Youth ministry is one of the greatest passions in my life. However, recently I have heard from people that youth ministry doesn't work...that it sets teenagers up to fall away from the church after they are too old to attend youth events. I can see how a youth ministry run improperly can do this. Just imagine being a teenager that has attended a youth service regularly at your church and were never involved in the "big" church, now you've graduated from high school and can no longer attend youth services. Suddenly you're forced to find a way to blend into the main church without the support and guidance of the youth pastor that has been your leader for the last 4 years. It can be a very difficult transition. This is why there is such a huge number of college-aged young people that stop attending church...they don't know how to fit in at the next level.



Does this mean that youth ministry has out-lived its purpose and high schoolers should be able to get all of they need from the church in the regular Sunday morning service? Or does it simply mean that we as a church need to re-invent the way youth ministry is done? I for one strongly believe its the latter. I know when I was at that age, I loved having that service that I could call my own. And I firmly believe that to effectively deal with most issues that teens face, they need to have some sense of privacy from their parents (because let's face it, most teens aren't going to open up about sexuality or drugs and alcohol with their parents there). Also in a Sunday morning service, I don't feel that teens would get the direct attention that they need to help them develop. I believe that the teen years are the most important in the development of Christ followers. It is during these years that they start to evolve into the follower that they will be for the rest of their lives.

So to put it bluntly, I do NOT feel that youth ministry has out-lived its purpose...and while it may be dying a little in this country, its only because its not being done properly in many cases. I do feel that youths should be involved in the main congregation and worship services, but I also believe whole-heartedly that they need to have their own services as well.

I understand that most teenagers nowadays have knowledge about more mature subject matter than even when I was a teen, and I'm only 25...but having knowledge of what certain things are, is not the same as having understanding on the topic. Basically, knowledge is not the same as wisdom...and in most cases in a Sunday morning service, subject matters like sex (which is probably the number one issue that teens face) is discussed in ways that pertain to adults, not teens. The struggles and temptations that teens face in that area is far different from the ones that adults face.

In closing, I'll just say that I for one wish that there were more effective youth ministries out there, because I really feel that we are losing a generation due to the lack of them. I'm interested to hear others' thoughts on this topic.