A Biblical Healthy View of Ministry

Previously I understand that previous lessons were on a healthy church

Today

I’d like to continue that theme

But focus

On a healthy view of ministry

Instead of a healthy church

More specifically

the ministry of discipling the whole church

And the youth

Can be a good indicator

On how biblical

and healthy

a church’s view is

on the ministry of making disciples

Hence our title for tonight’s devotional lesson: A Biblical Healthy View of Ministry

The struggle with youth in a modern church context

Increasing secularism in younger generations

Christianity used to be the common religion that people identified

In the past

But new generations

For the first time

The majority of them

Do not identify

As Christian

More than 60% of youth today leave church upon graduation 

This number is likely higher in Filipino churches

Cultural

and language barriers

make it even harder

Discouraging 

Personal experience

I’ve been a youth leader and young adult leader in 2 Filipino churches and 2 American churches in the past

In three of those churches including all the Filipino churches

Almost all of their youth left

after I left

At the same time I’ve seen youth and young adult ministries that flourish

Their young people have grown up and are still in those churches today

So what is the difference between the churches where all the youth left and the churches where they stayed?

We’re going to explain those differences tonight

Main point: 

I hope to encourage you from the Bible how a healthy view of ministry is the answer to reaching all peoples including the youth.

I’m not here to rebuke but to encourage.

What we’re going to learn tonight: is how ministry to be done biblically period

How you reach the youth is the same with how you reach anyone

• Reaching youth is not a secret

What youth do not want

Programs

Youth are sick of trying to be catered to

Trying to speak their slang

Trying to understand their music

Constant and excessive use of entertainment to lure them in

It’s fun for a while but lacks substance

Having fun and laughing all day (good things) will not fulfill the longings of the soul for something deeper

Over time they find it cringe

2. Youth are sick of fluffy/weak doctrine and theology

Youth are arguably the most inquisitive demographic within the church

They constantly ask questions 

If they get weak answers they will get their answers elsewhere: the world

And then they will leave

3. A singular leader/youth pastor to solve all their problems

A temporary fix

A singular leader/youth pastor will bring temporary benefits

Long term problems

Youth becomes disconnected with the rest of the church

This philosophy creates a “church within a church”

It creates disunity 

An us vs. them mentality 

Youth vs. rest of the church mentality 

And then they will leave

I’m not saying churches should not have youth pastors

• 1. What I’m saying is relying on a youth pastor to do all the ministry to the youth

without the whole church being involved is the problem

What youth actually want:

1. A deeper understanding of the Bible and relationship with Christ

2. Mentorship/discipleship

This is basic bible teaching. We need to solve our problems by asking, “what does the Bible say?”

Ok but how?

How to give them a deeper understanding of the Bible

1. Expositional preaching

Nehemiah 8:5 ESV

And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was above all the people, and as he opened it all the people stood.

Nehemiah 8:8 ESV

They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.

All the way back in the OT

preaching was to read the text

and to give the sense

meaning to explain or exposit

so that people understood the reading.

Titus 2:1 ESV

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine.

Paul told Titus teaching must be sound

and sound teaching

is explains the text.

Expositional preaching from the Sunday pulpit- (Nehemiah 8:5, Nehemiah 8:8, Titus 2:1)

Expositional preaching is difficult and requires time and discipline 

Many claim to do expository preaching but

If it doesn’t make the text of Scripture clear due to:

Language barriers

Lack of exegetical training

Lack of training in Greek/Hebrew

Lay elders and other bible teachers don’t necessarily need to be Greek/Hebrew proficient, but the main preacher/senior pastor needs to be

If it is just a bunch of stories

Then it is not expositional preaching 

A deeper understanding of the Bible and growth in relationship with Christ begins with expositional preaching

• 1. Without it people will not grow

2. Answer their questions

Answer their questions

Youth must be encouraged to ask questions and  have them answered biblically

If you do not answer their questions they will find the answer online, in the world, from their non-Christian friends etc.

• 3. There are countless testimonies of young believers who go astray because they could not get answers their questions from church

c. Have set times for Q&A and never discourage them from asking questions

Even if the question may sound unbelieving, if you answer it biblically you can help them

How to mentor and disciple (youth)

1. Make disciples

Matthew 28:18–19 ESV

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

It is part of the great commission 

It’s not option - It’s commanded

Making disciples is a part of everyday Christian life

We are simply obeying Jesus

• 2. Mentorship is a type of discipleship where an older person helps a younger person follow Christ

2. Older Christians must mentor younger Christians

Titus 2:1–2 ESV

But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness.

Titus 2:3 ESV

Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good,

Titus 2:4–5 ESV

and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Titus 2:6 ESV

Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

Youth want to learn from older Christians - mentorship

They may not express it

But they want it

You just have to sacrifice any comfort/awkwardness and try

Mentorship is a biblical command in Titus 2

Older men and women are those who are more mature in their faith (v.2-3)

Older women are supposed to train younger women (v.4-5)

In the same way older women are to teach younger women, Titus, an older man was to urge younger men to be self-controlled

This also implies that older men in general are supposed to disciple younger men

Common wisdom shared 

You must have people in your life in 3 areas

Older - who you are learning from

Same age - for accountability

• 3. Younger - someone you are mentoring and pouring in to

d. Mentorship is not optional

Just like the Great commission of making disciples is not optional

Neither is older Christians mentoring younger Christians

3. Have youth integrate with older age groups

Joel 2:15–16 ESV

Blow the trumpet in Zion; consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly; gather the people. Consecrate the congregation; assemble the elders; gather the children, even nursing infants.

This shows how in the OT congregation

multiple age groups were together

Psalm 145:4 ESV

One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

How can a generation teach God’s works to another if they are not together?

Separating youth into too many sub-groups such as: middle school, high school, college does not help them get plugged in to the rest of the church

They become their own church and when they graduate they leave the church because they were never a part of the entire church in the first place

One helpful strategy (but not the only way) is to have high schoolers and young adults in the same group

It gives a natural environment for younger Christians to learn from older Christians either:

By asking them questions

Or by watching them live life as they live life together:

Eating out together

Doing fun or other social activities together

I’ve seen youth ministries that were flourishing and ones that were not

And both of the flourishing ones had youth that had youth mix with other age groups

• 2. Youth get excited to be able to hang out with older Christians

4. Older Christians must be mentored/discipled by a plurality of elders

Ephesians 4:11–12 ESV

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,

Ephesians 4:13 ESV

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

Ephesians 4:14 ESV

so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

The elders and that’s plural meaning multiple elders

Are to help the church become more mature in the faith

So that they are not spiritual children

Being tossed around by the waves

Of false teaching

Human persuasion

or deceit

What are elders?

Elders are the leaders of the church

They are synonymous with bishop/overseer/and pastor

Most churches have a solo pastor but the Bible always mentions elders in the plural: this one example but it’s all over the Bible

Titus 1:5 ESV

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—

The flock will only make disciples if the leadership of the church makes disciples 

And a plurality of elders is the Biblical form of church leadership

Instead of having a solo pastor do all the ministry, a team of elders do the work of ministry

This is more effective as a team of elders can mentor and disciple more people in the church than just one man

And the more people in the church that are mentored/discipled by the elders the more church members will also mentor and disciple others

This will in turn trickle down to the whole church including youth

And the youth benefit from that

If older Christians are not being mentored/discipled by elders than you will be very lucky if they mentor and disciple youth because most likely they won’t

5. The pastor himself must be personally discipling/mentoring people in the church especially the elders

Titus 2:6 ESV

Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled.

Paul taught Titus himself the pastor of the church in Crete to train the younger men just as the older women are to teach younger women

Titus 1:5 ESV

This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you—

Titus who was the pastor of the church in Crete it was his responsibility to train and disciple elders

If the pastor himself isn’t personally discipling the elders in the church why would the elders disciple others in the first place?

And if the pastor isn’t making disciples and the elders aren’t either then there won’t be any discipling mentorship in the church

And in turn the youth will not be mentored and discipled

It’s like a waterfall

If there’s no water running at the top: the leadership

Then the water won’t reach the bottom which is the church and the youth

As we see in Titus 2:6 the pastor must be discipling and identifying leaders of all ages including potential future leadership in the youth

Without a pastor who makes disciples and a team of elders who make disciples everything falls apart and reaching the youth will fail

• 1. You can try but it just won’t be very effective 

6. Pray for a pastor that actively makes disciples in his personal life

Ephesians 4:11 ESV

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,

Pastors are a gift from God to the church

• 2. God is the one who gives pastors to his church 

The difference between church’s where youth stayed vs. left

All the ministries to youth I saw that gave youth

A deeper understanding of the Bible and relationship with Christ

And discipleship/mentorship

Through expositional preaching and pastors/elders making disciples

All of them stayed in the church

One of those church’s has over 200 youth/young adults

All the youth ministries

That did not

Give youth a deeper understanding of the Bible

And mentorship

They all left

2 of 3 of those churches I served were Filipino churches and the youth all left

Even though when I was the youth leader in one of those churches

We went from 5 to 20 in 1 year

Because I was teaching the Bible expositionally

And I was personally discipling them spending time with them multiple times a week

And the youth were inviting non-Filipinos to join because they were excited with what we were doing

People from different colleges

And we were high schoolers all the way to young adults and we hung out together all the time

And the youth were constantly asking me bible questions or other kuyas and ates in the group

But it didn’t matter

Because after I left, they all left too

That’s why relying on a single pastor or youth pastor to fix the youth’s problem is not the answer

The whole church has to be involved in mentoring including the senior pastor and elders

Ultimately the key to reaching youth is not with a program, special outreach, or youth pastor, it is by focusing on conforming all aspects of church life to be more biblical, resulting in a healthy church.