Monthly youth leaders column

How old can you be and still do youth ministry? We seem to have invented some kind of cultural barrier which suggests that 23 is about as old as you can get before you become totally irrelevant to young people. I admit I argue this from a position of bias as I have been doing youth ministry for many years. I’ll leave you to guess.

This strikes at the heart of what youth ministry is about. If it is primarily about being culturally engaged, then you ceased to be relevant at 18 (or younger) so nobody qualifies for youth leadership. The 19-year-old student is in a different world to the 17-year-old living at home and many worlds removed from the 23-year-old young married or single person. So, if ministry is about understanding each other’s culture, it is a concept that’s dead in the water.

From ‘father’ to ‘son’

But that isn’t the biblical model. There seems to be a concept of wisdom and discernment that needs to be passed from one generation to the next. ‘Tell it to your children and let your children tell it to their children’, says Joel 1.3. This has to be the primary activity of youth ministry. Paul passed on his understanding and wisdom to ‘his dear son’ Timothy, not so that Timothy could cling to it, but that he too could pass it on. If we believe that in the Scriptures we have the whole truth and nothing but the truth, how can those who serve in youth ministry have any other central purpose? Sure, we get involved in cultural or creative activity but our central purpose must remain teaching the next generation the whole counsel of God.

Perhaps it is because other things have become more important. Some youth groups focus on sport and, of course, you need fit young things to make that happen. Younger leaders are crucial to youth ministry not just because they are young and energetic but because they are the teachers of the future — that is their most precious asset. I have met some youth leaders who have great energy and great presence in a group but do not focus the attention of the group on the things of God.

Biblical wisdom

In the mix of our teams, it is vital that we try to have some more mature people in the team. Their experience of walking with God cannot be obtained by reading a training manual — it comes from the crucible of life. As I have gone through different stages of my own ministry I have to consider how my role is changing. But the central purpose hasn’t changed — it is to see young people grow to maturity.

One final caution. There are those who go on too long — who don’t have the grace to retire. But I know of one man in ministry who is a little older than me who still has all the skills to sit with young people with their Bibles open and learn truth from his understanding of Scripture and life experience of Christ. You can’t buy that. He is not cool, trendy, musically up to date. He probably doesn’t know the difference between ITV and MTV. But young people love to go to him and he will give them biblical wisdom from above.

Our teams need to be balanced, neither full of aged saints or full of young energetic 20-year-olds. We need both because they have benefit for our young people and for each other.

So if you grow old full of grace you still have a role.

Growing old gracefully

From ‘father’ to ‘son’

Biblical wisdom

Dave Fenton