by Church Central 06 Mar 2007

For churches with a large teen population, an interest in youth ministry may be a given. However, some congregations that don’t have many teens are also interested in youth ministry as a way to attract more young people. Whatever the motivation, youth ministry is  essential to a church's future.

"Most churches see investing in the next generation as somehow optional or only for big or rich churches," says Mark DeVries, a consultant with Youth Ministry Architects. "But really, the core identity of all churches should be to pass on their faith to the next generation."

DeVries works to help churches build a solid foundation for long-term, deep-impact ministries to teens. Drawing on his experience as the associate pastor for youth and families at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tenn., for the past 19 years, he wrote the book "Family Based Youth Ministry." His articles and reviews have been published in The Christian Century, Theology Today, Group, and Youthworker Journal.

DeVries spoke with Church Central recently about the essentials of a healthy youth ministry.

Often churches are thinking about youth ministry because parents of teens in the church are anxious and need support. Many times parents will be the driving force behind a church beginning a youth ministry. If the church doesn't respond, these parents will leave.

There is also a mission sense some churches have about youth ministry; that it’s not just about the kids in the church, but also about the kids in the neighborhood.

Most churches are vastly undercapitalized in their youth ministry and are getting the results they pay for. They don’t have a long-term plan, only short-term hires. Churches think the secret to a great youth ministry is to hire a great youth minister—a superstar. Sometimes they hit on a superstar, but in between times they have nothing. Often, even if a church hires a great youth minister, they have no infrastructure for a ministry that this staff member can work with—no floor for the superstar to dance on.

Youth Ministry 101 Resources Books "Your First Two Years in Youth Ministry" by Doug Fields Fun, well-written introduction to all the components of youth ministry Consultants Youth Ministry Architects Other Group Publishing Simply Youth Ministry Youth Specialties

A healthy youth ministry has all the components of a healthy church (worship, discipleship, ministry, prayer, evangelism, and fellowship). Maybe hot worship is an entry way to the ministry, but it must also have a discipleship component to take the kids deeper, a mission component to serve and a community component to do life together.

A good youth ministry infrastructure begins with compiling basic tools:

1. Accurate information about the kids in the church

A list of youth ministry volunteers

• A yearly calendar of major events
• A curriculum plan

Youth ministries should also formulate visioning documents that state the mission for the work to be done, articulate the ministry's values and create three-year goals, with a structure to achieve them in the short-term.

This is critical for churches, since most suffer from terminal vagueness. Putting all these documents in place with a youth director is possible for a church, but typically that person doesn’t know how to accomplish this more strategic stuff. I recommend the church hire a consultant to help assess the ministry and identify where the church wants to go with it.

Churches often try to build a youth ministry with people who have never done it before and then wonder why it isn’t working.

Kids tend to vote with their feet, so attendance is important. Also, if there is a spirit of anxiousness about the ministry—if people offer quick answers to difficult problems, such as, "if we just had a bowling alley," et cetera, there is a problem.

Another sign of ineffectiveness is when you look down the road and there are no tracks being laid for the future. Churches need an explicit game plan for the ministry that is not driven by current staff personalities.

A final call for help from a youth ministry may be the ratio of staff members to kids. A good number is one staff member to 50 active kids. If that is off on the low side, the ministry needs help.

Some congregations hire a youth director and destroy their youth ministry. In a small church where every adult knows those kids, bringing in a hot shot 23-year-old who takes the kids out of the sanctuary and into a youth room actually removes the kids from the adults in the church who love them and hands them over to a person who is at best likely to be a short-term staff member.

You don’t want to hire a camp counselor as your youth director, but an architect to build relationships with youth. That’s why hiring a full time youth director may not be the best decision.

Stay away from trendy stuff. That just confuses the institution of the church. What you want to do is go to the place where you are and determine that culture and how to impact it. The church should find its own vision for youth ministry. That vision should translate to a mission statement that is on the same page with the church.

Read the rest of Church Central's 101 Ministry Series:

Women’s Ministry
Marriage Ministry
Children’s Ministry
Men’s Ministry
Singles Ministry
Family Ministry