Many churches struggle with the fact that their youth ministry is stagnating, shrinking, or outright failing. Here are some things to consider when it comes to your own youth ministry struggles.
– Theological –
Often when we look at church-related problems the first place we should start is theology. We hear and use this word often, however that has become a problem in itself. Let’s address some of these common theology related issues within youth ministries.
Theology:
1. the field of study and analysis that treats of God and of God’s attributes and relations to the universe; study of divine things or religious truth; divinity.
2. a particular form, system, branch, or course of this study.
Dictionary.com
1. Weak theology from the pulpit
One of the primary concerns I have personally heard from youth in the church is the lack of anything substantive from the pulpit. This generally comes in two types of watered-down teaching Sunday morning and everything else.
– Sunday Mornings for Youth Ministry
The standard practice for many of us in the church is to just not want to deal with the kids on Sunday mornings. This is the chance for many of the parents to “get away” from the kids and have some personal time with God and the local body. This mentality forces the youth ministry to reprioritize the souls of the youth, as somehow less important than their parents. Thus all of the “proper teaching” is focused on the adults.
The Problem:
With the “Big Church” focusing on theology, many of the Youth Ministries are primarily focusing on “Christian” entertainment. Music, skits, and stories are wonderful for young children. However, the issues arise when older youth are not being intellectually or theologically challenged.
How to fix it:
Treat the youth as young adults instead of big kids. Instead of pushing storytime and watered-down theology, give them the actual Bible. Allow these youth of the church to grow into theology, as opposed to lowering theology to them. This will (hopefully) be initially a bit overwhelming and daunting for them. If it is not a theological deep end for them… then we need to cover that in a different post.
In my local church, we don’t have any special Sunday Morning accommodations for youth above the age of 10 years old. Any youth within our church over the age of 10 is invited into the Worship Center to join and engage with the “Big Church”. While many of the higher-level theological topics may be over their heads, the majority of the content along with the fellowship is fully attainable by most of our youth.
Josh
– Midweek or Bible Study
Every church does (or should) have some form of extra teaching besides the primary Sunday service. This is usually something other than a verse by verse study similar to Sunday service, usually an extra-biblical book or topical series is the focal point.
The Problem:
For youth ministries, this is becoming another chance to practice for the choir or hang out with friends while their parents do a study. This lack of proper teaching will lead to an almost encourage a weekly theological moratorium, where the focus is on anything and everything except the Bible.
How to fix it:
The fix for weak studies and services is to strengthen them! Instead of adding an extra practice or fellowship time, implement something of substance.
If you are starting from scratch and the standard church leadership has no input on the content of the teaching, then poll the youth themselves. Ask a simple question like
- “what questions about Christianity have you always had?”
- “what struggles are you seeing in your family and friends?”
- “what life skills are you not learning in school, that you wish you were?”
With just these simple examples you can now decide to take your Youth ministry through a biblically focused financial series, cover addiction in family/friends, or even theological topics like “election”. All of these ideas have established series and resources to assist with the studies and encourage youth to learn at church… not just survive it.
2. Hypocritical teaching from family
Systemic and blatant hypocrisy throughout the church leads to many walking away from the church and turning their backs on religion as a whole. Often the impetuous of this division is what is seen within the family.
“My family was catholic”, “I used to be a Baptist”, or “I grew up Mormon” are all common sayings when you talk to teens and young adults. When questioned the typical responses were something along the lines of “the Bible would contradict itself” and “my Christian dad was a …”.
The problem:
The problem with the hypocritical family is the same as all problems on Earth – SIN!!! Often people forget that the term Christian means pardoned not perfect.
Because the church is filled with people who by their very nature sin and fail regularly, it is important to make sure that the people of the church are reminded that they are still people who need Christ.
I have been to a few churches that all the “Brother Bob’s and Reverend Jims” in attendance were without sin… until you hear them try to leave the parking lots and deal with their families.
Josh
How to fix it:
The fix like many of the solutions on here, the answer is the Bible; preached truthfully, directly, and often. With a strong message from the pulpit about the failings of men and the grace of God, all those in attendance will see that Christ is the key to fixing the hypocrisy. Often just referencing the innate sin nature and the prideful hearts of man will help to diminish the sting of a slight or sin amongst the church body.
3. Countercultural teaching from the Bible
Imagine the violent indignation of the school system of today if a child were to stand up and talk about prayer or the Bible. In many school systems drinking and sex in the hallways will lead to no more than detention or “slap on the wrist”. However, if you were to tell another student that you will be praying for them, it can be considered assault or a violation of another student’s rights. The world of today is very different from the days of “Leave it to Beaver”.
The problem:
The problem with the current cultural influx being directed towards most of our kids are from one of two places; the school system and the internet.
The School System- The overview problems (we will cover this separately) of the school system is that of indoctrination and institutional uniformity. Both of these insidious approaches will strip youth of their God-given personhood while also undermining their very existence.
“Remember, you are just the last 4 numbers of your social security number. Also, you are only here because some space dust and a series of events happened to take place. Plus, if you have any creative thoughts or disagree with the current “approved doctrine” you are a hateful bigot.”
Unofficial School Board Mentality
The Internet- While the idea of keeping our kids off of “bad sites” is a functional impossibility. The constant flood of smut, hatred, and “news” is impossible to stop without fully embracing the Amish lifestyle(yes they have a website). This problem is exacerbated by the current lifestyles that many of us have grown accustomed to, where we find the need to be “connected” so strong.
How to fix it:
The fix is to be counter cultural. Cray ideas like saying to your struggleing youth member things like:
- “you matter”
- “you are special because God decided to make you the way you are”
- “you are my brother or sister in Christ, and I will never leave family behind”
These seemingly offhand responses often are the imputes of change and resolution for a young person who knows nothing except the aforementioned rhetoric. After you can focus on the sanctity of life and the importance of each member of the body, many of the other “struggles” melt away.
An easy way to have your Youth Ministry look at it is “do whatever you want & glorify God in all that you do”. This will give a framework and structure to future decisions and activities that, you as a group, maybe haven’t covered yet.
– Social –
Oftentimes we think about the social aspects associated with the church, we think of tea or coffee in the foyer, not so much the social growth development and ritualistic activities associated with typical teenage interaction.
4. More than just babysitting
The problem:
Oftentimes families treat youth groups as a way to keep the kids busy while the parents learn. If our only approach to training teaching and advising the future generation of Christians is to play music and until they go away how can we expect them to do anything more then walk away from the church. This generally apathetic approach to theology for the youth leads to apathetic theology in adults, thus the migration away from the church is amplified.
How to fix it:
The easiest way to fix this apathetic approach to theology in to pull up your bootstraps and actually preach the gospel. As a church, the priority should be preaching from the pulpit. Depending on the youth group structure proper teaching, associated theology, and a good lesson plan can help take meaningless fellowship time and turn it into a hard theology, where complex questions are actually answered.
As previously mentioned taking the youth group through some type of structured study whether it’s a sermon series, an extra-biblical book or even a series such as a financial, relationship, or a life skill course can lead to better development of the social abilities of the student as well as developing their theological and educational roots.
5. Limited autonomy
One of the big problems with a lot of youth groups is that of limited autonomy. Unfortunately, youth are not adults and due to this fact, they have no ability to drive themselves, to control themselves, or to decide for themselves what’s going to happen. This limited autonomy about day-to-day routine will quickly build into a limiting autonomy in decision-making, planning, and they’re very Christian walk.
The problem:
Due to this limited autonomy, certain milestones are often overlooked and missed completely. The concept of “delayed adolescence” oftentimes is extrapolated throughout the church environment. Without the youth being required to make conscious decisions and then live with the results, the opportunity to learn from the experience is lost. Thereby setting them up to be sent out into the world naive and helpless.
I love the idea of sheltering in protecting our children. This should be at the top of our list as parents and teachers preparing our students and children for the world. Preparing them to be able to handle the world on their own is our primary job. This autonomy can only be learned through experience unfortunately we cannot teach it to them.
How to fix it:
An easy way to overcome this lack of autonomy is by giving autonomy. Often something as simple as setting up a student body and student government can help to enable students in a school district to have some ownership of their own education. This same idea can be a slide in used throughout youth Ministries.
There are multiple ways to go about implementing this idea. A simple one would be to have the youth group elect a youth group assistant-minister or a youth group liaison who can actually go to and be a member of the youth group while being able to speak on behalf of their fellow youth. Oftentimes the feeling of under-representation leads to resentment and amplifies this lack of autonomy. (I definitely think this is something to be cautious with, as to not raise up someone who’s not biblically literate to a position of power within the church. A rotating schedule and other associated checks and balances could definitely help to build in oversight.)
Something as simple as allowing the youth group to plan, fundraise, and execute a ministry or an activity would help them to feel as if they are actual members of the church, as opposed to being along for the ride with their parents’ religion.
6. Lack of engagement
Service and engagement within the church is something that has to start with the heart and move to the hands. Oftentimes service within the church becomes less of a priority and more of a mandate.
Along with the previous idea of adding autonomy, the idea of stewardship helps to foster a sense of engagement, involvement, and ownership of not only their own personal walk with Christ but their own personal place within the body of Christ.
The greatest among you will be your servant.
Matthew 23:11
The problem:
This lack of engagement leads to multiple facets of failure throughout youth ministries. More often than not, one or two members of the youth group handle every facet of the youth ministry. While the remainder shows up to listen and will not participate, even if their life depended on it.
This lack of engagement can often be credited to basic teenage angst and social awkwardness, but just as commonly it’s due to your ignorance of what the Bible actually teaches.
How to fix it:
As previously mentioned proper theology leads to Proctor practice which leads to proper engagement which leads to a healthy youth ministry.
This theology teaching doesn’t necessarily have to come from formal sources such as elders, teachers, or pastors. Often this teaching can come in the form of self-study or better yet discipleship.
The entire New Testament is based upon the idea of discipleship and learning and growing in the face. However, it’s awkward and difficult for teenagers to approach adults and ask theological questions, due to the fact that they don’t want to appear ignorant and naive. That same level of discomfort isn’t usually present with other youth members.
Encourage older teens to practice discipleship towards younger youth group members. Throughout the Bible, we see references to discipleship. In this discipleship relationship the older, more established Christian is responsible for teaching and mentoring a younger Christian. An ever-present great example of this and most other things is Paul. He is a fantastic example of proper Christian discipleship.
An easy way to make sure that the discipleship is continuing and in a healthy and edifying manner is to have each “discipler” disciplined by a member or an elder within the church.
For example:
One pastor or elder can oversee four to five teenage “disciplers”. each of these teenage “disciplers” can now oversee or disciple one to four younger youth members. This now lets one pastor have direct contact with anywhere between 5 to 20 children. All of whom are participating in high-level theological discipleship as well as fellowship. (This would be a great way to include the student council student body from the previous point).
– Logistical –
“The line between disorder and order lies in logistics…”
Sun Tzu
When we often talked about logistics with children they revolve around some form of transportation or technology.
7. Timing
Timing is a huge deal with youth ministries on each end of the age group spectrum. For younger kids, often they are kept out too late and forced into a more advanced social setting than they might be prepared for. While older teens are often hamstrung by the fact that they can’t stay out beyond a certain hour due to the restraints of the younger members of the youth group.
The problem:
The problem with timing is no one has the same schedule. I know this is not a groundbreaking concept for some but others… this is new information.
As someone who spent their entire adult life working in the medical field and unconventional educational environments, I have often found myself getting off a shift at 9 a.m. Then trying to make it to a 9:30 service while still in full uniform. After I consider swinging by the house loading up the kids and the wife while trying to eat some food and still making it to service in time, at times it becomes pretty difficult. I’m sorry to say more than one Sunday I just stay home with the kids and let the wife go to church. While this seems like an “adult church problem” the real people who suffer are my children, they cannot attend their Sunday School or their youth ministries due to the logistical constraints of our limited service options.
Josh
Thankfully nowadays many churches offer a midweek service or some type of online version of the church to allow for distance or unconventional scheduling. However, due to finances and logistics, there are usually only one or two youth group meetings per age group throughout the week.
How to fix it:
Unfortunately, there’s no easy fix to Logistics. Some things that may help deal with unconventional scheduling constraints are:
- encourage families to engage with the services together throughout the week
- youth group centered discipleship
- accountability for Bible study in the family
- allowing children to participate in adult study groups
None of these is a complete fix to the problem but they can offer some unique opportunities for edification growth and fellowship for the next generation.
- For example, if families are encouraged to watch the sermon multiple times throughout the week or engage with the service outside of the church in some way shape or form, this will allow the children of that family to see that the parents truly care about the Bible, the church, and their religious upbringing.
- As previously mentioned discipleship within the youth ministry can help to encourage growth and learning that isn’t dependent upon being within the church building at a certain time. Homeschool groups or study groups for school can double as or have as an addendum to the educational piece, the addition of a discipleship component.
- As far as accountability for the youth ministry throughout the week, you can give a study guide or some type of supplemental reading that will be covered at the next meeting. (Don’t forget that students and young adults that comprise your youth ministry are very comfortable with the idea of homework).
- While certain adult themes and relationship components might not be appropriate for children and young teens to join for an adult study, Almost every concept on the face of the Earth is covered in the Bible. That being said, there is no too young for children to learn about proper relationships between a man and a woman, finances, or any other facet of adult life. As long as the child or teenager is able to not be a disruption to service it will be an opportunity to see what the foundations their learning can grow into.
8. Limited online presence
It seems almost as if it is a requirement by many churches is that they have a Facebook page and they have an Instagram along with a website. Though, it is as if it is a mandate from the church heads that theses cannot be updated, adjusted, or improved without divine intervention.
The problem:
With most churches, it is a struggle of pure will and determination to even get the Sunday service up online within a week. The idea of having a dedicated website, web page, or social media presence for just the youth ministry is often just too overwhelming for church leadership.
Along with the technical aspects and considerations associated with online youth ministries, the idea of proper safety and security for the youth ministry must be paramount. Due to the concerns over the technical necessity as well as the safety concerns of children and the internet many churches decide to not engage in any type of youth ministry online.
Who to fix it:
There are multiple ways to safely and properly manage an online youth ministry. (This may end up as a standalone post if so it will be annotated here somewhere). Here are some ideas on how to easily establish an online youth ministry:
- Private Facebook group
- Video chatting software
- Social messaging phone applications
- Password protected Forum page
While in no way does an online presence replace in-person fellowship and gathering, we do have the opportunity to leverage technology to increase our fellowship edification and learning activities.
- Let’s start with the easiest and lowest hanging fruit Which would be Facebook. Facebook has the opportunity to start a group for free and to set it to invite-only. A private Facebook group cannot be seen, engaged with, or joined without direct administrator permission. If the youth minister who oversees all youth ministries is the sole administrator, this will limit any chance of prying eyes or nefarious intent within this group. The great thing about using Facebook is that adoption is fairly easy by the end-user. It is rare that a student or a teenager doesn’t either have or understand how to go about setting up a Facebook profile.
- There are a plethora of video chatting options currently on the market today. one of the things learned through this pandemic is that many things can be accomplished through video chats. It is often more logistically feasible for a teenager to access their phone at 7 p.m. compared to having a parent or Guardian drive them across town to go to youth group meetings.
- Along with these video chat applications, there are messaging applications such as WhatsApp, signal, wire, Facebook Messenger, Google Meets, Google Teams, Etc.; any and all of these can be chosen and used to establish a youth ministry online for free, and be accessed through the youth members personal device.
- If your media team or IT personnel have the bandwidth and the ability to establish a forum on your Church’s primary domain, that is probably your best bet for continued as well as archived interaction. Often Facebook messages, social posts, and video chats are forgotten or lost in the news feed, however, a forum can stay around and resurface for years if desired. It takes very little technical effort to establish a forum online. One of the great things about this is it requires a username, email, and password plus direct approval of new members if desired to set up an account.
This may seem very daunting for some of the readers involved. There are many opportunities that are often missed with your traditional church bulletins/flyers that could be taken advantage of with a digital footprint. Things such as prayer requests, events, calendar integration, photos, video, immediate phone calls, or other things can all be done through these various online entities. All of this allows for immediate and continued connection to the youth ministry helping with the aforementioned engagement and will hopefully encourage increases in individual study and learning throughout the weeks, months, and years.
9. Backroom afterthought
On paper, many churches consider their youth groups in ministries as an afterthought, in practice they do become an actual afterthought. It is not uncommon that the men’s and women’s Bible studies will have living rooms, sanctuaries, or free reign of the church; it is rare that the same thing will be applied to youth ministries.
The problem:
Logistics are something that cannot be overcome without proper planning. Usually, adult Bible studies and worship services take place at the same time as youth Bible studies and worship services due to the imperative of “parental transport”.
How to fix it:
There’s very little you can do besides major construction to stretch the size of your building. However, it is rare to find a group of teenagers that don’t mind hanging out in the parking lot. Sometimes creative thinking will lead to creative results.
One of the things my current church is doing is setting up pop up tents and easy ups in the back parking lot for our teenage Ministries. We are blessed to have Southern California weather however those students are out there regardless of the weather.
Josh
If you don’t have the option of expanding or adding additional resources externally to properly serve your youth ministries, consider one of the digital options or early integration into adult studies.
If space is at such a premium that the high school or junior high classes cannot have their own dedicated space, consider full complete integration into the adult studies. This integration will have the aforementioned theological and sociological benefits on these teenagers as well as the logistical effects of not having the need for additional spaces.
