The Importance of Youth Ministry
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
1. The Importance of Youth Ministry.
why is Youth ministry important? well the reason behind why youth ministry is Important is that the young people struggle in their daily lives. young people in every congregation need good Christian role models in their lives.it does not matter if they are parents, elders or someone who is a member of the congregation. as long as the young people can relate and build trust in this person. the problem of today is that:
A. Our young people are tempted in many different ways.
some of you may ask how are the youth of today are being tempted? the answer is very simple. young people are being targeted by things throughout their daily activities. for starters Media has open doors to certain things that we as christian’s need to be aware of.
1. Through media.
A. Movies- sometimes it could be the hero who has flaw in them that makes them relatable, other times movies have power to influence because of what shown in them that certain lifestyles are okay in worldly eyes.
B. Music- is very hard subject because of the variety of it, there is good music and there is Bad music. young people listen to the song and the words that are being said. if you actual listen to some of today music its hard to not relate to it sometime because its usually about a hard life of sin. that involves drugs and violence, and certainly other things that not good for a Christian.
C. TV-who remember being able to sit down with your family and able to watch a good series on television that did not have alcohol, drugs or idealism where it is okay to be who you are.
another thing that Targets our young people of today is the social media.
2. Social Media
A. Political News- usually these guys are trying to divide the house of God
B. Peer Pressure - think of advertisements (Ads)
C. Bullying -trolls who can seem pick on people behind the screen
3. School
1. Peer Pressure—drugs, alcohol, sex, bullying-being apart of something
2. Atheism—teachers, the curriculum-claim that God does not exist
3. Evolution—teachers, the curriculum, maybe even from students- making sure young people come to understand that they come from monkeys and bacteria
4. Friends
1. Peer Pressure—the pressure that comes from being afraid of loosing friends because you won’t participate in certain things.
A. If you don’t drink your not cool
B. Drugs
B. The young people have to many different worldly role models, what they really need are more spiritual minded role models.
The young people of today have to many role models or Hero’s who they look up to which can be a good thing but also a bad thing. The problem is that Role models or Hero’s will not be able to tell if they were a good Role model or a bad Role model until later in the future. How do we tell if they are good role models for the church?
Body:
1. How do we tell if someone is fit for the role of a Youth minister for the Church?
The church need to look at the men of the church see if he is relatable to the younger generation, and that he is mature in his faith so that he able to teach about Christ. for an example Look at Paul relationship with Timothy. Paul treated timothy like a son. let go ahead turn in are Bibles to 1st Timothy 4:12.
12 Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
what do we notice here in 1st Timothy 4:12, we should notice that Paul is encouraging Timothy because he is still of youth, able to do some thing that many some people can not do. Timothy is able to make connection with the younger generation which would allow him to be able to build relationship with them like older brother/teacher relationship. we should also take notice here that Paul mentions some qualities, these qualities are what the church needs to look for in someone who wants to teach the younger generation. the first point we are going to be looking are words they speak.
A. In word
1. How they talk.
One of the hardest things that many people learn is how to use language. because how we talk as minister we bring someone closer to God, or we can push them away from God. let go ahead turn in our Bible to James 1:26.
26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
what we see here in James is that James is warning us as Christian’s we need to control what we say to each other. it not about how we talk about religion but how we talk about Christ.
A. From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks..
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Even in Matthew we see John the Baptist calling out the Pharisees and the Sadducee who were evil
1. How our world is inundated with foul language.
Even this applies today, we as christian need to watch how we speak, rather be good or ill. are we going to allow someone to teaches the younger generation who swears and curses at people? the answer should be No we would not allow this to happen. as Christian’s we would want our younger generation to be looking up to someone who follow Christ, and does the God’s will. which leads to our next point for this morning. how youth ministers need to be in Conduct.
B.How youth ministers should conduct themselves.
being a youth minister is never easy, well for starts youth minister need to be open with the church on who they are, and how they teach. they need to show that they are mature enough in their own walk with God. by showing that they obey God’s word.
1. By being obedient to God.
really all Christian’s understand that being obedient to God show our love for him, but when comes to being a minister by being obedient to God we conduct ourselves to putting God’s will first. the youth will see that by being obedient to God they too will follow. lets turn in our Bibles to Rom 16:19.
19 For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.
Members of the congregation will know who is Obedient to God, because of the one who conducts himself in the ways of God. as a youth minister they need to be willing to make their obedience known to the congregation.
A. A youth minister should make his obedience known.
1. By being obedient to the eldership
A youth minister should never think he is greater then the elders of the congregation. he must be willing to come to understand how they lead and how they wish to see the church grow.
2. By submitting to one another.
youth ministers must being will to go along with the leadership of the congregation, even when they disagree with them. sometime eldership will allow the youth minister to lead the youth group see where it grows. the two must always be in agreement with each other.
Let go ahead and look at 1st Peter 5:5.
5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.”
A. Demonstrate a attitudes of working together and not having to alway have your way.
Here in 1st Peter we see that Peter tell the younger generation that they should submit themselves to the Elders, and he also telling the congregation should be submissive to each other. we should be not be proud and not wanting to help those in need. we should be humbling ourselves to point were members of the congregation can rely on each other. for this reasoning is so that the younger generation can rely a minister that relate to their needs and struggles. Let go ahead turn in our Bible to James 3:17.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.
we see in James that a youth minister should be pure, peaceable, gentle, and willing to yield, full of mercy and of Good fruit, and is not partial and without hypocrisy toward a the younger generation. which leads to our next point under conduct is that a the congregation needs to see how the community perceive the youth minister of the congregation.
3. By how he is seen in the community
A youth minister should be out going, reaching out in the community. helping with schools and helping the younger generation staying off the streets. a youth minster needs to be comforting when there are hard time in the younger generation. a youth minister has to be a light so that the younger generation can see and trust that is there for them. one they can relate too. turn in your Bibles to Mat 5:14-16.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Here in Mat 5:14-16 we see that a youth minister has to be a light to the younger Generation. the younger generation need to know who they can rely on during both good and bad time in their daily lives.
A. By being an example of how to live.
Youth minister have to be example to the younger generation, youth minister need to be Christ like. let turn in our Bible to 1st Cor 11:1.
1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
Here in 1st Cor 11:1 we see that Paul is telling the Corinthian Church that they should imitate him as he imitate Christ. so should a youth minister also be a imitation of Christ too. this will lead us to the next point in how a youth minister should be.
3. In love. (treat other people)
A. By treating others how I would want to be treated.
A youth minister needs to be willing to understand the needs of the congregation as a whole, A youth minister needs to give the respect to those who are in the youth program and those who are within in the congregation out of love and understanding. a youth minister need to understand kindness and patience out of love.
12 Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
Here in Matthew 7:12 a youth minister must treat everyone as an equal and with a gentle heart for those who wish to know God. so how would we see this apply in today. think of this we had a youth minister and he was shopping at Wal-Mart and he got angry at the Casher or at the got mad at another Customer who was rude, and one of the young people of the congregation saw this, do you think he learn love or saw a worldly action happen. he probably saw a worldly action happen. which lead us to our next example how a youth minister needs to be.
4. In Spirit
A. By having the right attitude.
A youth minister must have the right attitude when it comes to being part of the ministry. A youth minister must come to realize how important this Job is teaching the younger generation about who God really is. A youth minister must understand that he is doing for God, and no body else. turn in your Bibles to Phil 2:3-4.
3 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. 4 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
A youth minister should not be self center, A youth minister should be thinking about the young people who he is teaching, what their needs are how to help them during difficult times. A youth minister needs to be ready for anything, and expect the unexpected to happen.
5. In Faith
1. How they handle their time.
as a Role model for the younger generation they need to have time to spend with God. who this person is depends on the congregation rather it be a parent, a Elder or a payed youth minster needs to realize that in order to teach about God they need to know him first. Rom 10:17 which State “Faith cometh by Hearing and hearing comes by words of God” whoever they are need to be in the scriptures daily. Look at Acts 17:11.
11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
Here in Acts we see that the Jews here were Fair-minded and were willing to search the scripture to find the truth about God. A Role Model needs to do this in order to understand what he is teaching to the next Generation of the Church.
A. Youth ministers should be an example in how much time they spend studying God’s word.
1. Time spent meditating on God Word
A role model for the next generation of young people also need times to meditate on God’s word. so that they can teach and understand what God’s will is and how the younger people needs are care for. turn in your Bibles to Ps 119:15.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.
2. How much they love the law of the Lord.
A role model need to have a love for God and his law. God is the creator and how can someone teach about him if he does not love God’s word and does not love God also? A role model needs to realize the love of God means that he spend time within the scripture seeking out on how to teach God to others. If you look down to verse 97 of Ps 119.
97 Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day.
Role models need to be studying God’s word during their free time, when they get off work, they need to spend time with God who created them. if they do not know God how are they going to teach about the being that created them to the younger generation? which leads us to the next point in of Role models of the church.
6. In purity.
A. Staying pure form sin.
A Christian role model needs to be far away from sin as much as possible. A Christian role model needs to be example to the younger generation what is pure and what is not pure, and how to handle situation that deal with sin that leads the younger generation away from God. let us turn in our Bible to 1st John 1:7
7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.
As a Christian role model we come to understand that sin separates us from God, and that as Christian role models need to walk in the light of Christ and be blameless. as Christian role models we need to teach how to be pure and abstain from sinful passions. in order to do that we should surround ourselves with other people who are like minded and who can help keep us from sinning.
Conclusion:
1. The importance of youth ministry is our children need Christian Role models who are within the church.
A. It can be a parent of the congregation who can take on the role of the youth minister, who can help with ministering to the children of the congregation.
B. Or it can be a Paid minister
C. But it must take place because our children have a need for a Christian Role model, they too need to be ministered to as much as the adults of the congregation.
The children of the congregation sometime also face the same struggles as the adults, often have the same question as most adult do, and Children of the congregation often have similar problems as the adults.
The children need to know that they are important to the congregation, and that their needs will also be care fore.
The Children also need to know that They are important to God.
D. This is accomplished by the church by devoting time to mentoring the younger generation withing the church.
1 I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
Here in 2nd Timothy we see that Paul is charging that we as Christians need to help prepare the minds of the next generation. we are to all be Role models to the younger generation because how are they to learn if they have no one? turn Bibles to 1st Cor 15:33.
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.”
The importance of Youth ministry is that the children are the future of the church. are we going to allow the world to choose role model for our Children or are we going to try to find Christian role models for them or be those Role models?