Upgrading Youth Ministry - Justifying Youth Ministry (Part 1 of 2)

Reviewing the Series: Youth Ministry as a Means of Grace

As we've been going through this series on upgrading youth ministry, we've examined what we do on Friday nights, why we're here, and what we should be doing. We first looked at youth ministry as a means of grace—a place that creates the environment where God grants grace.

God gives grace through the ministry of His Word, preaching, the Lord's Supper, and baptism. These are symbols of the gospel that communicate its truth. Outside of these, I see no other reasons God has established for granting grace in this manner. While there's a personal relationship with God and the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts, the significant areas where God works are through these means.

We also explored why Christians gather: we've been called out of the world, sanctified, to hear from God, worship Him, serve Him, and bless one another.

Justifying Youth Ministry Within the Church

We know why the church gathers—God saves us, draws us out of the world into local congregations, much like Israel in the Old Testament, to hear from Him, worship Him, and bring Him glory. But why gather as a youth ministry? Why not just be the church?

As we upgrade youth ministry, we've applied principles of how believers gather. Yet we must justify separating into youth groups without creating divisions, as warned in 1 Corinthians. Some churches eliminate youth or children's ministries to avoid this, seeing them as glorified daycare rather than family shepherding. This can lead to extremes, rejecting organized gatherings altogether.

Scripture shows balanced gatherings: Acts 2 describes time in homes and the temple; Paul preached in synagogues. Multiple services or age-specific ministries raise similar questions, but we must avoid fractions while pursuing biblical principles.

The Clash: Normal vs. Scriptural Youth Ministry

Our upgrade contrasts normal youth ministry with scriptural youth ministry, echoing the Reformation's clash between tradition and Scripture. Is it more valuable to gather under God's direction or the latest trends—cultural, societal, or even church trends?

Following God brings His blessings. Two fundamental questions emerge:

1. Are you willing to stop what shouldn't be in youth ministry—or even stop youth ministry if there's insufficient biblical justification? Cease activities that deny principles of Christian gathering or fall outside scriptural instructions.
2. Are you willing to start what should be in youth ministry? Sometimes a complete do-over is needed, like scrapping a messed-up website code.

This is difficult amid cultural expectations of fun, entertainment, and popularity. Biblical youth ministry may incur reproach—called stale, too religious, or ruining social plans like dinner at Chili's because of extended Lord's Supper. Yet, is there truly a clash between normal and scriptural approaches?

Hosea 4:6
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

Here, lack of knowledge—rejecting God's knowledge—leads to destruction, specifically affecting children and youth. Not scientific or mathematical ignorance, but ignorance of God. If Old Testament people were destroyed for this, how can New Testament youth ministry benefit from ignorance of Scripture? We can't expect blessings by repeating actions that brought judgment.

What Happens Without the Word of God?

Consider Israel doing things "normally" outside God's Word:

2 Kings 22:8-20
And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” ... When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. ... “Go, inquire of the Lord for me ... because great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book ...”

She said to them, “Thus says the Lord ... Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place ... because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods ... But to the king of Judah ... because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord ... I also have heard you, declares the Lord.”

This "book" (likely Deuteronomy) was lost, allowing idolatry—not ceasing worship, but worshiping imagined gods or false versions of Yahweh, like Aaron's golden calf. Without Scripture (sola scriptura), people abandon God. Rediscovering it corrected Israel. With our full Bible, imagine drawing closer to God through biblical youth ministry.

What prevails: visually entertaining "normal" youth ministry, or a group dwelling in God's throne room? The draw to church and youth ministry should be drawing close to God through means of grace—additional opportunities to dive into His Word.

Justification from the Early Church

Youth ministry is justified by applying church principles to a specific age group, creating another means of grace. Recall the church's infancy:

Acts 2:42-47
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul ... All who believed were together and ...

Youth Ministry as Integral to the Church

They had all things in common and were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42, 44-47)

As much as it depended on the initial converts present in this passage, they acted unanimously. It is fundamentally important to understand that nothing we do in youth ministry—nothing we teach, nothing we present—should not in some way be true of the church in general. There is no appendix to Scripture with additions relating only to youth ministry. Youth ministry takes all the unanimous principles, doctrines, and theologies of Scripture and communicates them in a manner understandable—not watered down—to youth.

When we preach New Testament church principles on the unity of the body of Christ, we're not just talking about those present. The immediate application begins here, but avoiding divisions means taking what is learned in one ministry and using it to benefit the rest of the church. Any biblical truths applied in youth ministry should lead youth not just to bless other youth, but to serve the entirety of the body of Christ.

For example, when someone helps with worship on youth group night, it should not isolate them from the adult service. While music ministry governs that appropriately, often youth serve in youth worship but not universally. Another example: the youth pastor is sometimes not seen as on the same level as other pastors. Early in my youth ministry, I was recognized as a "youth guy," not a pastor, creating a hierarchy where adults went to adult pastors and kids to the youth pastor. Youth ministry was viewed apart from the church, and equipping saints in youth did not translate to equipping for church ministry.

Some question why we don't do missions as a youth ministry. We have a dedicated missions ministry where people devote time, study, and lives to gospel outreach locally and globally. Youth group focuses on equipping youth to be more godly Christians, which naturally translates to participating in missions. If we're not preaching the gospel in youth ministry, you can't do it in missions. We preach the Word to draw closer to God and grow like Christ.

Youth Equipped for Ministry Like Christ

Josiah was eight years old when he took the throne. In his eighteenth year, this happened. Some of you have heard me say Josiah was seventeen at his first church; John Calvin was about eighteen when he graduated with a law doctorate. It's not about the times or culture—biblically, you are not trying to become a better youth, but hearing from God to be like Christ. If like Jesus, what stops you, due to age, from ministering alongside adults?

There was a first-century evangelist, possibly about thirty or younger, whom Paul saw as worthy of ministry—reliable and trustworthy. His role was to establish churches as functioning New Testament churches, helping establish church government and function to glorify God.

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12)

He was told not to let anyone look down on his youth—not because he was a stellar youth, but because he could be an example in faith, love, and purity, like elders or Christ's humanity. His name was Timothy.

Justifying Youth Ministry

We justify youth ministry by individuals who draw close to God through His Word and minister effectively in the church. Don't see it as a four-year program, social hangout, or temporary attendance. See it like any church ministry: an opportunity to grow like Christ, be equipped to minister in the body, and launch into church service—taking truths from youth ministry to apply churchwide.

Too often, those leaving youth ministry see church as synonymous with youth experience—showing up occasionally, not organically integrated. It's like a growing body where the left arm treats growth like youth ministry and gets discarded, creating deficiency in Christ's body.

Means of Grace Youth Ministries

This is why we're changing from Face First Youth Ministries to Means of Grace Youth Ministries—to carry a banner of solid biblical truth, not trendy names. We want to be a means of grace: doing communion and baptisms on Friday nights, possibly without games to incorporate prayer, corporate confession, accountability for sanctification—things even more exciting.