer is to get our wills harmonized with his, not to bend his with ours." C.S. Lewis wrote: "If we were perfected, prayer would not be a duty, it would be delight. Some day, praise God, it will be."

### How important is prayer?

How much emphasis does your youth group, your congregation or your family place on prayer? How important is it to you? How important is it to seek an audience with the all-powerful, almighty God? What does it mean to us that, under the new covenant, we have instantaneous access to the throne room of the universe?

We can say with confidence: a youth group or congregation that places a premium on prayerful dependence will enhance the likelihood of growth for the congregation or youth group. A key suggestion with respect to this topic is to enlist concerned adults and students who will pray specifically and consistently for the needs of youth ministry. One way to do this is through the formation of what are called prayer triplets. In a prayer triplet, you identify two other people who will gather 20 minutes a week to pray specifically for spiritually lost friends and one another's growth.

Another idea is to conduct a concert of prayer, where a facilitator leads a group through a series of focused prayers. Some have chosen this format to do nothing but pray in either a congregational setting or at a youth activity. Others sprinkle appropriate worship and praise music that corresponds to the focus of the prayer. Some congregations with few youths may wish to discuss whether they truly are interested in growing youth ministry. If the answer is yes, the next positive step would be to bathe the issue in prayer.

Regardless of format or approach, prayer means spending time with God: talking with him, listening for his response, and sharing with others who are interested in communing with God. Being intentional in prayer is one of the most important hallmarks of an environment that is likely to enjoy tremendous spiritual growth. It is also an important way to fulfill the Great Commandment. Talking to and with God is a tremendous way to show him that you love him with your whole heart, soul and mind.

Jeb Egbert

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## Communication of the Word

In writing that "all Scripture is God-breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16a), Paul reminds us that God inspired the Bible. He also notes that the Spirit uses Scripture to make us "wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (3:15b). The focus of the Bible is the gospel—the good news of God's gift of salvation in Jesus. This salvation is a gift (we can't earn it), and we receive and continue to experience this gift as we place our trust (faith) in Christ Jesus.

Within this essential Christ-centered, gospel-focused context, all Scripture (including the Old Testament, to which Paul refers) is "useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work" (3:16b-17, NRSV).

A disciplemaking youth ministry cooperates with the Holy Spirit in this equipping by skillfully and persistently presenting the gospel through the teaching of Scripture. As young people encounter the gospel, many who are lost are found; many of the found begin to grow; and many grow to where they become equippers of others—ably using Scripture to advance the Lord's disciplemaking good work on earth.

As youth ministry workers and parents, our challenge is clear. We must present the gospel through the teaching of Scripture in ways that engage our children, teens and college-age young adults. Thank God that we have access to many great teaching resources to assist us. If you haven't done so recently, why not visit a good Bible bookstore to examine some of what is available? If you're looking for resource recommendations, check out the age-graded resource page on the GCI Generations Ministries website at <http://www.generationsministries.org/age-graded-resources.html>.

Let me hasten to add, however, that there is no magic teaching resource or method. More than any specific resource or approach, we who are teachers (including parents) need a profound and continuing personal encounter with the Word of God. Effective teachers prayerfully spend time getting to know God in the Scriptures, and then share how his Word has impacted their own lives. This is essential because our goal is to see Scripture transform lives, not merely inform minds.

We, as teachers, must personally study the Bible and allow it to transform our lives. Filled with God's Word, we then seek to teach effectively the gospel-centered message of Scripture to our students.

Let me share an approach that I have found to be useful in teaching youths of all ages (adults too!). It's a way to structure your lessons with your students in mind. This approach is summarized in the acronym HBLT, which stands for _hook, book, look, took._

### Hook

With any audience (youths in particular), you have only a short time to connect. The purpose of the hook is to grab attention. In designing your hook, ask yourself, how will this lesson be relevant to my students? How can I help them become excited about this lesson?

Start by connecting with the real interests and needs of your students. What's on their minds? What are they struggling with? What are their joys? Their sorrows? Their frustrations? Connect using a hook—often in the form of a story, perhaps a piece of music or a testimony from one of the students or from your own life.

### Book

The focus of our teaching must be Scripture. Our goal is to get youths into the Word so that the Word might get into them. But a note of caution—the Bible is diverse; it covers a lot of territory and spans thousands of years. All Scripture has tremendous teaching value—but remember the purpose for all Scripture—it is given to us to lead us to Christ. Jesus himself told some experts in the Hebrew Scriptures (what we call the Old Testament): "You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life" (John 5:39-40).

Scripture is a tool of the Spirit to bring us to Jesus. To study Scripture apart from this purpose is to miss its message. So get your students into Scripture, and get them connected with Jesus' life and his gospel. To do so is to have what might be called a Christ-centered, gospel-focused approach to teaching. That's what we want because that's what our students need.

As you discuss a particular passage or story from Scripture, make it interesting. Make it an experience—not merely a presentation. Remember how students learn at various age levels and teach in ways that will involve and excite them at that age. Drama is a wonderful tool. Rather than merely reading a passage of Scripture, lead your students in enacting the scene.

Don't be afraid to help your students memorize passages of Scripture. Young minds are like sponges, and helping them soak up Scripture will help plant gospel truth into their impressionable minds.

### Look

The purpose of the look step is to provide a bridge from Scripture into the lives of the students. It's vital for students to understand how the wisdom and power of Scripture applies to the real issues they face day to day. By constructing this bridge, you'll help students understand that Christ is the living Savior who cares about them personally and that his way is relevant to their daily lives.

A helpful approach is to share your personal stories (and those of others) to illustrate how the gospel has changed your life. It's also helpful to engage them in a group discussion of how the passage of Scripture being discussed relates to contemporary life.

### Took

In the final step, the teacher moves from illustration to _application._ An encounter with the Word of God is not complete without an appropriate response. The teacher invites a response by presenting example applications of what is being addressed in the passage being discussed. Multiple examples are best, because it is rare for one application to be universally relevant. By offering multiple examples, students are encouraged to be open to the work the Spirit will do to apply the teaching to their individual lives.

To help in the application process, it's effective to provide follow-up opportunities to implement the lesson learned. For example, a service project might be conducted through which students live out a teaching on serving others.

As youth ministry leaders and workers, let's commit to growing in our ability to establish and maintain the ministry foundation of the communication of the Word. As we do, we'll see our students become more and more Word-directed in their daily lives. In this way they will mature as disciplemaking followers of Jesus Christ.

Ted Johnston

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## Creating a Biblical Group Image in Your Youth Ministry

One evening after returning from a long day at work, I plopped into an oversized chair and flicked on the television. As I was channel surfing, looking for something that I could settle in to, I happened across a cartoon that caught my attention. The program featured a family, and in this episode the focus was on the dialogue between the father and his son. "Bobby," the father began. "I want you to go to youth group." "Dad, I don't want to go to youth group," was Bobby's reply. "That's boring."

Sensing that this cartoon was just what I needed, I put down the remote control and fixated on the developing plot. As it turned out, Dad was able to influence Bobby to go to youth group in spite of his reluctance. I chuckled as I watched Bobby, 10 to 12 years old, get dressed up for youth group. Dad made sure he had his best suit and tie on, and with Bible in hand, Bobby was dropped off at the meeting place.

As Bobby made his way toward the door, he mumbled about how much he detested having to go. "What a rip-off. Other kids are out having fun, and I'm having to go to this stupid youth group." Just then, skateboarders at the nearby park caught Bobby's eye. His countenance brightened considerably as he exclaimed: "Now that's what I want to do."

Bobby ambled over to observe the activity, only to learn that the skaters were also going to the youth group. In fact, this was the youth group! Suddenly Bobby's perspective on the youth group did an about-face, and as the episode continued, Bobby couldn't be kept from attending.

Besides being a nice way to finish off the day, this television program got me to thinking. "What is it that draws young people to a youth group or youth ministry? What is it that retains them?" This is a vital question for youth ministry leaders, pastors and parents, because it gets to the core of why any group or team exists. What is the image that is portrayed by your youth group? Is it the image that Jesus gave to his group of disciples?

What further compounds this issue is the perspective of Bobby. He approaches the youth group with a perspective that says: "This will be tedious. I can't wait until I'm finished with this so I can get back to doing things that I want to do."

As we study the great commission to make disciples, we recognize that an essential component is fundamental to the process. For individuals to become disciples of Christ, they must first be brought to Christ. Until then, they are lost in a sea of fatal attractions and distractions. Then Jesus beckons to them and something catches their attention, and they follow him.

What was compelling to Jesus' own disciples? What made them want to follow him? Skateboarding? Pizza? Pool parties? Trips to an amusement park? None of these activities provide the appropriate, enduring biblical group image that Jesus gave to his group. Jesus communicated a compelling vision of his Father's kingdom. In doing so, he created an environment _of hope and expectancy._ Through the power of his Spirit, Jesus' disciples caught the vision and followed him.

Does this imply that pool parties, pizza or skateboarding are wrong? Emphatically, no! These are the things that initially beckon to a young person. Bobby was not interested in the youth group. He was interested in skateboarding. In the theoretical world of the cartoon, he became interested in youth ministry and the gospel because the intent of youth ministry was not to share skateboarding, but to share the eternal hope, joy and excitement that are found in Christ alone. Skateboarding was a means to a much, much greater end.

As parents and youth ministry leaders, we need to be constantly working to provide a biblical group image. This image flourishes in an environment of hope and expectancy that flows from a compelling vision of active discipleship. Within such an environment, young followers of Jesus become fellowship-building disciples—active participants in Jesus' body, the church. If an activity within a youth ministry does not support and advance an atmosphere of hope and expectancy centered on following Jesus together, then we may have a group, but it's not a biblical group.

### Fellowship

A biblical group is characterized by loving fellowship. Youth ministry leaders can help such fellowship grow through a five-step process. First, group leaders can use icebreakers at meetings to help ensure that group members get to know one another.

Second, fellowship can be deepened through ongoing programs. Enjoyable activities (such as skateboarding) can enhance the likelihood that group members begin to open up with one another—sharing interests, hobbies and passions. Through this approach, group members move from being casual acquaintances to friends who are bonded through shared experiences.

Third, fellowship goes to an ever deeper and more fully biblical level when the group shares biblical instruction leading to an intimate biblical community.

In such a community, the members participate in the one-anothering actions that characterized the early followers of Jesus. In such a community of love and sharing, youths openly share with each other their concerns and troubles as well as their joys and victories.

At this level of deepening fellowship, the group's leaders will give thorough biblical instruction about how to offer care to one another, including how to pray for one another. Such instruction will help transform a group of unrelated people into a team that is bound together by an outgoing concern for one another.

Fourth, the group can begin to participate in tasks or activities that use the combined resources of the group. Such challenges help the group to become a cohesive team with common goals where the members think in terms of _we_ rather than _me._

This is why service activities are important to a youth group. The fact that members work side by side to achieve a common goal of serving the community or the church (for example, in a bake sale, car wash or highway clean-up) is a good way to get the focus off of self and onto the team's shared goals. When individuals are joined by a common goal, they become unified in a way that preaching about unity could never do.

Fifth, the group (now a team) is ready to launch into an emphasis on ministry. Leaders ask: how can our youth group best use its combined resources, talents and abilities to share the gospel? How can we reach out to the Bobbys of the world in much the same way that we were reached out to?

When your youth group migrates to youth ministry with a clear focus on advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ—watch what happens! Young people who are bound together by God's Spirit and who share a common vision in Christ are some of the most effective sharers of the gospel I've ever seen. They become highly effective spokesmen and women for the kingdom, beckoning in their own way as the apostle Paul did: "Follow me as I follow Christ."

To be effective, youth ministry leaders, workers and parents must be active in creating and nurturing a biblical group image. It doesn't just happen. It starts with young people like Bobby and activities like skateboarding. But it matures only as it galvanizes into gospel ministry that fully involves the Bobbys of the team, just as it did Jesus' first disciples.

Jeb Egbert

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## Having a "Commitment to Contact" in Your Youth Ministry

In Carl Sagan's novel _Contact,_ an astronomer devotes her life to making contact with intelligent beings beyond our solar system. The means by which she is drawn into that contact makes for thrilling science fiction. I like Sagan's writing (he was an excellent author and a brilliant scientist), but what I wish he had learned before his death in 1996 is that we don't have to go looking for intelligent life in outer space—it's already made contact with us.

As the apostle John wrote in his Gospel, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (John 1:14a). God became human in order to be with us, to make himself known to us, to be our sin offering and to share his life with us both on earth and out there beyond known space and time. After his death and resurrection, the glorified Word, Jesus, returned to heaven. But before he left, he promised to send another Counselor, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16); and he gave his followers the commission to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19).

Participating actively in this mission is our calling. And when it comes to disciplemaking, we can have no impact without contact. In all ministries, including our ministries to children, teens and young adults, it's essential that we teach and model contact with nonbelievers.

Howard Hendricks, Christian author and educator, says it this way: "You can impress people at a distance [but] you can only impact them up close. The general principle is this: the closer the personal relationship, the greater the potential for impact" ( _Leadership,_ Summer 1980).

Contact involves two related principles: getting on their turf and making it relational.

### Getting on their turf

First, we must connect with others on their turf. Jesus is the ultimate example. Talk about changing turf! Getting on our students' turf means going where they are. Jesus has commissioned us to fish for people, and we can't expect the fish to swim to us—we have to go after them.

If we want to impact teens, we can't limit our contact with them to short times at church. We have to get on their turf—visit them at home or be there at a concert where they are performing, or accompany them to a sporting event they enjoy. We've got to contact them outside the church setting.

If we want to impact children, we can't expect all contact with them to be in adult-oriented activities—we have to get on their level; be with them in activities they enjoy.

I was reminded of this when my wife and I visited Disney World in Florida. About 20 years before this trip, we had visited there with our (then) young daughter and son in tow. But now we were empty nested, and wishing we had a child to share the experience with. It felt weird riding with Donna through "It's a Small World" with no children beside us! But more than feeling weird, it felt incomplete.

Children love it when an adult does kid stuff with them. That's why we play fun games in Sunday school with young children—to get on their turf and bring Jesus and his gospel with us.

### Making it relational

The second important principle is that contact, on their turf, must be relational. As teachers and parents, contact with our students and children is often about sharing information. That's necessary, but the contact that has the greatest impact emphasizes the building of a relationship.

Have you noticed how Jesus affected his disciples? He built a relationship with each one by being with them in all sorts of situations, formal and casual. In John 3:22 we're given an example: he took his disciples into the Judean countryside where (as it says in the old King James) he "tarried with them." _Tarried_ is from the Greek word _diatribo,_ which in some contexts means to "rub." Through relational contact, Jesus was "rubbing off on" his followers, and they were becoming like him.

We follow Jesus' model of relating as we develop friendships with our students and children—showing personal interest in them, developing a lasting relationship. And that makes a lasting impact.

I'll never forget when I went to my father's funeral in Indiana many years ago. A young woman from the church he attended pulled me aside to tell me about the positive effect my dad had on her when she was young. She told me that he had sent her several letters to point out the talents he saw emerging in her life. Not only was she encouraged by this affirmation, she was helped to find her life's calling. Such is the lasting effect of relational contact.

To be relational in our work as youth ministers and parents, we have to work on developing sensitivity toward our students' and children's developing identities. We need to relate to them in ways that are sensitive to their emotional, mental, physical and spiritual makeup—and that means accepting them as they are—with all their immaturities and other imperfections. We must strive to accept them as God's creation and love them accordingly. They will sense this love and be much more responsive to the information we have to share with them.

I'll close with one last bit of advice. Contact that impacts does not happen by accident. How about being sure that every child and teen in your congregation is greeted by name by an adult every week?

But don't stop with what you do at church. What if as a team of youth ministry leaders, workers and parents, you plan to make frequent, personal contact with every youth in your congregation outside of the church service? You could assign certain ones to phone a list of youths every week. Or write them a letter once a month. Or visit them at a school activity once or twice a year. How about a plan to send each one a birthday card?

Let's not just talk about it—let's do it, and then keep on doing it. Your sustained, loving contact will make a lasting effect. Through that contact, you'll rub off on them—and if you've got Jesus living in you, he'll rub off on them, too. Go get 'em! (And have fun.)

Ted Johnston

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## Disciplemaking Ministry: Conclusion

The powerful principle that underlies the foundations of youth ministry is that the Holy Spirit makes disciples of Jesus. Our job is to cooperate (co-minister) with him. One of the most important ways we do so is by providing a healthy environment for the Spirit to do his disciplemaking work. In this series, we've described six essential characteristics (foundations) of disciplemaking environments:

**An atmosphere of love** (where we reflect God's love to all participants)

**The adoration of Christ** (where Jesus is clearly presented and worshiped)

**Prayerful dependence** (where participants are being connected to and formed by the Spirit through the spiritual disciplines)

**Communication of the Word** (where the gospel is clearly and persistently proclaimed through the teaching of Scripture)

**A biblical group image** (with a clear sense of disciplemaking purpose leading to a community of hope and expectancy)

**Commitment to contact** (where participants are heeding the Spirit's call to reach out to one another and to non-believers)

### Just do it!

Perhaps you're saying to yourself, "Good stuff, Jeb and Ted!" But let me ask, what will you do about it? May I encourage you to go and live it? "But how?" you may reply. (Glad you asked.) The key is to seek God's help to be passionate, intentional and persistent.

Let me share with you an important tip: conduct regular ministry team meetings that emphasize these foundations of disciplemaking. Meetings easily get bogged down in the stuff of ministry: who will pick up the kids for the outing, who will bring food, who will provide worship music and teach the lesson (and this is important!). But your meetings should also provide time for what is even more important: developing a disciplemaking ministry team. Here is a suggested format:

**Worship.** Begin by practicing the adoration of Christ, prayerful dependence and communication of the Word through a time of group worship. Our ministry is useless (or worse) unless we are connected to God. In worship through song, prayer and Scripture, we are building the ministry team's foundations.

**Examine the foundations.** Evaluate the foundations of your ministry. You might address one of the six foundations at each meeting. For example, at one meeting the team leader might ask, "How are we doing in maintaining an atmosphere of love in our ministry to children?" Then each team member could report and participate in a general discussion concerning this foundation. As you do this, you'll be focusing together on what really counts.

**Look for strategic balance.** Continue the self-evaluation by discussing how the ministry is doing in achieving a balanced disciplemaking strategy (see earlier articles in this series). The disciplemaking strategy has four essential and interrelated parts: 1) seeking the lost, 2) nurturing believers, 3) equipping workers and 4) multiplying leaders. In your team meetings, ask how you're doing in growing toward a balance of all four.

It's common to put all the ministry eggs into one basket—usually the basket involving the nurturing of believers. But that won't do if you're seeking balance. So ask what the team is doing to reach out to unchurched kids (to seek the lost), and to recruit and provide training for the youth ministry workers (equip workers) and to recruit and train youth ministry leaders (multiply leaders). By regularly (and persistently) emphasizing strategic balance, you'll reap positive change as more and more of your team members catch the vision for being a balanced disciplemaking youth ministry.

**Make assignments.** Eventually you have to get to the work tasks that are vital to conducting the business of the ministry. But beware of getting bogged down in what is urgent rather than focusing on what is essential. Make plans and assign work tasks that strengthen the foundations and promote strategic balance.

Here's an example of what this means: you have to do more than talk about bringing lost kids to Christ—you have to assign programs and people to do something about it. So set goals and make work assignments that relate directly to the foundations and to the four aspects of the strategy. As you do, you'll see more and more disciplemaking ministry occurring.

### And have fun!

A final word of both caution and encouragement: Don't get so serious about disciplemaking that you wring the joy out of it. Being a disciplemaking youth ministry leader or worker is about being with Jesus as he, through the Spirit, lives out his passionate love for young people. He reaches out to them with love and joy. It's a blast to hang out with Jesus as he ministers to kids. So be with him; serve with him—and have fun while you're at it!

Yes, it's often hard work with many difficult obstacles. Sometimes it's discouraging and distressing. What teen ministry worker has not shed many tears over a teen member gone astray? What children's ministry worker has not been frustrated by lack of parental support? We experience sorrow and frustration in the journey with Jesus—but also great joy.

Thank you so much for your generous and sacrificial ministry to, with and through our young people. I deeply admire, respect and love you, and we hope this series of articles on the ministry foundations has helped equip you for your ministry.

Ted Johnston

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## How to Make Your Congregation Youth-Friendly

All Christians share in the challenge and responsibility of making our congregations places where people of all ages are encouraged and enabled to become increasingly mature disciples of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That mission involves helping others meet Christ, know Christ and serve with Christ.

A primary aspect of this disciplemaking challenge is to engage youths (children, teens and college-age young adults) in the life of each of our congregations. If we are to do that, we each need to contribute to making our congregations more youth-friendly. This article is written to help us in this important work.

### Why should we care?

Before looking at how we can create youth-friendly congregations, let's first ask, why should we care? Let me share some important answers to this legitimate question.

1. People need the Lord—and that includes young people. Jesus came to seek and save the lost—and children and teens who do not know Jesus are as lost as adults apart from Christ. We share in Jesus' work to seek and save lost youths when we invite, bring and welcome lost youths into a youth-friendly congregation.

2. The church is always one generation away from extinction and thus youths are the church's future. While we do not fear extinction (believing Jesus' promises that the church will prevail), we do have the responsibility to work to see that the church continues into the next generation.

3. As workers in Jesus' harvest of human beings, we are sent to go where fruit is both present and ripe for harvest. The experience of the church throughout Christian history shows that children and teens are a significant harvest field. Studies show that most Christians in our culture come to Christ before age 18 (with most of those doing so before age 14). As I have met with various groups of adults in the United States, I have conducted informal polls and found that these statistics hold in our fellowship as well.

God is doing a particularly fruitful work among children and teens—throughout the world—including our fellowship. We have both the opportunity and responsibility to join him in this important part of the harvest.

4. Jesus showed in his earthly ministry that youths are to be full participants in the work of the church. By scolding his disciples for making it difficult for children to come to him, Jesus shows us that the church is to be a place where children are sought out and welcomed.

### Four essential needs

Let's now ask, what does a youth-friendly congregation look like? Following are several indicators for your consideration. A youth-friendly congregation works to meet the four essential needs that are shared by all youths. (The basic content of this list and some of the ideas for the rest of this article are taken from _The Youth Friendly Parish,_ by Michael Anderson.)

First, youths need a sense of belonging. They need a meaningful place in a group that they value—where they feel they belong. For us, this means they are able to say, "This is my church." But many youths don't find a sense of belonging in church. They might be more apt to say, "This is my parents' church." Our goal and challenge is to help them find a sense of belonging in our congregation.

Second, youths need respect rooted in valued skills. They need to be helped to develop skills to serve within the group, and then they need to have those skills affirmed as valued by the group. Many youths in church feel like unneeded and unappreciated appendages. Our goal and challenge is to equip our youths and then give them a meaningful place in meaningful ministry.

Third, youths need a sense of self-worth. This is related to the second need, but goes even further, where youths feel accepted and valued for simply being—for their presence as people, not merely for their contribution as workers. Our goal and challenge is to consistently show our youths that they are deeply valued and loved as individuals.

Fourth, youths need reliable and predictable relationships. In particular, they need a few relatively close relationships with members in the group. Our goal and challenge is to see that each youth is connected to other youths in friendships and to at least one non-parental adult in a mentoring relationship.

Youths spend much of their lives—particularly during their teen years—searching out the fulfillment of these four needs. To do so is not selfish, nor ungodly. Rather, these needs are part of how God has made us. Youths can seek to meet these needs in unhealthy, ungodly ways (in gangs or cults, for example), but in our congregations they should have these needs met in ways that help them come to know Jesus and then grow as his followers.

### Reaching out

Let me encourage each of us who are adults to ask how we might reach out to youths in our congregations to help them meet these needs. In addition to the ideas noted above, consider the following:

1. Give youths opportunities to learn and then to perform tasks that are valued within the congregation. For example, they might participate in scripture reading, music performance, audio, computer use, gathering the offering or serving as a greeter. It is important to train them for these tasks so that they do them well. As they perform well, tell them. Show respect based on real achievement.

2. Look for opportunities to affirm young people—send them the message that they are special and essential to you and thus to the congregation. We often send a contrary message by ignoring young people, interacting with them only when we need to correct them. But for them to feel loved and appreciated, positive interactions need to far outnumber the negative.

We can have positive, affirming interactions in various ways. For example, remember and use their names; send them birthday cards or handwritten notes any time of year. Spend time talking with them—give focused attention; if they are small children, get down on their level, eye-to-eye. Ask for their input and then use it.

3. Pray with and for the youths. Have a list in your congregation of youths for whom you are continuously praying. Let them know you are praying for them (but don't brag about it)—ask them for concerns and needs they have that you can address in your prayers. Check with them to see how those prayers are answered.

4. Spend time with a few youths. Many youths spend little time with adults. Try to provide a few youths with such opportunities and do not confuse taking a kid along on an adult activity as spending time with them. Get into their world—and be a mature, wise, caring and consistent presence with them where they are. It will pay big dividends in their lives.

5. Learn about their world. Respect the youths enough to go to the effort to get to know their concerns, culture, needs, preferences and challenges. Find out what they watch on on-line, on television and in movies; what they listen to; what they read. How do you find out? Ask them! And then listen without criticizing. The point here is not for an adult to act like a teen (teens are turned off by that!)—rather, the point is for the adult to understand the teen. A second part of this approach is to look for what is good and godly in the youth's world and then use that as a bridge to connect your world of Christ with what is consistent with Christ in their world.

6. Really listen to the youths. One of the greatest desires of young people (teens in particular) is to be heard. Youths are often timid around adults, so it will take some time for them to learn to trust you with their inner thoughts. Be patient and keep an open ear.

### Working together

Having considered some ways to meet the needs of youths, let us now consider how we can work together to see that these things are happening more consistently and intentionally in our congregations. I recommend the following strategies:

1. Provide at church a setting in which teens can gather to express and discuss their needs and fears. One way to do this is to providing a teen small group moderated by a caring and mature Christian adult. The small group could meet before or after services, or during the teaching part of the main service (though the better strategy is to make the main service teen friendly, and have the teen small group before or after main church).

2. Provide times when youths can get away together and with caring, mature Christian adults. Retreats are great. So are trips to fun places. Many churches offer weekends, summer camps and other events for youths. Take advantage of these opportunities to build closeness among your youths, and for them to bond more closely with adult sponsors and leaders.

3. Plug your youths—your teens in particular—into meaningful, consistent ministry within your congregation. Do not just have a youth day at church a couple of times a year when the teens do most of the worship service. Rather, give them a place in ministry week-in and week-out.

For example, do you have youths on your worship team? How about a drama team? Are youths frequently offering congregational prayers and helping with ushering. Do you have a mature youth on your congregation's advisory council? Think about how youths can be active in all the ministries of the congregation.

Much more can be said about helping your congregation to be more youth-friendly. I will stop here, however, and simply ask that you take this challenge. You cannot do everything, but you can do something. I ask that you pray about this, asking God what he would have you do, given your circumstances, your abilities and your gifts. God wants you to participate with him in his disciplemaking ministry with children, teens and college-age young adults. Seek his direction and he will grant it to you.

Ted Johnston

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## How Camps Support Healthy Youth Ministries

We have a camp ministry that serves children, teens and college-age young adults. Most of the camps are held during the summer, but others occur at other times of year.

### Youth ministry back home

The leaders of our camp ministry want to be more intentional about integrating the incredible ministry that occurs in a camp setting with the essential youth ministry that occurs back home. But how is this done?

With camps close to home, parents will have firsthand opportunities to see a camp in action. Almost all of our camps report that parents could observe camp in operation. Parents have told me how grateful they were for the support to their family ministry that the camp provides.

Another way to support the congregation is to encourage campers to not only take back the energy they may have experienced at camp, but look for opportunities to support their pastor. Whether helping with the sound system, assisting with music ministry or engaging in peer-to-peer ministry, campers and staff are encouraged to go back to their congregations and find a way to make a difference.

### Youth-oriented evangelism

Camps are outstanding venues for youth-oriented evangelism. Pastors and members involved in outreach activities are urged to point unbelieving youths toward our camps. They are youth-friendly Christian havens that have helped many nonbelievers develop relationships with Jesus.

Camps can assist the congregation by helping young believers begin to be established in foundational Christian beliefs. Most camps follow a curriculum designed to teach basic truths of the gospel. This is an important benefit of camp ministry in a time when many young Christians are bombarded by conflicting and confusing messages about what Christianity is all about.

Camps help keep young people connected in an expansive network. Many young people continue to network with their camp friends years after camp.

One of the greatest opportunities for linkages between camp and the congregation occurs through the staff. Camp staff volunteers are immersed in the camp experience where they learn important youth ministry skills. They return home with a spiritual enthusiasm that can have many positive benefits within the congregation.

Camps thus serve as a means for building and equipping young spiritual leaders. Counselors and other staff members receive hours of focused training to help them better serve campers in their care. Many methods taught to camp staff for use in a camp ministry setting are relevant for youth ministry within a congregation.

### Pilot programs

At some of our camps, people who have a passion for youth ministry take classes in how to engage in youth ministry, and then they participate in camp ministry, where they can immediately apply what they have learned. At some camps, members of all ages can join with the campers for the last days of camp to see youth ministry in action and experience the joy of youths leading the church in worship.

Because the role of volunteer staff members at camp is so powerful, we hope that each congregation will find a way to encourage a member to apply to the closest camp to serve on the staff. We seek to partner with pastors to ensure that those staff members who go to camp are given opportunity to bring what they learn back to the congregation.

Another advantage of our camps is that so many volunteers with diverse experiences come together and share those gifts at camp. Camp directors take those methods that appear to bear the most fruit in the camp setting and build on them.

Camps are an important part of our youth ministry. We are working to ensure that it complements ministry in the family and the local church. We invite your suggestions on how we can improve this linkage.

Jeb Egbert

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## Teen Ministry: Rethinking Our Paradigm

We are in a "whole new ball game" as we face the complex issues affecting today's teens in our media-driven youth culture. Christian churches are discovering that the "old ways" of reaching teens with the gospel are no longer effective. Times have changed, and so must our methods of youth ministry and evangelism. An open and honest approach is essential as we face these challenges. Our response will dramatically affect the future of our churches.

Even as far back as 1997, _Christianity Today_ discussed the changing face of youth ministry. A lead article covered a bit of the history of youth ministry and explained how changes in the youth culture were forcing the church to rethink its course if it is to remain viable in reaching the next generation for Christ. It analyzed where youth ministry went wrong, defined the Millennial Generation and gave examples of successful teen ministries that focus on a personal relationship with Jesus and his relevance to their lives today.

Integrating young people into the larger worshipping body has been a problem and concern not only in our fellowship but in most others in the evangelical tradition. "More faith commitments are made during the teen years than in any other age group. But huge numbers leave the fellowship after high school, most never to return" (Ron Luce, author of the book, _Inspire the Fire: Are Your Kids Bored With God and the Church?_ ). Reasons for this phenomenon vary, but discoveries are being made and models developed that stand to reverse the negative trend.

The busy-ness of our lives today leaves our teens yearning for positive relationships. They see a lifestyle of confusion and fragmentation. They are looking for relationships. We have the chance to reach them with the gospel.

### From programs to ministry

Churches have begun to realize that they cannot neglect their youth or simply occupy them with programs and activities. Today's teens require a no-nonsense, "in-your-face" approach to the gospel. Kids don't want hype—their desire is to be together with their peers and caring adults and to see how the Bible is relevant to their lives and problems. They will respond only when it's real.

The only way we can be credible to them is when they see our passion for Jesus —when his love for them is reflected in us and our actions. Our youth workers must have a significant and trusting relationship with the young people so they will experience Christ. The foundation (and there is only one foundation; 1 Corinthians 3:11) must be built on a relationship. It won't be the killer message we gave on sex or drugs they will remember, but the personal time we gave them walking along the lake at the retreat or the late-night phone call when they were facing a major problem or decision and just wanted to talk. Our teens want to know and trust someone that they can do this with. Sports and leadership programs just don't cut it. Our young people must be evangelized and discipled.

Our old programs were not generally successful in imparting the essentials for spiritual growth to our youth. Program-based ministries do little to transform lives. They may keep teens busy, but don't always challenge them to action with the gospel. Youths today are looking for intimacy and maturation —they require sacrificial love, not parties. A challenge to action, not passive observation in church service.

Programs, curriculums and activities are of little value when students don't know that they need their lives changed. The success of a youth ministry must be evaluated on how well it is leading them to a deeper commitment to Christ. This is how nonchurched kids enter the Body —not through activities, but through relationships with churched kids. Activities can be good as a way to get people together where they can share their need for Christ, but the goal is not the activity—it is the relationships that are built.

### An example

This relational approach with our teen group began to bear fruit one summer with a trip to a nearby lake. Our teens sensed we weren't just babysitting them but that we really cared. Discussions about many things went late into the night. Teens shared their ideas, goals, fears and problems with the adults at the event. This was just a beginning. The spiritual transformation that followed was phenomenal.

Yes, we did activities, but the focus was on relationships, with Jesus first and each other second. We told them that even when they were sinners, God's love for them was so great he sent his Son to redeem them, and Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. We taught them that Jesus called us friends and empowers us through the Holy Spirit to follow him. A relationship with him is an energizing relationship based on God's pure love, and it is both real and available to them right now.

Once committed to him, they began to bond as a group and to open up to our youth workers. Some made accountability commitments to each other. Many asked Jesus into their hearts and lives. Others who were hurt in the past, and kids whose parents are in legalistic groups, returned as our teens practiced relational evangelism. Some of the teens were secretly battling drug addiction, apathy, depression and other major problems in their lives; they began working through their problems with the support and prayers of adults in the congregation.

In many churches, the teen church has become a part of the Body where reconciliation, healing and renewal process is most recognizable. Teens are action-oriented people, so when reconciliation with Christ occurs in teens, they take action, and the new relationship begins to affect every part of their life. Teens often go back to their school and evangelize their friends. Their faith has a very visible and immediate effect. Upward, inward and outward relationships take hold and become meaningful to them.

What is important about a teen church? What is it like? We established a teen church to try to meet their needs, such as:

Teens want to feel safe to participate, debate, ask questions, or just keep silent during worship and discussion.

Teens like to ask "in your face" questions, and they give answers that are sometimes hard for us adults to listen to.

Teens may not always want to sing hymns; they may wish to worship through the message of more contemporary musicians.

Teens may wish to challenge the message of the day (this can lead to some deep discussions).

Teens wish to be challenged to take action on what they believe or to decide what they believe.

In our teen church, we alternated weekly between celebration services and interactive groups for our teens. This allowed them more freedom to have the gospel message reach them. Teens appreciate follow-up when they make a commitment, so we tried to remain in contact with them throughout the week.

But establishing and maintaining a strong teen church isn't an end in itself. What happens next? As stated earlier, many youths who find their identity in teen church fail to make the transition to the larger fellowship — they simply can't relate there. But exciting things have happened on this front, too.

Many churches found a solution in small group and mentoring ministries that target this issue. The goal is to prepare the young person for assimilation into the main body after high school or college. Younger teens are placed with mature, older peers in small groups or with solid adult members who mentor them along the way in preparation for their entry into the adult congregation.

Teens are encouraged to participate in Bible study groups and other Christian groups that are active on their junior high and high school campuses. Those who go away to college are urged to stay spiritually connected through campus ministries, and those who stay in the local area are included in young adult small groups. It takes work, but the results are more than worth it.

____________

### Resources

There are many youth ministry resources available to the church today. If there is a Christian bookstore in your area, you may find it a helpful source of teen Bibles, magazines, videos, and books and magazines written for youth workers. Most bookstores also have a music section. It won't take long to get a feel for what kinds of music kids are relating to. Spend some time in the contemporary, rock, rap, alternative, country, and praise and worship sections. Music magazines and concert schedules for Christian artists can also be found there.

Don't be afraid to take your teens to Christian concerts. Many will go to country, rock, classical and other concerts during their teen years. Let them experience young Christian artists in concert. These artists share the gospel and its relevance to teens' problems today. Besides, it's fun. Teens are often surprised and encouraged when they see hundreds and even thousands of other teens on fire about the gospel at these events. They even discuss their faith with other teens at concerts.

We also encourage you to interface with other churches in the community. Find out which ones have strong youth ministries and draw from their experience. Doors often open up as a result of these contacts. Learn where the youth camps and retreats are located, what events are scheduled that they will be attending and what fundraising methods work best for them. Sharing ideas, problems and frustrations with others can be both encouraging and therapeutic, not to mention the friendships that are bound to develop.

Ministries like Youth for Christ, Teen Mania, Youth Specialties, World Vision and others, along with their sponsored events, can be extremely valuable in helping youth develop a personal faith in Christ and discipling them toward a deeper faith commitment in the church.

Other resources we found helpful include relational videos from Interlinc (an excellent resource for Christian music and access to Christian artists), and guest speakers from the local Christian community. When people the teens respect share their vision and the fact that Christ is real to them today, it can help teens see the real struggles of life, and it makes the gospel real to them today.

Much information is available over the Internet from several sources, including youthspecialties.com. We recommend that you explore their website and their links to other helpful youth ministry sites. Another good Internet resource is Youth for Christ. Youth worker training seminars are available in many areas each year. If you have the chance to go to one of them, make the time.

Finally, don't be afraid to call youth pastors from other Christian churches in your area. Youth pastors are often a different breed of person. Youth pastor has become more of a long-term career calling than in the past, when it was viewed as part of paying the dues in working toward a senior pastorship. Many Christian youth workers today view youth work as their calling and tend to stick with it as a career. These people can be great resources and sources of inspiration for your youth coordinator, youth workers and teens. Other youth ministries in the local area may also be willing to work together with your group.

We hope this information is helpful. We would like to leave you with the mission statement we adopted:

Bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to the youth of our congregation and local communities; provide a positive, nurturing, Christian environment for teens, lead them toward accepting and knowing Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior, and equip them for ministry to others.

Here are values we adopted:

R.E.L.A.T.I.O.N.S.H.I.P.S.

**R** elational approach  
**E** ncouragement  
**L** aughter and celebration  
**A** cceptance  
**T** ransparency/trust  
**I** nvolvement of teens  
**O** utreach oriented  
**N** umerical growth  
**S** piritual growth  
**H** omelike atmosphere  
**I** ntimate  
**P** rofessionalism  
**S** trategic follow-up

This is an ever-changing ministry. The key to it is to ask ourselves, "How is Christ relevant to _this_ generation?" The gospel always reaches people where they are at, and the message remains the same:

God loved the world this way: He gave his only son so that everyone who believes in him would not die but will have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. Those who believe in him won't be condemned. But those who don't believe are already condemned because they don't believe in God's only Son. (John 3:16-18, God's Word translation).

Dave Smith, 1997

### Teen and family ministry

**Comment:** I believe that the church does not need more and better youth programs — we need more effective parenting. God gave the responsibility of rearing children to parents, not to the church. The church's role is to support the parents. We need to emphasize _family_ ministries.

**Response:** The article did not mean to imply that teen ministry attempts to replace good parenting. For some families, good parenting is sufficient. For many families, however, additional support from the church is needed. Youth ministry not only fills gaps that exist in the structure of many families, it ministers to many teens whose family situations are beyond repair. It can even minister to teens whose parents do not attend church.

In southern California, only 25 percent of teens live with both their birth parents (Barna Research, as quoted in _Youth Worker Update,_ March 1997). Even in the church, parents are not always able to supply the kind of parenting that is needed, and we cannot wait until they do. It is important for the church to reach the teens directly with a ministry designed for them.

By the age of 11, children have begun to become individuals, and they are beginning to look outside their immediate family for role models and meaningful friendships. Add to this the adolescent angst of puberty (hormonal changes) and distrust for adults (because teens are beginning to see the imperfections of the adults in their lives), and you can see that we have several reasons for reaching teens directly.

Many parents understand this. Nearly all our youth workers are parents. Good youth workers regularly meet with the teens' parents to discuss what the ministry is doing and why. We spend a lot of time helping teens learn how to have a better relationship with their parents. The primary focus is Jesus Christ.

Second, as you said, the answer is not in youth programs. The article tried to get that point across. The answer is in relationships. Programs have not worked, and while we still have activities and sports, they are not a major focus. Our teen ministry mission statement gives these goals:

Evangelism to our teens, and through them, the community's teens

Relationship with Jesus Christ

Discovering their gifts

Ministering to others by getting involved

The key to youth ministry is not ministering to teens, but teens ministering. It is positive relationships with Jesus Christ, parents, other adults and peers.

Third, God has always worked with teens and even young children directly: Joseph, Samuel, David, Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Mary and many others. In some cases, their parents are not even mentioned. This is not to say parents are unimportant, but it shows that young people are capable of having their own relationship with God.

Fourth, we work with teens who have harbored secret sins of apathy, drug abuse, sexual immorality, etc. Teens are good at keeping these things secret from their parents (or at least they think they are). However, when the Holy Spirit begins working with them, amazing things happen from the inside out.

For example, in one church area there was a teen, who, at the age of 13, was part of a gang, used drugs, and was involved in many other things. This teen shared this with the youth ministry leader after having attended the youth group for nearly a year. The youth minister and wife spent time with the teen, prayed with the teen and gave support to the teen. Eventually, the teen was baptized — and one of the teen's parents was also baptized! Could it be that God made a difference in the teen's family because of what he did through the teen's involvement in the youth group? God worked through the youth workers to build and reach a family through one teen.

God is the one doing the reaching. Sometimes it will be done through parents, sometimes through peers, sometimes through concerned Christian adults ministering to their needs, but we cannot say that it can come only through the family model. God is never limited in the avenues he can use to reach people.

Youth ministry includes evangelism and mission. In many cases, the best evangelizer of a teen can be a teen, not necessarily an adult. If teens are willing by their actions and friendships to share the healing message of the gospel (even with those who are antagonistic), it makes a difference. People do not come to Christ by being beaten, but by seeing his love shed abroad in the hearts of his people. The teen I mentioned above came to the youth minister for healing. God is healing this teen, who can now bring other teens to Christ from similar backgrounds far better than you or I or even the family can.

We work _with_ parents, but not just by telling them how to be more effective parents. Instead, any way that the gospel can be shared, we use. Whether through parents, other teens, activities, small groups, youth workers, music, it does not matter. Whatever it takes for the gospel to reach kids, we try to do.

Family is about empowering our kids to be successful Christians in a world that doesn't know Christ. To do that, we have to help them be able to face the world by depending on Christ, not us. We have to let them be able to share Jesus unashamed, because we will one day be gone. The only relationship that will last them forever is the relationship they have with Christ. Teens see that, and they want that relationship when it is modeled for them by their parents or other adults. Unfortunately, counterfeit models can lead to involvement in drugs, sex and gangs, and thus lead away from Christ.

In the United States, even after decades of preaching about parenting, we have had a high dropout rate in our church by teens and young adults. We had every kind of family problem, and we also had very successful families. Our families, no matter how perfect we try to be, will fall far short of perfection. We will let our kids down. We will say and do things that hurt. But if we point them to Jesus Christ, _he_ will never do that. He will give them peace. That is what we were trying to get across in the article.

David Smith

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## Intergenerational Ministry

People today are often lumped into categories based on the year they were born, and assigned labels such as the Greatest Generation, the Silent Generation, the Sandwich Generation, Baby Boomers, Gen X, Gen Y and Millennials. Demographers and marketing specialists have created additional sub-categories within these groups, which can make tracking the interests, habits and values of a particular sub-group a science in itself.

Within the church, we are concerned about ministering faithfully to all age groups. To do so, we often separate members into groups based on age (older adults, middle adults, young adults, teens, children). While this approach is sometimes helpful, we must keep in mind the importance of providing ministry that is intergenerational.

We have a group of related ministries brought together under the heading of Generations Ministries, which is focused on helping Christians of all ages reach out with Jesus' life-changing love to disciple young adults, teens and children. These ministries are most productive when they are intergenerational. By "intergenerational" we mean two or more different age groups growing and living in faith together.

### Cultural imperative

Intergenerational ministry is imperative in our world where age-groups are routinely separated in many settings. Sadly, one such setting tends to be the church, where, according to one poll, about 75 percent of children raised in Christian churches leave the church when they graduate from high school.

Why? Part of the answer is that children and teens crave involvement. When young Christians are involved in ministry at a young age, they are much more likely to develop an understanding of their gifts, and to be committed to using those gifts within the church as they age. This not only blesses the church, but limits the aimlessness of teens and college students who grow up without this sense of purpose and belonging.

### Intergenerational ministry events

Intergenerational ministry events provide times for adults and young people to engage in dialog with one another and to grow in faith by working, playing, praying and worshiping side-by-side. Such events are often family oriented, where family is defined in the broadest sense, including single and divorced people, to encourage positive interaction within the entire congregational family. One church that attempts to embrace the intergenerational concept sponsors "intergen-friendly" activities, including:

Pen pal programs between seniors and children.

Grandparents Day at the zoo (where grandparents come with their children and grandchildren).

Family camps for all ages.

Back to school parties with young and old answering questions about their own school days.

Movie nights that feature oldies such as Laurel and Hardy, and Abbot and Costello.

Short-term mission trips mixing seniors, singles and families. GCI offers short-term mission events that are cross-generational (see <http://www.generationsministries.org/mission-trips.html>).

### Benefits, bonuses and blessings

Bringing generations together within the church provides blessings on a variety of levels:

They affirm each person's value in the total community (regardless of age).

They foster a foundation of support of each other's concerns, interests and activities.

They break down stereotypes and barriers that stand between generations and give new meaning to "faith family."

They provide up-close-and-personal discipleship training as children, teens and adults engage in sharing faith, teaching, learning and praying for one another.

They foster leadership regardless of age or stature.

They take a pro-active, counter-cultural stance in the face of the countless ways society separates and pigeon-holes people into age-specific groups.

### Planning tips

No one-size-fits-all approach works in planning inter-generational ministry events. But here are some tips that can help church leaders, parents and others in event planning:

Use a planning team that has representatives from every generation. Capture the rich wealth of gifts, creativity, experience and passion present when people of all ages come to the planning table.

As you plan, ask the following questions: Does each activity advance intergenerational relationships? Is each age group in your congregation justly considered and involved?

Plan occasional events at times when those usually unable to attend can participate. For example, why not host a gathering over Christmas break when college students are home and when relatives and friends may be visiting for the holidays?

Create an event environment in which each person, no matter their age, feels welcomed, accepted, affirmed and valued as integral contributors to the faith community and to the learning experience.

If you need to segregate the group by age, begin and end the event with a total group gathering (this is a good idea for regular worship services where children or teens are excused to another room for age-appropriate learning during the sermon time).

Let people of all ages share in leading the event.

Use child-friendly language in teaching and in giving directions and explanations.

Give attention to different learning styles and preferences.

Plan opportunities for participants to share thoughts, feelings, faith, personal history, fears or dreams with someone from another generation. This is crucial because today's younger generations are oriented toward participatory learning.

Provide child care for infants or toddlers.

In months with a fifth Sunday, set aside the regular church service for an event focused on bringing all the generations together in worship, celebration and fellowship.

This article is based in part on "Intergenerational Ministry: Breaking Down Barriers, Creating a Family Model," by Lynne M. Thompson, archived at  https://web.archive.org/web/20051006002726/http://www.family.org/focusoverfifty/articles/a0025230.cfm

For more information about intergenerational ministry go to http://www.generationsministries.org.

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## Confessions of a Youth Evangelist

### It was the right idea, but the focus was wrong.

I worked for more than a decade with an organization that focused on sharing the good news about Jesus with teenagers. It was a privilege to work with people who face up to the challenge of engaging teens in the ever-changing youth culture. I think we did some good work. But later I wondered if I need to look at my approach toward sharing Jesus with young people—or any age group, for that matter.

Organizations and para-church ministries that specialize in youth evangelism use a combination of relational connections, events and programs to interact with teens. I was trained, and I have trained others, to extend grace to non-believing young people by spending time, listening to and developing a trusting relationship with them. The goal then is to match the young person's story to God's story and introduce them to Jesus. My experience showed me that this is a grace-filled, effective way to share the gospel.

Okay, so where is the problem? Actually, I think there are two. One is a wrong component, and the other is a missing component. The wrong component is using the relationship as a means to an end. The missing component is that there is no acknowledgement of the presence and power of Jesus _already_ at work in the encounter.

### People are not projects

Since all humans are children of God, relationships have inherent value and must be handled with care and respect. Relationships are to be honored and cherished _for the sake of the relationship_. They are not to be developed and used as a means to an end, as if the relationship had no value unless it led to the goal I had in mind for it.

Leadership guru John Maxwell taught me several years ago that leadership is summed up in one word — "influence." I embraced the idea that if I made the effort to love sacrificially over a period of time, and if I demonstrated a life of love, joy, peace and so on, eventually I would win the right to share my well-rehearsed gospel presentation with others. This approach was all about influence, leverage and presentation. It sounds like a sales scheme, and it felt like one as well.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:16-21,

From now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

As one evangelist to another, Paul tells me that I represent Jesus and I have the pleasure of proclaiming the good news that God through Christ destroyed the scorecard of human sin and urges everyone to accept and receive what he has already done for them.

This way of looking at relationships is very different from my old approach. I can now look at my fellow human beings not with the traditional "saved group/lost group" paradigm, but rather as people God already loves and for whom Christ has already died, risen and ascended. God is for humanity; he is pulling for us, and his presence and power is all around us! Evangelism is not a matter of us earning the right to be heard, but rather, of Jesus making his appeal through us.

### Jesus on display

Paul wants us to know that Jesus is personally present in every human interaction. In my experience, I have found three basic types of human interaction:

Meaningful discussions with substance,

Exchanges of simple business or pleasantries.

Conflicted dialogues often plagued with miscommunication and hurt feelings.

It is much easier to see Jesus at work in the first kind, but I am becoming more aware of his presence in all three. How is Jesus alive in me empowering me to respond in all three kinds of encounter with love, care and wisdom?

I find myself prayerfully asking the Lord, "What was that all about? Where were you in that? What were you working out?" This practice is making the presence and power of Jesus so much clearer, and I find myself joining him in his ministry in more specific ways.

My old approach toward evangelism is not necessarily evil or wrong, and I believe that God worked with it and through it. But I do believe that it was incomplete, and that the sense of truly seeing who Jesus is and where he is at work is essential to a fuller understanding and practice of healthy youth evangelism.

Jesus has helped me value all relationships, and he has set me free to trust him to work and move in people's lives. I no longer need to spend energy leveraging my influence so that I can offer the gospel as some kind of sales pitch. I can now rejoice and participate in the reality that Jesus is alive, present and on the move!

Greg Williams

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## How to Reach a Younger Generation

In my travels I see a wide variety of churches. An alarming trend is the rapid aging of the American church. With each passing week more young people are absent from the gathering of the church. What can we do? The church has tried various programs and gimmicks to reach out to the youth, so let's start by stating three ideologies that have not worked.

• If we build it they will come

You can add drums and guitars to your worship team, sing songs from the 1980's and 90's and call it contemporary worship (which is not exactly contemporary), and instead of seeing young people stream into your service, you put off the older members. You can furnish your meeting space with pool tables, ping-pong tables and foosball tables in hope of gaining young people, and you typically end up with a room full of dusty, unused tables.

• All young adults are the same

To clearly define and target the younger generation is impossible. We live in an incredibly diverse world with young people's likes all across the spectrum. There is no such thing as a "typical teen." I grew up in a generation that wore Levi jeans, Sperry topsiders and listened to the Eagles, but not all in my generation liked those things. Take a field trip to Starbucks and be amazed at the nonconformity.

• We need young adults for our church to survive

If the main goal of reaching young adults is self-preservation, we've missed the mark. The main goal of reaching young people is for them to come alive in Christ and actively participate with Jesus in what he has called and shaped them to be and do. This will be the only true catalyst for the church to experience broad and expansive renewal.

I believe many of our churches will look and operate quite differently in the years ahead. Are church leaders willing to allow the next generation to put their fingerprints on what church will become?

A senior pastor with many years of experience voiced a new and brave idea. The pastor's congregation is made up of people aged 60 to 90 and he said it would not be fair or appropriate to ask a younger pastor in their 20s or 30s to come in as his replacement. His alternative plan was to move forward and bring in a younger leader, but instead of attempting to add young people to the existing group, he thought it would be better to start an entirely new group where the young leader could concentrate on working with new people based on their generational needs and styles.

This bold plan reminded me of a powerful teaching of Jesus in John 12:23-25. "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life."

Jesus is using an analogy from the vegetable kingdom to refer to his impending death and resurrection. I think it is also appropriate to infer that laying down our lives (or collective lives as a church community) is a Christ-like behavior that is fitting. It is in our loving surrender and diminishing that new life can be birthed. John the Baptist said it a different way: "He must become greater; I must become less." Will the existing church be able to lovingly surrender so that the new church of the next generation can spring to life? Time will tell.

Greg Williams

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## About the Authors...

**Dave Davis** was a youth worker in Joliet, Illinois.

**Jeb Egbert** focused his ministry on youth and education for 30 years. He has spent considerable time working in camp ministry and has taught at the secondary and post-secondary levels. He earned his Doctorate in Education from Texas A & M. He is the Co-president and CEO, and Chief Learning Officer for West Coast University in Southern California.

Ted Johnston has a Master's in Liberal Studies: Psychology from Regis University, and a Master's in Christian Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He works for GCI-USA Church Administration & Development, and he teaches at Grace Communion Seminary.

David Smith was a youth worker in Pasadena, California.

Greg Williams is the director of Church Administration & Development for Grace Communion International.

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## About the Publisher...

Grace Communion International is a Christian denomination with about 50,000 members, worshiping in about 900 congregations in almost 100 nations and territories. We began in 1934 and our main office is in North Carolina. In the United States, we are members of the National Association of Evangelicals and similar organizations in other nations. We welcome you to visit our website at www.gci.org.

If you want to know more about the gospel of Jesus Christ, we offer help. First, we offer weekly worship services in hundreds of congregations worldwide. Perhaps you'd like to visit us. A typical worship service includes songs of praise, a message based on the Bible, and opportunity to meet people who have found Jesus Christ to be the answer to their spiritual quest. We try to be friendly, but without putting you on the spot. We do not expect visitors to give offerings—there's no obligation. You are a guest.

To find a congregation, write to one of our offices, phone us or visit our website. If we do not have a congregation near you, we encourage you to find another Christian church that teaches the gospel of grace.

We also offer personal counsel. If you have questions about the Bible, salvation or Christian living, we are happy to talk. If you want to discuss faith, baptism or other matters, a pastor near you can discuss these on the phone or set up an appointment for a longer discussion. We are convinced that Jesus offers what people need most, and we are happy to share the good news of what he has done for all humanity. We like to help people find new life in Christ, and to grow in that life. Come and see why we believe it's the best news there could be!

Our work is funded by members of the church who donate part of their income to support the gospel. Jesus told his disciples to share the good news, and that is what we strive to do in our literature, in our worship services, and in our day-to-day lives.

If this e-book has helped you and you want to pay some expenses, all donations are gratefully welcomed, and in several nations, are tax-deductible. If you can't afford to give anything, don't worry about it. It is our gift to you. To make a donation online, go to www.gci.org/participate/donate.

Thank you for letting us share what we value most — Jesus Christ. The good news is too good to keep it to ourselves.

See our website for hundreds of articles, locations of our churches, addresses in various nations, audio and video messages, and much more.

Grace Communion International  
3129 Whitehall Park Dr.

Charlotte, NC 28273-3335

1-800-423-4444

www.gci.org

### You're Included...

We talk with leading Trinitarian theologians about the good news that God loves you, wants you, and includes you in Jesus Christ. Most programs are about 28 minutes long. Our guests have included:

Ray Anderson, Fuller Theological Seminary

Douglas A. Campbell, Duke Divinity School

Elmer Colyer, U. of Dubuque Theological Seminary

Gordon Fee, Regent College

Trevor Hart, University of St. Andrews

George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary

Jeff McSwain, Reality Ministries

Paul Louis Metzger, Multnomah University

Paul Molnar, St. John's University

Cherith Fee Nordling, Antioch Leadership Network

Andrew Root, Luther Seminary

Alan Torrance, University of St. Andrews

Robert T. Walker, Edinburgh University

N.T. Wright, University of St. Andrews

William P. Young, author of _The Shack_

Programs are available free for viewing and downloading at www.youreincluded.org.

### Speaking of Life...

Dr. Joseph Tkach, president of Grace Communion International, comments each week, giving a biblical perspective on how we live in the light of God's love. Most programs are about three minutes long – available in video, audio, and text. Go to www.speakingoflife.org.

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##

Grace Communion Seminary

Ministry based on the life and love of the Father, Son, and Spirit.

Grace Communion Seminary serves the needs of people engaged in Christian service who want to grow deeper in relationship with our Triune God and to be able to more effectively serve in the church.

Why study at Grace Communion Seminary?

 Worship: to love God with all your mind.

 Service: to help others apply truth to life.

 Practical: a balanced range of useful topics for ministry.

 Trinitarian theology: a survey of theology with the merits of a Trinitarian perspective. We begin with the question, "Who is God?" Then, "Who are we in relationship to God?" In this context, "How then do we serve?"

 Part-time study: designed to help people who are already serving in local congregations. There is no need to leave your current ministry. Full-time students are also welcome.

 Flexibility: your choice of master's level continuing education courses or pursuit of a degree: Master of Pastoral Studies or Master of Theological Studies.

 Affordable, accredited study: Everything can be done online.

For more information, go to www.gcs.edu. Grace Communion Seminary is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission, www.deac.org. The Accrediting Commission is listed by the U.S. Department of Education as a nationally recognized accrediting agency.

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## Ambassador College of Christian Ministry

Want to better understand God's Word? Want to know the Triune God more deeply? Want to share more joyously in the life of the Father, Son and Spirit? Want to be better equipped to serve others?

Among the many resources that Grace Communion International offers are the training and learning opportunities provided by ACCM. This quality, well-structured Christian Ministry curriculum has the advantage of being very practical and flexible. Students may study at their own pace, without having to leave home to undertake full-time study.

This denominationally recognized program is available for both credit and audit study. At minimum cost, this online Diploma program will help students gain important insights and training in effective ministry service. Students will also enjoy a rich resource for personal study that will enhance their understanding and relationship with the Triune God.

Diploma of Christian Ministry classes provide an excellent introductory course for new and lay pastors. Pastor General Dr. Joseph Tkach said, "We believe we have achieved the goal of designing Christian ministry training that is practical, accessible, interesting, and doctrinally and theologically mature and sound. This program provides an ideal foundation for effective Christian ministry."

For more information, go to www.ambascol.org

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