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 PrintableVersion A lost generation?In April, a study entitled ‘The Cost of Exclusion’ said that a million young people in Britain are facing the probability of a lifetime on benefits and that the rising tide of youth crime is costing £1 billion a year. Over Easter there were yet more murders of young people apparently by other young people in Manchester and London. The country had previously been shocked by the murders of Billy Cox, Michael Dosunmu, James Andre Smartt Ford, Odwayne Barnes, Kodjo Yenga and Adam Regis. These young men were all under 17 years old, and all killed by other young men. In response, we may ask what the government should do, but I want to ask, what will we (evangelical churches) do? I also have to say, in considering our current response, that very few of the hundreds of young offenders I have personally met have had contact with evangelical churches. To be fair, I know most of our churches are located outside urban areas, but troubled young people are not just in London. I am sure that near many of our small town churches, there are groups of young people ‘hanging around’. Is this an issue for us?For a number of years I was a Sunday school teacher. In my class, I had about 12 boys. Two are now serving life for murder. Were they monsters, who had the devil in their eyes, even at that young age? No. They were badly behaved (at times), but the reality for inner-city young men is that some will become involved in violence, and others will be victims of it. If you have worked with similar young people, this won’t surprise you, and, sadly, neither will recent events. But are our churches prepared to commit to reaching young people who desperately need Christ? For some, faith in Christ will not just save their souls, it may also save their lives. This is difficult for a church, because there can be a cost. Young men can be disruptive, church members may not want them with their children, and there can be little fruit. But does not the Great Commission compel us to seek the salvation of all who surround us? Were we not dead in our sins, as are the young men who make up the street gangs? The same applies to the ‘goths’ who hang around town centres drinking alcohol. They also need the gospel. So what are we to do?If we are to take the commands of Christ seriously, I believe we are obligated in the strength that our God supplies and with the resources he has provided, to seek those whom God is drawing for the expansion of his kingdom. I make some suggestions from things I have observed over the years. To do this work we need miracles, we need the dead raised. If your church is in a big city and you are prepared to put yourselves out, you will meet young people whom no one knows what to do with, aside from locking them up. We need to pray for wisdom, protection, relationships, so many things, especially their salvation. We can do nothing unless God blesses. Negative influencesIn our youth work, I believe we have been influenced negatively by two movements. The first is ‘revivalism’. While I do not negate that God has used Billy Graham, one method he used has not assisted our youth work. ‘Revivalism’ has been influential in what I call the ‘ten-minute evangelistic talk’ model. Now, I contend that nowhere in the Bible is youth work condensed into a ‘ten-minute evangelistic talk’. I would argue a more biblical model is that of ‘catechesis’, where young people are systematically taught the great truths of Scripture. I therefore propose we need to go beyond a simple ‘seek the Lord Jesus and repent’. Of course, this is a vital part, but we need to go deeper. We are in a post-Christian society, where young people do not have the Christian categories, so we need to go back to basics and teach our beliefs about God, about people, what God has done in Christ, etc. The second negative influence, I believe, is the ‘homogenous unit principle’ (HUP). This idea comes from the Church Growth movement, and posits that people come to faith easier surrounded by their own social group, as there is less of a wrench in making the spiritual/social move to Christianity. We see its influence in all kinds of niche congregations, professionals, students, youth, etc., leading to certain groups prioritised over others. But when we look in the Bible in the Book of Acts, all God’s people are together (Pentecost reversing Babel, etc.) and are sent out to reach all. The HUP can be seen in how we run separate youth works for ‘church’ and ‘non church’ young people, and where young people come into the church for a club but have no contact with the wider church. We must expose all our young people to worship, to see baptism and communion, to the Word preached and to the wider all age fellowship. Now, maybe we need to think how to do this, but we can never teach in a segregated group. Be wise and planAs I have already said, this can be difficult work, so planning is vital. Sit down and think about the following: What leaders do you have? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Do you have enough? What space do you have and what kind of activities does it allow? Can you supervise all areas at all times? How will you teach the gospel and how will you make it plain to them? How will you create an environment for discussion of the gospel and where spiritual interest can be encouraged? How will you discipline? Are all your leaders clear on how this is done, so they will not over react, nor feel they are powerless? How will you facilitate contact with parents/carers? How will you enable a progression into and contact with the wider church? Get out ‘on the road’Deuteronomy 31.12-13 contains a very interesting command — ‘assemble the people, men, women and children and the aliens living in your towns — so that they can listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and follow carefully all the words of this law. Their children, who do not know this law ‘must hear it and learn to fear the Lord your God’. What are the young people around the church like? Go out and meet them. The great advantage of being in an inner city area or out-of-town council estate is that there are young people just hanging around with little to do, and parents/carers may also be out and about to whom you can introduce yourselves as well. Of course, great care and sensitivity must be taken and it is foolish to go out on your own or in single sex groups. But a mixed group of adults, handing out leaflets inviting young people and telling carers about a work you are starting, is a relatively simple way to begin your youth work. Be long termI have recently been involved in a new teenage boys club. Sadly, in our area there are boys who are headed for an early grave, but currently we do not have the resources to reach them. God willing, a time will come when we have the opportunity and the workers, to get them in. Seek to build young people’s work which will last for years: where, in time, you will have most of the neighbourhood’s children passing through your doors; where from age four they will be taught the gospel, in its entirety; where you will not just preach at them and assume they get it, but where the gospel will be carefully and sensitively explained and there is ample opportunity for discussion. And the young people will be fed into the wider church, exposed to God’s people, with opportunities taken to reach their families taken. An exampleA few years ago, there was a poll on who was the greatest ever Briton. My vote would have gone to Charles Spurgeon. Not only was he a Reformed Baptist, he was also very evangelistic and opposed slavery. But there is another side to Spurgeon. Arnold Dallimore records the work of his church in operating orphanages and ragged schools. Spurgeon looked around, read his times and acted. A proportion of the young people in our cities are in desperate situations and, sadly, many more will die young or spend long periods in our prisons. The ‘goths’ around our suburban churches are equally needy in spiritual terms. How does the grace we have been shown affect us? Is reaching out to young people not commanded as part of the Great Commission and one of the ‘good works’ which God prepared in advance for us to do? Colin Thomas,
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