Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

Youth Ministry Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with young people who attend th ...

is a

Christian Ministry In Christianity, ministry is an activity carried out by Christians to express or spread their faith, the prototype being the Great Commission. The '' Encyclopedia of Christianity'' defines it as "carrying forth Christ's mission in the world", in ...

intended to instruct and disciple

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

s in what it means to be a Christian, how to mature as a Christian, and how to encourage others to claim

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

as their Saviour through

Evangelism In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are i ...

and

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...

. This is accomplished through teaching, relationship building and/or

mentoring Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

. Youth ministries may vary widely depending on their denomination, size,

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

outlook and geographic location. The ministries themselves are almost always built on relationships between the youth minister and the

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

and their shared perception of their relationship to

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. Youth have become an integral part of nearly every church’s ministry programming, and youth ministries continue to have a profound impact on the societies in which they exist. The doctrine of Sunday Sabbatarianism held by many Christian denominations encourages practices such as Sunday School attendance as it teaches that the entirety of the Lord's Day should be devoted to God; as such many children and teenagers often return to church in the late afternoon for youth group before attending an evening service of worship.

History of Youth Ministry

''While youth organizations exist worldwide, the history section of this article will put a special focus on the development of youth ministry in America.'' The beginnings of Youth Ministry were in the mid-19th century, in the wake of the

industrial revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...

. Churches took note of all the young men who moved into central urban areas to work in factories. Laypersons who noticed these young adults working six days a week and gallivanting about town on Sundays aspired to educate them. Thus early Youth Ministry began when churches brought older children and teenagers into classrooms to teach them how to read the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. Early Ministry was designed for unchurched children with no formal education; while the primary goal of early Youth Ministry was education, a desirable secondary effect was that students would realize through Biblical passages that they are

sinners In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

in need of forgiveness. Sundayschool1900

Eventually, churches opened up Sunday school to church members and unchurched children and teens alike. Teachers encouraged the students to bring their friends along, and the movement gained momentum. Laypersons would often work independently, neither subjecting themselves to congregational scrutiny nor receiving church funding. This fostered the development of

interdenominational Interdenominationalism is an evangelical Protestant movement of cooperation among various Christian denominations. History The movement has its origins in the founding of the London Missionary Society, a missionary society, in 1795 by variou ...

teaching programs and, eventually, faith-based organizations devoted to youth such as the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

and

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

, whose American branches were founded in the 1850's. The most recognizable effort to offer periodic Bible studies, social networking and outreach opportunities for youth was spearheaded by

Francis Edward Clark Francis Edward Clark (12 September 1851 – 26 May 1927) was an American clergyman. Life Clark was born of New England ancestry in Aylmer, Quebec, Canada. He was the son of Charles C. Symmes, but took the name of an uncle, the Rev. E.W. Clark, ...

. He began the Christian Endeavor Society in 1881. Clark wanted to change the view of young people in churches from “pitchers waiting to be filled” to young adults “responsible for larger service in the church of Christ.” The Christian Endeavor Society revolutionized youth ministry and became extremely popular in its first years of operation. Clark set the limit for each society at 80 members. By 1887, there were 700 societies with over 50,000 members spread out across 33 states. One common speculation is that churches in the 1880s became fearful that they would lose all of their young members to these societies. In response, mainstream denominations began their own youth organizations modelled after the Christian Endeavor Society. Some examples are the

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

church’s

Epworth League Founded in 1889, the Epworth League is a Methodist young adult association for people aged 18 to 35. It had its beginning in Cleveland, Ohio, at its Central Methodist Church on May 14 and 15, 1889. There was also a Colored Epworth League. Before ...

, or the Lutheran’s Luther League. These new church-based organizations, as well as interdenominational ones already in existence, flourished, increasing in attendance and international outreach involvement as a part of

faith-based foreign aid Faith-based may refer to: * Faith-based organization * Faith-based community organizing * Faith-based school * White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships The White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships ...

. After World War I, the focus of many youth ministries began to shift from outreach and

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to education and understanding of

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

. It was during this time that teenagers began to think theologically as well as gain a social awareness of the world around them. From the 1930's to the 1960's, the churches emphasized

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

and theological understanding. Before 1940, it was the pastor’s job to do everything in the church, including youth fellowships. During the late 1940's there was some introduction of church youth committees - youth were returning from the war with great life-experience and they could not be kept out of leadership in the church just because they were in their twenties. The 1940's was also the beginning of Parachurch Ministries.

Young Life Young Life is an evangelical Christian organization based in Colorado Springs, Colorado which focuses on young people in middle school, high school, and college. Week-long Summer camps are a major focus, and these have a definite evangelizing asp ...

was founded by

Jim Rayburn Jim Rayburn, Jr (July 21, 1909 – December 11, 1970) was an American ordained Presbyterian minister and the founder of Young Life. Early life and education He was born in Marshalltown, Iowa to James Chalmers Rayburn, Sr. (an evangelist for the ...

in 1941. The Young Life Parachurch Model proved to be effective at reaching young people for Christ, and by the early 1950's, Parachurch Youth Ministries with full-time staff flourished.

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

was the first full-time parachurch worker for

Youth for Christ Youth For Christ (YFC) is a worldwide Christian movement working with young people, whose main purpose is evangelism among teenagers. It began informally in New York City in 1940, when Jack Wyrtzen held evangelical Protestant rallies for teenagers ...

(YfC) in the USA. This movement spread quickly around the world. During the 1950's, Parachurch Ministries grew rapidly in most Christianized countries, and the focus of activity was on large events, known as rallies, and stadium events, known as Crusades. The emphasis was on promoting inter-church activities (between local denominational churches) – mainly in the format of youth rallies – the type of stadium events made popular by YfC. The 1960's were characterized by campus ministries. Many college-aged students did not have their theological needs met by these fellowship groups; soon thereafter, even younger adolescents began to see their organizations as institutionalized and irrelevant. Denominations stopped publishing youth group (Sunday School) resources and large group gatherings dwindled down into small meetings and then into nothing. Then specific church-based activities for youth emerged, as Friday night youth groups began. During the 1970's, many denominations implemented strategies for modernizing existing Youth Ministry in the hopes of reviving it. This is the point where differences in Youth Ministry started to emerge on a denominational basis instead of organization to organization. Youth ministries operate in different ways today, but most of them have the same set of goals, which will be discussed in the ''Goals of Youth Ministry'' subsection of this article. During the early 1980's, the counselling revolution hit the church with its emphasis on honesty and openness. Professional counsellors began to be employed in churches. This influenced youth groups and the Bible study meetings became "fellowship groups" or "home groups" with an emphasis on caring and meeting people. It was also during the 1980's that a large number of local church youth pastors began expressing the desire to stay in Youth Ministry as a lifelong career. The 1990's saw the start an emerging church movement, and many of the youth leaders from the 1970's and 1980's were pioneers in this approach. During the 1990's there was also a move to create international interaction between different youth structures. Pioneers in this approach are the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry (IASYM). More recently, despite Francis Edward Clark's original intent for youth ministry to raise young adults “responsible for larger service in the Church of Christ,” studies indicate significant numbers of young people are not transitioning into the Adult Church from Youth Ministry after graduation from high school. As a result, more churches are scrutinizing their traditional Youth Ministry programming and working to engage parents and the Adult Church more fully with the young people and involve young people more deeply in the work of the church.

Youth Ministry Institute

Many faithful organizations like the Princeton Theological Seminary Institute for Youth Ministry, Youth Ministry Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary, Schaeffer Institute of Church leadership and Into Thy Word ministries have been wholeheartedly committed to and involved in Youth Ministry research for over for 30 years. In 1978, Francis Schaeffer said: Youth Ministry is perhaps the most important Ministry of The Church and it is essential that we are willing and committed to reach students for the Christian faith before they enter College. Richard Krejcir, an avid researcher and Youth Pastor states, “After a student leaves the safe and fun youth culture of a caring church, even a great one, there is a 70%+ chance they will never come back to any church? Why is that? There are a multitude of reasons, but from our research and experience during over 30 years of doing Youth Ministry, we have found the number one reason to be that most churches and Youth Pastors spend very little time in mentoring and teaching their youth.” The Schaeffer Institute states, “Many youth are not being taught to read and study the Bible or how to pray or understand Christian basics, and thus they tend not to develop a firm foundation of faith. So, when they are occupied in college life and in the world, they get clobbered and lose what little faith they have built up!”

Composition of Youth Ministry in America

Youth ministry today is a large part of American Christian

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

. In

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

alone there are over 3,500 youth organizations operating today. Despite denominational difference, there are basic practices and goals that most youth groups have in common.

Basics of Youth Ministry

Most youth groups tend to follow a similar organizational model. The church that supports them will provide an allocation of funds to use for the activities of the group. It also will employ a paid staff member or volunteer to lead the group, known as the

Youth Pastor Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry of faith groups or other religious organizations, usually from ages 12 to 30, whose mission is to involve and engage with young people who attend th ...

, Youth Minister, Pastor of Student Ministries, Youth Leader, or other similar terms. This person can be either a layperson, hold a religious degree, or be a member of the ordained clergy, depending on the needs and resources of the church. Their duties may include orchestrating the activities of the group (in particular, the content of the regular meetings below), providing pastoral care for the members of the youth group, managing a budget for the youth group, and serving as a liaison between the youth and adult bodies of the congregation. Today's youth ministries hold regular meetings, often at the same time as adult functions at the church. Youth group meetings generally feature the same types of activities as a Sunday morning church service; modified to reflect the culture of the age groups involved. Services may include a time for

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

game A game is a structured form of play (activity), play, usually undertaken for enjoyment, entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator s ...

s or other activities as well as fellowship through conversation and/or food, and

prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

. Many youth ministers also present a

sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. ...

or devotional. It's common for youth groups to attend Christian

summer camps Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...

each year. Most denominations arrange their Youth Ministry programs according to related educational levels. American churches tend to separate youth by grade level, creating smaller sub-groups within a youth ministry program. These distinctions usually fall between middle school and high school. Traditionally, elementary age children and below have separate programs altogether, though this, too, may be managed by the same youth pastor. Some youth groups even extend up through college students, creating an additional sub-group often referred to as "college and career".

Goals of Youth Ministry

The primary goal of most modern-day Youth Ministries is to teach youth the Biblical Doctrines of Christ and

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

, as well as to encourage them to regularly

pray Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified a ...

. This is different from the original education/

literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...

-centered programs of Sunday schools during the 19th century. Churches provide money for youth groups in order for their purposes to be furthered, and the stated purpose of many churches is to share the content of the Bible with the world. This is why the structure of many youth ministry services are centered around a sermon, the Biblical teaching presented at these meetings. Before the turn of the 21st century, many denominations placed less emphasis on the role of youth in the church. It is more important now than ever before that young people should “serve in church-wide responsibilities.” Churches now encourage teenagers to evangelize at their age, rather than waiting until adulthood to spread the Gospel. In addition, many sermons are delivered with the intent for youth to come to know Christ personally - if they have not done so already. Once they do, emphasis is often placed on spiritual growth. Many youth groups, like the churches they may be associated with, vie to embark on mission trips. These acts of faith-based foreign aid often involve service projects alongside sharing the Gospel. Youth groups often teach topics related to

Christian apologetics Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in ...

, drawing from books by Christian thinkers such as

John Lennox John Carson Lennox (born 7 November 1943) is a Northern Irish mathematician, bioethicist and Christian apologist. He has written many books on religion, ethics, the relationship between science and faith (like his books, ''Has Science Buried Go ...

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

, John Polkinghorne,

Francis Collins Francis Sellers Collins (born April 14, 1950) is an American physician-geneticist who discovered the genes associated with a number of diseases and led the Human Genome Project. He is the former director of the National Institutes of Health (N ...

and

William Lane Craig William Lane Craig (born August 23, 1949) is an American analytic philosopher, Christian apologist, author and Wesleyan theologian who upholds the view of Molinism and neo-Apollinarianism. He is Professor of Philosophy at Houston Baptist ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Youth Ministry (Evangelical) Evangelical parachurch organizations Christian youth organizations Protestant education Youth organizations based in the United States