Family-Based Youth Ministry Chapter 1

So, I'm switching gears now, and I'm now going to be focusing on Mark DeVries book Family-Based Youth Ministry. Chapter one is entitled Something's Wrong: The Crisis in Traditional Youth Ministry. This chapter was packed full of really interesting stuff, and I already highly recommend this book for any person who is interested or involved in ministering to youth. There is one thing specifically that I want to pull out and share with you from this chapter. DeVries says that what the church wants (and needs), is mature Christian adults. To have mature Christian adults, you have to develop and mentor Christian youth, helping them to mature. DeVires unpacked this a little and then said something that I can honestly (and ashamedly) say that I have never thought about.

"But keeping teenagers from ever being bored in their faith deprives them of the opportunity to develop the discipline and perseverance they need to live the Christian life." (p 27)

"Mature Christian adults, then, are those people who no longer depend on whistles and bells to motivate them to live out their faith." (p 28)

This is HUGE!!! I've always heard from youth around me growing up, "Man, I don't want to go to youth group tonight. It's SOOOO boring. They just don't do anything that I want to do." Even now that I'm older (and hopefully more mature), I hear adults say left and right, "We aren't doing what the students want. They're getting bored and we have to change something. If they get bored, they won't come back." Now I will admit that there is some truth to this. However, my fear is that today's youth programs are loosing the priority. The main focus isn't supposed to be trying to use the coolest video illustrations or the newest songs, but instead the focus is supposed to be in leading students to the throne of God, to encounter Him and leave changed. I'm not saying that using technology is a bad thing. In fact, I think that you need to use technology when working with youth. Technology is a HUGE part of this generation, and when you use something that is tangible to them, they have the opportunity to really use that as a platform in developing a deeper faith. The problem arrises when the youth have lost their focus. As soon as they rely upon the latest technology or the recent fad to grow and 'feed' them (I don't think it's very nourishing), they will become dependent upon those things (like a drug) and cannot (or will not) have anything to do with anything that doesn't involve those things.

Going back to DeVries first quote, I believe that this is a critical point/stance that his is making/taking, and after thinking about it, I think I agree with him. The theology in Christianity (with the exception to hard-Calvinism and other similar beliefs) is laced FULL of the concept of 'choice.' The reason why I bring this up, is because youth have the choice. Often times today some will try to shift the blame to others, saying that they just aren't interesting, as to why he or she isn't coming to youth group any longer. Yet at the same time, they STILL HAVE THE CHOICE. When a person makes a conscious choice to go somewhere or do something that isn't exactly what he or she 'likes' or finds 'interesting,' yet chooses it because he or she knows it's important, that person is showing a great deal of maturity. It is decisions like this that I feel help youth to develop and mature more spiritually and as a person. If this idea were to become contagious and catch on among the youth of today, I think that this crisis would dissolve, as the maturing youth become mature Christian adults.