The problem is that youth ministry today has followed the church in this regard. We have abandoned everything except two things, 1) teaching to the masses, and 2) events.
Then we wonder why we struggle to find volunteers. We try to motivate our students to be involved or even show up but we are inviting them to the same model that they hate 10 months of the year, an academic model. (read more)
Youth mininstry gatherings generally follow this format:
7-725pm: music playing while students mingle and we find out about their week.
7:25pm: start to invite students to come sit down.
7:30pm: host intro’s the night (a few announcements, etc...)
7:40pm: music/crowd games
8:10pm: funny video we have downloaded or made ourselves (thanks to iMovie).
8:15pm: teaching time (usually a clever theme or topic)
8:45pm: final song(s) or wrap up from host
9:00pm: kids are on their way home since we’ve asked parent to pick them up promptly after the mtg.
After the night is done we start planning for next weeks gathering and how we are going to top what we did this past week.
Now your weekly gathering might be slightly different but generally has similar components no matter what size your group is. You may offer small groups either another night of the week or on the same night as your weekly gathering. But your focus is primarily on the teaching and the tech of the large group gathering.
Far too long we have abandoned discipleship in our youth ministry. Far too long we have abandoned the messiness of discipleship in our own lives. Far too long we have abandoned the youth in our churches and our communities and become children of lesser gods.
Discipleship in youth ministry takes many forms. It may be a small group with a regular meeting time, or a one-to-one between a youth worker and student at Tim Horton’s. The common denominator: it’s not a smart person imparting knowledge to the masses; it’s one follower helping another. Or it’s a band of believers sharing their lives and following Jesus as a team.
Genuine discipleship takes place only when the members of the group are spurring one another on.
At the end of the book of Matthew, Jesus gave His followers three responsibilities: “Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (28:19-20). Our orders are simple: (1) make disciples, (2) baptize them, and (3) teach them to obey God’s commands.
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Paul-how does discipleship work where you are?