The Spectrum of Focus in Youth Ministry, Part 2

dan miller @ http://www.sharperiron.org reviews elements of youth ministry. He notes the:

Focus on Our Youth

Proverbs 22:6, ESV

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

1 Timothy 3:4, NIV

He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect.

Cause or Effect

Focus on Unbelieving Teens

Matthew 9:10-13, NIV

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ’sinners’?”

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Matthew 28:19-20, NIV

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

• Baptism
• “Teaching . . . to obey everything” is the last step. We always have more to learn, no matter how mature we might think we are. See Philippians 3:12-16.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 gives us a look into a major motivating factor for Paul. His desire was to give the gospel and to “save some.” When Paul was with Jews, he used one behavior; when he was with gentiles he used another. Note that Paul’s motivating principle was reaching those who were lost. Paul’s focus was on unbelievers, and that focus changed his behavior. “To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law.” Verse 21 shows us that sometimes Paul did the opposite: “To those outside the law I became as one outside the law . . . that I might win those outside the law.”

To learn from Paul, we must see that the difference in Paul’s behavior was influenced by practical considerations.

Colossians 4:5, ESV

Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

Limits

Learning

He closes with his Church's Vision Statement:

Desiring to reflect the glory of God in all things.

And theirVision/Mission Statement for youth ministry:

Desiring to reflect the glory of God in young people by relying on the grace of God and by using the gifts, abilities, and passions of the leaders and students, in order to bring teens into the body of Christ, to help them build up their faith, and to improve their Christian walk.