Youth Ministry

Purpose Driven Youth MinistryDoug Fields

Youth Ministry

Personal HumilitySubmit Your Abilities to God and Allow His

Power to Work Through Who You Are.Focus on Being a Person of God Before Doing

the Work of God

Becoming a Youth Leader Who Depends on God

Admit your struggles to yourselfAsk God for the power to discipline yourself

for the purpose of godliness Ask God for the courage to confess these

struggles to a friend who cares deeply aout you and who can help you.

Work with this friend on a spiritual restoration plan

Tips to Strengthen Your Godly Foundation

Why does this youth ministry exist?Programs can change, but the purposes

aren’t negotiableNo purposes that we could create on our own

would be more complete than the five God has already divinely created for us.

EvangelismWorshipFellowshipDiscipleshipMinistry

Purpose

Built around the Great Commandment and the Great Commission:Great Commandment- “Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your

God with all your heart and with all your sould and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” Matthew 22:37-40

Great Commission- “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” Matthew 28:19-20

The 5 Purposes

1) Worship: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart.”

2) Ministry: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”3) Evangelism: “Go and make disciples”4) Fellowship: “Baptizing them”5) Discipleship: “Teaching them to obey”

The 5 Purposes

Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with those who don’t yet have a personal relationship with Him.

This is probably the most weakly expressed purpose

It is difficult to fulfill on a program level, and threatening on a personal level

Adult leadership must model the purpose of evangelism

When this purpose is evident in a youth ministry, growth will happen- not because of an evangelistic program, but because of evangelistic students

Evangelism

Celebrating God’s presence and honoring Him with our lifestyle.

Praying (Psalm 95:6)Hearing the Word (John 17:17)Giving (1 Corinthians16:1-2)Baptizing (Romans 6:3-4)Meditating (Habakkuk 2:20)Communion (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)

Worship

God did not intend for Christians to live in isolation, but in fellowship with other believers and to be identified as the body of Christ.

True fellowship happens when students are known, cared for, held accountable, and encouraged in their spiritual journey

Fellowship is usually the strongest purposeOften, fellowship is so strong that Christian

students lose sight of evangelism and focus only on other believers and become dangerously apathetic from the lost

Fellowship

The building up or strengthening of believers in their quest to be like Christ.

Can be the most unrewarding since spiritual maturity is difficult to measure

Discipleship flourishes under spiritual leaders who consistently plant seeds and water students’ faithAll of this is done with faith that God will do

the impossible and bring growth

Discipleship

Meeting needs with loveGod has blessed every believer with special gifts to

be used for ministry. Students shouldn’t have to wait until they are adults to minister.

A healthy youth ministry will constantly encourage students to discover their gifts and put them into practice through ministry and mission opportunities

When the purpose of ministry is applied, you will graduate student ministers rather than program attendees.

Student ministers won’t graduate from their faith when they graduate from the youth ministry

Ministry

Revealing a purpose statement takes away the mystery of your ministry.

It makes sense of your programsUses volunteers more effectivelyProvides direction for your students’ spiritual

maturity

Purpose Statement

Keep it simpleMake it meaningfulIt should be action orientedShould be compelling

Purpose Statement

Think of words that go along with the 5 purposesWorship- Exalt, Passion, OfferFellowship- Enjoy, Encourage, CareEvangelism- Expose, Spread, ReachDiscipleship- Equip, Share, DevelopMinistry- Experience, Service, Serving

Purpose Statement

Then put those words together in a sentence

Worship, Discipleship, Ministry, Evangelism, Fellowship

The goal of our student ministry is to expose teenagers to God’s love, to equip them to exalt God, enjoy other believers, and experience the work of the ministry

Purpose Statement


CrossCurrent exists to reach non-Christian junior and senior high students, to help them share in God’s Word, to offer themselves in service to Christ and to care for one another.

Purpose Statement


Infiltrate Youth Family exists to spread the love of Christ by serving those around us, encouraging each other, and developing a life of passion for God.

Purpose Statement

One program can’t effectively fulfill all 5 purposes1.) What primary purpose (evangelism,

worship, fellowship, discipleship, or ministry) does this program fulfill?

2.) Who are we trying to target with this program?

One program can’t effectively target all students

Student Commitment Levels

There are at least 5 types of students The non-Christian studentThe new ChristianThe student who knows a great deal about the

Bible but is apathetic about most things we doThe growing studentThe spiritual leader



Teenagers living within a realistic driving distance of our church.

Schools within a ten to fifteen mile radius of your church

Calculate the number of youth group age students at these schoolsFor example in Arab, there are about 1,500 studentsAt this rate each church in the area could have over

100 studentsThe fulfills the evangelism purpose

Community Students

Students who come to a youth service and fill out an information card.

May be invited by regulars, others are forced by their parents to attend

Some are Christians, some are non-ChristiansThis fulfills the worship purpose

Crowd Students

Crowd students who move to the next level where they can connect with other Christians and grow in their faith (small groups, for example)

The next step should have an atmosphere where these students will be known, cared for, held accountable, and connected with other believers

This deeper connection fulfills the fellowship purpose

Congregation Students

Students who are committed to developing spiritual habits, such as personal Bible study, prayer, accountability with another believer, Scripture memorization, giving, and commitment to the church body

This fulfills the discipleship purpose

Committed Students

Committed students who discover their giftedness and want to express it through ministering to others

Students who discover their ministry potential do not graduate from their faith… they use what they’ve learned forever

They could have the opportunity to become student leaders helping move others through the funnel

Core Students

Realize that each group size will decrease as commitment increases

Focus on the word potential and start with who you have.


Evangelism isn’t a program, it’s a processEvangelism is tough work

Leaders approaching students could be seen as a threat

Fear of rejectionFear of not being understoodFear of not having the right answersFear of being labeled as a Jesus Freak

Reaching Community Students

Students need to understand that those outside of the faith are attracted to Christians before they are attracted to Christ

Lifestyle is an important factor of evangelismDon’t expect all of your students to be

evangelists, but do expect them to be evangelistic


Talk to students about how “we are going to grow!”

Implement Growth ProgramsFriendship Evangelism ProjectSmall Group Competition

Make sure you have a program or a service in place to accommodate the community students


Make sure you have a program to which your regular students can feel comfortable inviting their community friends

This service will have Christians and non-Christians

Don’t limit worship just to music- attempt to have praying, singing, giving, testifying, thanking, and listening to God’s Word.

Create a positive atmosphere of fun, student involvement, but with a clear message

Simplify your message

Keeping Crowd Students

Small groups are a great way to nurture the student who has graduated from the “Crowd.”

Small groups should provide more personal attention than larger programs

They provide a sense of belongingIn the “Crowd” you share the gospel, in small

groups, you share your lives


Small groups allow students to be knownSmall groups make students verbalSmall groups allow students to personalize

their faithSmall groups encourage accountable

relationships


Discipleship of committed students is helping them develop the habits, or spiritual disciplines, necessary to grow on their own when they’re no longer in the youth group

Youth ministries are full of Bible-literate students who know the right answers, but make the wrong daily choices

Preparing Committed Students

Encourage spiritual habits through the small groups of the “Congregation”

Have consistent time with God through prayer and Bible reading

Have an accountable relationship with another Christian

Understand and participate in giving/tithingMemorize ScriptureStudy the Bible on their own


Focus on encouragementGet small group leader to encourage growthEquip students with tools to develop habits

Quiet time journalAccountability Group PrayerBible memorization flashcard programQuestions to go along with Bible reading

teaching them how to dig deeper


Core students who are not the “ministry” type aren’t core students, they’re regulars

Sometimes getting students to do ministry isn’t as big a challenge as convincing the church congregation and leadership that teenagers can play a vital role in the body of Christ

Students shouldn’t have to move through the circles just to do ministry

Challenging Core Students

Don’t treat students as “The Future Church”A sign of a healthy church is one that helps all

Christians, regardless of age, to discover their gifts and express them through serving in ministry

Communicate Ministry MessagesCommunicate the joy of participatingRemind students that a life of observation is a

wasted life, but a life of participation in the work of the kingdom is the reason we were born

Teach students they were created for ministryHelp Students Discover Their Spiritual Gifts

Challenging Core Students

Documents

Youth Ministry