One for the Scrapbook

Remember when your mom would cut out anything that involved you in the newspaper? Blogspot is the new scrapbook. I was interviewed by the local paper about student / youth ministry. The article quotes me as calling youth "children" which I can't say that I have never done, but I try like the dickens not to. Other than that, it's a decent article. Here it is for your reading enjoyment.

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Ministering to youth
Leaders connect with young people on their level, teach them ‘what it takes to lead us to God’


Natalie Jordan, The Daily News, njordan@bgdailynews.com

Thirteen-year-old Seth Davis usually joins his peers on Sunday, but on Wednesday nights at Hillvue Heights Church, he’s helping out in Club 56 – the church’s special place for fifth- and sixth-graders.

“We’re just trying to get others interested in the message of God, and getting them saved,” he said.

Many churches are taking a team approach to minister to congregations with focuses on different age groups.

“You understand more when you’re younger,” Seth said, saying that adults are often too set in their ways. “We’re more willing to accept God and others.”

Adolescence is a time of emotional and spiritual upheaval, said Jason Brown, student minister at Broadway United Methodist Church. It’s a time when children are trying to figure out their identity and are looking for a connection to something, he said.

“We help them answer those questions, guide them on their lifelong journey with Christ,” Brown said. “There is a large emphasis on connection and relationships.”

Youth ministries serve as an outlet for fellowship, an outlet for growth in Christ, and a way to be involved in activities, such as bible studies that speak to children on their level, said Jeff Armstrong, next generation pastor for Living Hope Baptist Church.

Dealing primarily with 12- to 18-year olds, Armstrong has the help of two other youth pastors on staff. He said it just seems natural to break the ministry down to a child’s level, especially in larger churches with thousands of members.

“To depend on one man would be a large task,” he said.

What churches have done is delegate responsibilities to certain pastors who can deal with certain life stages, Armstrong said.

At Living Hope, Cindy Starr ministers to preschoolers and other children; at Hillvue that position is delegated to preschool minister Bethann Ayers, children’s minister Angela Lasley and youth minister Shane Blankenship. All three are seminary-trained, Lasley said.

“As the church has grown, the need to minister to certain age groups has grown,” Armstrong said.

Church is a family of God, Lasley said, and through Christ, “all are connected.” And there is a need for more people to help that connection, she said.

“The staff here is very willing to help us out, and do what it takes to lead us to God,” Seth said. “They’re not forcing us, but guiding us.”

While the role youth ministry plays is different in each church, a commonality is their goal to be a resource for parents. Churches look to partner with parents to help them raise their children in the way God’s word teaches, Armstrong said.

“We are not the primary spiritual leaders, parents are,” Lasley said. “So we want to supplement that.”

Lasley said people are seeing difficulties, and need help and support, which they find in ministry. As opposed to the adult ministry, she said the youth and children’s ministries are teaching ministries.

At Hillvue, the belief is that God has appointed every parent as his or her child’s primary spiritual instructor. The ministry’s role is to assist and equip parents in that task. The desire is to “facilitate the child’s growth in his or her relationship with Christ” and “prepare them to discover their uniqueness and God’s mission for their lives.”

“The children’s ministry provides a foundation, and the youth ministry supplements that,” Brown said. “We want them to establish a world view, not only looking at the world in a particular way but engaging in the world in a particular way. We want them to look at the world the way Jesus did and engage the way Jesus did.

“We want them to be lifelong disciples of Christ.”