It was great to read an honest, heartfelt description by Randal Scott in his article “Bursting the youth group bubble” (December 2010 NZ Baptist) of what has been a big issue within youth ministry for many years.

It’s so sad to see the statistics we have on how few young people, even out of youth groups perceived to be most “successful,” are no longer going on in their faith into adult life. We really need to introduce our young people to the reality of a gospel in which they respond and do and not just take.

I fully agree with the points he has brought out in his article, including the need to incorporate young people into the bigger picture of our church and ministries. For some years now we have been very proactive in making sure that the young people themselves are contributors, developers and owners of what we do and are involved at all levels, working with the adults – integrating them into the whole ministry and not just feeding off it.

When I was a youth pastor I quickly moved away from having separate youth services and youth events in church to having events for the whole church and community, integrating all ages. Children and young people need to be working with and walking alongside of all ages, gaining role models, coaches and mentors along the way.

I agree with his thoughts on Christian parents, but I’d take it even further than this and suggest we as communities of Christians are in essence family and parents to our kids and young people, not just the parents themselves. In a lot of ways this article is reminding us of the classic African proverb, “it takes a village to raise a child.” If we are to be effective in our ministry, then we need as churches and Christian ministries to be a “family” or “village” to our young people, each with a role to play in all aspects of their lives.

That’s why Scripture Union has been so committed to school ministry for over 75 years, as it is really important to have Christians walking alongside of our young people in their everyday lives. We need a team effort that takes our young people through a journey of faith, equipping, mentoring and developing them into life-long disciples.

– Andy Banks
Director of Youth Ministries, Scripture Union NZ