youth ministry
Why it matters where your youth group meets
Robin Barfield
Over the last few months, I have suggested that we need to rethink a dynamic that is focused on being ‘top-down’, so focused on teaching the Bible that we may have lost sight of the needs and views of the young people.
This shows itself in what we think our role as adults should be. This could also be understood by considering whether we are ministering ‘to’ the young people, or whether we are ministering ‘for’ them or ‘with’ them. Each will suggest radically different approaches.
More Scottish youth reached
Luke Randall
Scripture Union (SU) Scotland have revealed that they connected with about 5% of Scotland’s young people in the year to August 2024 and have seen their reach return to pre-pandemic levels.
The organisation’s 2023/24 annual review revealed that their engagement with more than 35,100 of Scotland’s 702,000 young people ensured that they met a long-term goal set in 2019 to reach 5% of the country’s population, after only reaching about 2% that year.
youth ministry
Walking side by side: the adult's role in youth ministry
Robin Barfield
In my previous articles, I suggested that the dynamic of youth ministry revolves around the encounter between God and your young people in Scripture. I have suggested that young people need a voice in youth ministry to enable them to be able to work through questions, struggles and doubts. But what of you, the adult? What is your role in youth ministry?
Some models of youth ministry elevate the young people so much that the adult must be verbally absent. I am not saying that, although I have suggested it may be that we need to stop and listen more. Other models put the adult in the place of God as His mouthpiece - there is an element of that in preaching as there is external revelation to be communicated. But I would suggest that is not the key dynamic. This can often lead to the adult being the all-knowing guru, the sage on the stage, which can bring dangers of spiritual abuse and hero worship.
Defending the Youth and Children's Worker: Taking on the gospel teaching
In my article last month, we started looking at whether there was a place for a Youth and Children's worker in today's church.
We began to do so by establishing that while the family has a role in bringing up children to follow Jesus, the church also has a key role to play.