The Truth About Youth Ministry

In my studies, I have just finished reading in it's entirety, "Hurt: Inside The World of Today's Teenagers" by Dr. Chap Clark - a must read for ANYBODY working with adolescents! It is a great commentary on the systemic abandonment of our young people. Here are some very realistic quotes about the state of The Church and how it handles youth ministry (at least in America):

In light of programming typically taking precedence over relationships due to the fact that programs are easier to measure while relationships are not.

"The reality, however, is that often the demands and expectations of executing a program become the central driving focus. It takes little for a mid-adolescent to feel as though the program matters more than he or she does. This creates a crisis in youth ministry: Once students begin to see youth ministry in the same light as other institutions that have abandoned them, it becomes something to experience only in inauthentic layers if at all."

And...

"Youth ministry is often concerned with numerical growth, superficial and instant response, and active attendance, making it more about the ministry than about the individual."

And...

"As a result, students are the prime leaders in almost every aspect of youth ministry, from leading small groups to choosing curricula to leading worship and teaching. This philosophy sounds empowering, but it is an ineffective approach."

And...

"The philosophy that leaves youth ministry solely in the hands of students says, 'You don't need adults to make a difference, you just need adults to give you the resources and the encouragement to go out there and to it yourself.' But this communicates to adolescents, 'I do not have the time or the ability to reach your world.'"

After spending 25 years in youth ministry, I have found these comments to be spot on! Authentic relationships have been sacrificed on the altar of numerical and programmatic growth. Success has been measured in numbers (easy to measure) rather than relationships and change of the heart (difficult to measure). It could be argued, by those who truly do not have their thumbs on the pulse of American adolescents AND youth ministry in America, that these observations are oversimplification. The proof is in the pudding however, so to speak. The truth is revealed in the simple fact that, for the most part, the hearts of young people have not been changed for the long-haul and this is why the Church in America is declining. Relationships communicate care, programs communicate agendas. The agendas of adults in the lives of adolescents becomes a point of distrust between adolescents and adults that are supposed to care for them. This is an indicator of the systemic abandonment Dr. Clark speaks of in his book that shows that too many adults have become preoccupied with agendas for young people rather than nurturing them. Programs (youth sports, schools, meritocratic measurements of academics, extra-curricular activities, church programs, etc.) have all become pre-occupied with children as "producers and achievers" rather than focusing on what the programs were originally designed for: nurturing our young people!

I don't know how I could ever go about doing this, but I have seen the difference an intentional mentor (partnering with other individuals and organizations) can make in the life of a young person. What would it take for the Church in particular to provide this type of mentoring and nurturing for as many young people as possible? How visionary would it be to have a church that would have the vision of a Youth Pastor whose primary mission would be to invest in young people relationally first and programmatically second? This is a great challenge!