WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO IN five15
and he died for all
that those who live might no longer live for themselves
but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
2 Corinthians 5:15
Why do we do what we do? And why do we do it this way and not some
other way? As Christians, as a ministry, and as a church, these are
vitally important questions that we must answer with a thoroughly
biblical basis.
You won't find youth ministry in your concordance, but you
will find some related words that are very important. Taken together,
these words provide us with some key convictions that shape our
thinking about youth ministry:
1. CONVICTIONS ABOUT THE CHURCH
a. The Church is God's vehicle for the gospel to go forth (Acts, Eph, 1 Cor).
b. There are distinct demographic segments within the church, each with
unique opportunities and needs (Acts 6, John 1:12-14).
c. The irreducible minimum for the church is the Sunday meeting, where
God's people gather to worship God and submit themselves to the
preaching of God's Word. (Rom. 12:10; Gal. 5:13, 6:2; Eph. 4:2; 1
Ths. 5:11; many others).
2. CONVICTIONS ABOUT THE FAMILY
a. Children are a gift from God (Ps. 127:3, etc.).
b. The responsibility of raising godly children into mature, believing
adulthood lies primarily with parents (Dt. 6; Eph. 6:1-4; Proverbs).
c. Parents have limitations in their time, gifts, skill, and knowledge
to train their children. Therefore, help from others (the church) is
necessary (Pr. 3:7-8; Romans 12:3-4; 1 Cor 12:12-27; many others).
d. There exists a generational responsibility to convey the truth of the gospel (Dt. 6; Ps. 78:4; Ps. 145:4-7; 2 Tim 3:15).
e. The spiritual family transcends the biological (Mk. 3:35).
3. CONVICTIONS ABOUT THE PASTOR
a. Pastors are under-shepherds of the great Shepherd, Jesus Christ (1 Pt. 5:1-3; Ac. 20:28, cf. Jer. 23 and Ez. 34).
b. Pastors have a job do to among God's people: make disciples and equip the saints for ministry. (Mt. 28:19; Eph. 4:11).
c. Pastors will one day give account for God's people (Heb. 13:17).
4. CONVICTIONS ABOUT THE TEENAGER
a. Scripture has a lot to say to and about young people (Proverbs; others).
b. Teenagers are capable of genuine faith (Samuel, David, Solomon, Timothy).
c. As youth, teenagers are immature, and require guidance and instruction to reach mature godly adulthood.
These theological convictions are helpful to us in describing why we
do what we do, but they don't tell us much about what we should do or
how we should do it. There are perhaps many valid and legitimate ways
we could walk out youth ministry based on the above convictions. Here
at Sovereign Grace Church, we see three priorities that emerge from
these theological convictions. This is what we do in five15:
1. BUILD THEM INTO CHRIST.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is our central message (1 Cor. 15:3) and our
motive for all we do (2 Cor 5:15). This means that the preaching of
God's Word holds a central place in the life of our youth ministry.
Thus, to build teens into Christ must include building them into His
Word. So, the first commitment of our philosophy of ministry is to
build teens into Christ, to do all in our power to help them know Jesus
Christ, love Him, and live for Him.
2. BUILD THEM INTO THEIR PARENTS.
Ours is a culture that has radically eroded the role of
parents in teenage lives. It has been said that today's children are
getting older younger. That is, teens are claiming for themselves and
culture is driving them towards increased independence from parental
authority and guidance at ever younger ages.
The best thing our youth ministry can do for the teen is to build
them into their parents. This means asking parents to attend youth
meetings, retreats, missions trips, and other events with their teens.
We further seek to create as many opportunities as possible to equip
parents to evangelize and/or disciple their teens, and we are regularly
on the lookout to create opportunities to promote interaction and
fellowship between parents and teens.
3. BUILD THEM INTO THE CHURCH.
While parents bear primary responsibility for parenting their
children, there is a day on the horizon when teens will move out of the
house, and a parent's formal responsibility for their kids will end
(though in a God-glorifying relationship, the interaction and influence
will continue). Our hope and prayer is that these young adults will be
functioning and fruitful members of the local church by this time. All
our efforts are being poured into preparing them for this.
These priorities may get worked out in a variety of ways. Our
methods (how we do what we do) may take many forms and may change from
time to time. We currently use BIG MEETINGS, not-so-big meetings, the
five15 Retreat, Mexico trips, and many other methods to accomplish the
above priorities.
We conclude by recognizing the urgency of youth ministry. As D. A.
Carson explained, the church is never more than one generation from
extinction. Therefore, our motive for youth ministry is to build the
church that it might be preserved for future generations. Could there
be a greater tragedy than to pour out our strength only to lose our
future generation to the trappings of the world? Can we bear to watch,
as our eyes grow dim, the light of the gospel fade from our church
because we did build for the future day when we can no longer fan its
spark into flame?
We remain confident that the future of the Church is safe in
Christ's hands. The security of the gospel in this county and in the
world for decades to come is not finally our responsibility. But we
also know that we have a responsibility to the future of this church.
Our motives are not sufficient to sustain this church through the
trials and temptations that are to come. We must do something, and by
defining why we do what we do, we are cutting a channel into which we
can pour our strength and our effort, knowing that we are being
faithful to what God has called us to do, and trusting that God will be
faithful to bring forth fruit from our efforts.
Let's get busy. Soli Deo Gloria.
Steve Whitacre