Five Things a Youth Ministry Can Be Transformed Into

(found at NCFIC)

If you have not read Scott Brown's article, The Greatest Untapped Evangelistic Opportunity Before the Modern Church, I would highly recommend visiting it after reading these points:

1. Begin a mentorship program for men. If there will be a spark of reformation in the church and family, it will start with the reformation of the lives of it’s men. A godly man will be influential in the lives of his wife and children, and will lead them before the altar of God on a daily basis.

2. Teach young married couples how to raise a family. Let’s face it, the 60’s and 70’s has produced a generation that trusts Dr. Spock more than the inerrant Word of God when it comes to child rearing. A church would do well to help couples set their homes in order right from the start. Unlearning all of the cultural bad habits will take some time, but it will reap a harvest for generations.

3. Divert the money that was to be spend on youth ministry. All the funds raised for trips and parties, could be used to support orphans and widows in their time of distress. This includes Christian, repentant single mothers, who want to stay under the covering of the church and raise their children, but have no way of financially doing so. If the church would place this as a priority, it could produce vast changes in the landscape of modern youth.

4. Hit the streets with full family outreach. Take whole families to distribute food at a homeless shelter, visit nursing homes, pass out gospel tracts in the city. Don’t let the children just hear the stories from the pulpits; let them see their fathers doing it in front of them.

5. Take in interns. There are going to be plenty of young men who want to see how a family integrated church is properly run and how family worship is conducted. Take them into your homes and walk closely beside them. Make quality discipleship, according to the Scriptures, a priority.

Fred Wolfe trained for Ministry at Johnson University and preached as an Emergent Church pastor for ten years before submitting to reformed theology and a true gospel. Fred is also a former youth minister, published poet, writer, and blogger. He is the father of five children and has been married for 15 years.