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Monthly youth leaders column

Gangland youth groups?

Whatever happened to the ‘Youth Fellowship’ or, if you go back even farther, ‘Youth Squash’?

Perhaps you’ve adopted more trendy titles like THE GaNG, which, I understand is a mnemonic for ‘The Hyperactive Evangelical Growth and Nourishment Group’. Words for titles can occupy committees for many happy hours, but I suspect youth groups spend less time thinking about the purpose of their groups than they do about their trendy titles.

Why do you meet?

Does your group simply meet because it met last week or it’s been part of church life for many years so somebody needs to keep it going? It’s always met on Friday at 7.30 so it always will, even though the numbers have dramatically reduced without us ever asking why. THE GaNG, despite its length, may be a title that gives us some help. Hyperactivity is rarely a sign of godliness, but ‘evangelical’ may begin to define what we do. Any youth group should be a place where the gospel is proclaimed — if that doesn’t happen, it may as well be a tennis or a rugby club. We teach Jesus, we talk about Jesus, we try to live like Jesus, not to acquire huge amounts of knowledge but to become more Christ-like in character. It’s easy to find very ‘clever’ groups where the message has not travelled the huge distance from the head to the heart and young people are intellectually challenged and love to debate but lifestyle is not on the agenda. ‘Evangelical’ is not just about debating doctrine — it is about following the Son of God who saved us. Our group must reflect that priority.

That leads us to the second title word and the ‘G’ which is ‘growth’. That should be part of the life of our groups in two ways. How do you know your young people are growing — does it worry you as long as they keep coming? It should!!! Growth in numbers should never be an obsession but, if the gospel is attractive, it should attract both through its members and its activities. But, at the heart of our group should be an interaction with God’s word which challenges the values and lifestyle of our young people. Growth can sometimes be painful, but our job is to ‘present them mature’ in any way we can. I’ve been in some groups where just turning up is the only thing that’s commended and any sense of challenge to grow in Christ is too threatening and we fear they might leave because it’s all too challenging. That is pandering to mediocrity and will never grow mature believers.

Tasty?

That leads us to ‘N’ for nourishment. There’s nothing worse than going out for a meal and finding the restaurant is not very good. To survive in the culture they inhabit, young people need nourishment. That will involve teaching but will also include other things as well. Care for the individual facing pressure at home or support for someone facing the pressures of their academic life. Help for the young person being pulled into a cultural scene which they find hard to resist.

At the core of THE GaNG is a teaching ministry centred on God’s word and anointed by his Spirit, but it must be seen as the ministry of a pastor/teacher. Too often we neglect the first bit.

At the start of a new school year, it is right to reflect on what your group is about. What are your emphases — why do you do the things you do and are God’s purposes being worked out in the lives of the young people you serve?

Dave Fenton