Priority: Youth |
One of the major reasons why we must take seriously the issues of cultural engagement and relevance, is for the sake of the youth. Reaching lost young people, and keeping Christian young people active and involved in the Church, should be a top priority for us - especially in today's world.
First, let's look at a few reasons why there may be a natural tendency within the Church to put youth ministry on the back burner:
- Most congregations are made up of older people. There is no question that many congregations are older than their surrounding populations. Congregants typically come to church to be served, rather than to reach out to those different from themselves.
- Most congregational leaders are older. Congregational leaders tend to be older, especially the ones with the most influence. Older leaders, who serve mostly older congregants, may tend to focus on accomodating their peers, rather than trying to understand a youth culture that is alien and unfamiliar. There is also still a large ultra-conservative constituent within the Church that considers rock-based music and much of contemporary culture to be morally inferior to old-fashioned worship and ways of life.
- Young people aren't a good source of revenue. Unfortunately, church financing is sometimes a factor in deciding who gets ministered to. Leaders find it tempting to only serve the needs of those who pay their salaries, who most often happen to be older professionals.
Why we must make youth evangelism and ministry a top priority:
1. Statistics:1
2. Increasing corruptive influences. Today's world is in a moral decline; therefore, today's youth are more vulnerable to corruption. Many of us live in a post-Christian West. Any mention of God has been taken out of our schools. Crime has increased. Drug use is common place. Things that were previously thought of as sinful and immoral are becoming accepted. Television, movies and music are being increasingly saturated with sex and violence, by a media that appeals to the right to free speech as a pretext to take less and less responsibility for our children's welfare. Never in modern times has a generation been in such danger of being held captive by Satan.
3. The children are our future. An aging Church that doesn't take stock in younger people is a Church without a future. The Church must pass the baton, or it will die off and cease to exist. It is the leaders of today that will determine the size and influence of the Church tomorrow. Will we invest in our future, or will we allow ourselves to dwindle?