Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church

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(No Transcript)
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Four Views of Youth Ministry and the
Church Edited by Mark H. Senter III Published
by YS academic / Zondervan ISBN 0310234050
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what is the church?
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we are
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but who is we?
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Youth ministrys first contrast programatic
fellowship (come)
mission (go)
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Where on this line would you place your churchs
youth ministry?
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Youth ministrys second contrast developmental
Church of the present (now)
Church of the future (later)
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Where on this line would you place your churchs
youth ministry?
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Church of the present (now)
fellowship now
mission now
Fellowship (come)
Mission (go)
fellowship later
Mission later
Church of the future (later)
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Which model do you think more resembles your
church?
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A Comprehensive Approach

• Worship
• Preaching
• Witnessing
• Deeds of mercy
• Fellowship of believers
• Teaching
• Management and administration
• Pastoral care

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Inclusive Congregational (fellowship now)
Church of the present (now)
fellowship now
Fellowship (come)
Mission (go)
Church of the future (later)
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Inclusive Congregational (beyond foster care)
So, what do we want to happen in our youth
ministry? Honestly, as a church we have treated
young people like foster care, not family.
Theyve become problems to deal with, rather than
flesh and blood to love. We keep thinking that
they have to change to fit into our church
family. Instead we should be adapting the family
to include them, just like we did as children
were born into our own families.
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Inclusive Congregational (we need to change)
Remember when we realised that young people
quit attending church services as soon as they
were confirmed? the Pastor asked. What was our
solution? New youth workers and better curriculum
for catechesis. Did it change anything?
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Inclusive Congregational (no more traditional
distinction)
Youth ministry is part of a comprehensive
ministry of the congregation. It includes more
than the organised efforts of this or that
institution that, possibly in association with
the congregation, organises the youths Youths
themselves are a part of the total congregational
ministry and not a separate entity. It is an
integral part of the congregational whole, in
that the whole is never complete without youth
ministry
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Inclusive Congregational (implications of an
inclusive approach)
The congregation will never think of the faith
life of young people separately from the faith
life of adult members.
Young people will not become a separate group
within the congregation
Young people will never be neglected or ignored
In any decision of the church the wellbeing,
opinions, faith life and needs of the young
people will besought after and considered
Young people will be the congregations
responsibility, not merely the responsibility of
the youth leaders
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Inclusive Congregational (not a separate ministry)
Youth ministry is not about finding an extra
place for yet another ministry, but about finding
a place for young people to serve within every
ministry and amongst the people that the
ministries are designed to serve
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Inclusive Congregational (not a separate ministry)
Leadership and parents must return to the
drawing board this time with the young people.
Together, an Inclusive Congregational approach
and its consequences must be thought through and
worked out
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Preparatory Approach (fellowship later)
Church of the present (now)
Fellowship (come)
Mission (go)
fellowship later
Church of the future (later)
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Preparatory Approach (a definition)
A specialised ministry to adolescents preparing
them to participate in the life of existing
churches as leaders, disciples or evangelists
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Preparatory Approach (fellowship later)
youth ministry is a laboratory in which
disciples can grow in a culture guided by
spiritual coaches One purpose of a laboratory
is to allow learners to fail in a safe context
and discover specific skills in the process. A
lab is a hands-on place where involvement is
essential to learning.
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Preparatory Approach (activity / ministry based)
the activity based approach is built upon a
series of youth activities, a programming
approach A ministry based approach is radically
different in key areas. It grows out of the
ministry of the church and is consequently
related to the purpose of the church
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Preparatory Approach (a holistic approach)
Youth ministry is not the property of parents,
Sunday school teachers or youth workers Youth
ministry is not merely providing a positive
spiritual and moral influence Youth ministry is
more than Bible studies and fellowships
Youth ministry is the holistic Christian ministry
of the local church under its leadership to
young people and those who influence their
spiritual growth.
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Preparatory Approach (change change changes)
Youth ministry must become a shared ministry
Youth ministry must become comprehensive
Youth ministry must begin to bridge the gap
between church and home
Youth ministry must begin including the parents,
family, minister and the church
Youth ministry must become ministry based
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Preparatory Approach (a rejoinder)
Anything we wish for among our young people must
first be true among our adults
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Missional Approach (mission now)
Church of the present (now)
mission now
Fellowship (come)
Mission (go)
Church of the future (later)
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Missional Approach (a definition)
the church that ministers to young people must
embrace the culture in which the adolescents
live The goal is not to simply focus on those
who already are involved in a given churchs
youth ministry program
this approach recognises that there are cultural
barriers that separate adolescents from adults.
This is not only true of the secular world, but
also the world of churched young people
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Missional Approach (what is the reason for your
mission?)
most churches want to create and sustain a
healthy youth ministry out of a pragmatic need,
rather than a theological and ecclesiological
conviction
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Missional Approach (questions)
Every youth ministry must constantly ask itself
Who are our targets? How do we best reach out to
them? Where do we want these students to end up
after they leave the program?
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Missional Approach (what seems to have happened)
Thus the last 20 to 30 years have seen youth
ministry move from a mission driven,
outreach-oriented, culturally sensitive
expression of Gods incarnational care for all
people to an entertainment-based series of
events, programs, options and classes
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Missional Approach (its just not enough)
we have become convinced that our programs,
music and ethos of youth ministry are enough to
reach the lost, uninterested and
disenfranchised Very few churches see youth
ministry as their missional mandate
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Missional Approach (what seems to have happened)
Missional youth ministry seeks to present the
community of the church as the end, not simply
another (and often less desirable) community A
missional ecclesiology must clearly identify and
resist all attempts to equip the church merely
for its maintenance and security
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Strategic Approach (mission later)
Church of the present (now)
Fellowship (come)
Mission (go)
Mission later
Church of the future (later)
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Strategic Approach (marginalized and segregated)
by large young people are mere spectators in a
middle age church. In these cases young people
live on the margins of the church
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Strategic Approach (more than just a factory)
factories utilise an assembly line to create a
product, an automobile moves along the assembly
line, workers contribute towards the finished
product by inserting a part, tightening bolts or
welding a joint into place. At the end, a car
rolls off the conveyor belt ready to be sold.
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Strategic Approach (the current factory floor)
Childrens ministry
Youth ministry
Young Adults
The rest of us
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Strategic Approach (a belated definition)
The church must view youth ministry not so much
as a means of turning out models of Christian
living in order to perpetuate existing church
ministries, but as the best opportunity to launch
a vital Christian witness to shape the faith
community for the next generation.
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Strategic Approach (frustration)
Youth ministers are frustrated by constant
resistance to theological reflection and
strategic thinking about young peoples roles in
the local church at the very time in life when
adolescents should be adopting kingdom
priorities
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Strategic Approach (the role of youth workers)
Church leadership has treated youth workers as
novice adults rather than permanent parts of the
churchs strategy of discipleship and
evangelisation.
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Strategic Approach (youth ministry as church
birthing)
Youth pastors should become spiritual midwives
and assist in birthing new churches. They would
begin as age group specialists but would be
chosen to work with a group of students from the
time the young people entered high school until
they reached their mid-20s. The primary
objective would be to develop a team of
spiritually mature young adults and plant a new
church
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Strategic Approach (new wine in new wineskins)
Its possible that the strategic approach could
be seen as giving up on reforming the existing
church Were talking about pouring new wine
into new wineskins
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Strategic Approach (replacing the factory)
The Youth Pastor
The Youth Pastor
The Youth Pastor
Pastor
Youth ministry
Youth ministry
Youth ministry
New Church
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Strategic Approach (change change changes)
Young people must be seen as people who are
shaping the church and being shaped
Adult congregations, like parents must prefer to
sacrifice their own lives so that the next
generation might live and grow
Youth Workers must be viewed as Pastors/Ministers
Youth ministry must not be seen to be at
competition with the existing church
Young people must lead in mission efforts
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Church of the present (now)
fellowship now
mission now
Fellowship (come)
Mission (go)
fellowship later
Mission later
Church of the future (later)
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Church of the present (now)
Inclusive congregational
Missional
Fellowship (come)
Mission (go)
Preparatory
Strategic
Church of the future (later)
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Which model do you warm to the most?
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Which model do you think more resembles your
church?
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What changes do you think your church need to
make in order to adopt that model??
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Which model do you think more resembles the
presbytery?
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Which model do you think the presbytery should be
working towards?
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