Why Youth Ministries?, Part 1

July, 2002

by: John Richard

After spending all day running around with several high school students, listening to various melodies on the radio and trying to discern their lingo, a staff leader has a tendency to ask themselves, “Why am I working with youth? I am so tired and I don't seem to relate with all their trendy ideas. Why in the world am I doing this?” This is a good question that needs to be answered. Why do people work with youth? Why am I a youth pastor? Well, in this month's issue we will look at two of the four reasons why the church should invest in youth.

The first reason that the church should invest in youth is because God invests in youth. He puts stock in youth. There are numerous examples in the Bible of how He used youth for His glory, who set examples, which we need to follow. For example, in Genesis 37:2, Moses stated that Joseph was 17 years old and then two chapters later, we find him refusing to sin against God by sinning with Potiphar's wife. Now we don't know how old he was at that time he turned from sinning sexually, but we do know that he was a youth. Ruth, a model for godliness among women was defined as a young woman (Ruth 2:5, 6; 4:12). Samuel was a young boy or a child when the Lord talked to him (1 Samuel 1:22, 24; 2:11, 18: 3:1-8). David was a youth when he slew Goliath (1 Samuel 17:33, 42, 55-58). Obadiah feared God from his youth (1 Kings 18:7-12), and Azariah, the king of Judah did right in the sight of the Lord at the age of 16, while he led the nation (2 Kings 15:2-3). Josiah became king at 8 years of age and was characterized as a godly man at the age of 16 (2 Chronicles 34:1-3). Daniel and his three friends were defined as youth and were possibly 14 years of age, and finally Mary and Joseph were most likely between the ages of 12–14 (according to tradition). All of these people did great things for the Lord and what they all had in common was that they were youth. God puts stock in youth. We often look at youth as if they can't be used profoundly by God. But this is an erroneous thought. Jeremiah made an excuse that he couldn't be a prophet, because he was a youth (1:6), but God told him that he couldn't use that excuse because He was going to be with him and use him. God puts stock in youth; therefore we should put stock in youth. Because He has such an interest in youth, it is highly desirable for the church to invest in youth.

The second reason why the church should invest in youth is that God saves youth. Rick Holland, the college pastor at Grace Community Church states that “Over 80% of people who give their lives to Christ do so before the age of 25!” Now this does not mean that we should neglect other aged people because statistics show a smaller amount getting saved. But it does render a weighty argument that we should be proactively evangelizing the youth, because often when people grow older, habits grow stronger and their consciences become more seared. J.C. Ryle in his book, Thoughts for Young Men, states:

Habits are like stones rolling down hill, the further they roll, the faster and more uncontrollable is their course. Habits, like trees, are strengthened by age… The older they are the stronger they grow, the longer they have held possession of the soul, the harder they will be to cast out… Habit is the nurse of sin. Every fresh act of sin lessens fear and remorse, hardens our hearts, blunts the edge of our conscience, and increases our evil inclination (pp 12-13).

As people get older and older, their habits of ungodliness continually blunt their consciences. Now God saves people of every age, but it is wise to invest in youth, because many of those who become believers do so in their youth.

These two reasons alone provide substantial evidence as to why the church should be active in Youth Ministry. Do you look at youth the way God does? Do you pray for the youth of the church? Do you utilize them as an incredible resource? Society beckons us to label them as adolescents, who are more than kids and not yet adults. However, in God's economy, youth are young adults and capable of being examples of the faith. My prayer is that God will save all the youth in this area, using them for His glory.