My View Looking In
Why I’m encouraged by EFCA youth ministry leaders.
Len Kageler, professor of youth and family studies at Nyack (N.Y.) College, is writing a book about the realities of youth ministry in a culture that screams for tolerance. In December 2012, he contacted the EFCA for permission to survey the movement’s youth leaders. These are his reactions to what he learned.
I was quite pleased to see that among the 70 full-time youth pastors who replied, their average length of stay in that church was 6.3 years. The national average is just under 5 years. This probably means two things: Evangelical Free Churches value professional youth ministry and have created a church climate that supports youth ministry. And youth ministry is not seen as a purgatory or stepping stone or hoop to something “more important.”
Many churches try to get by “on the cheap” with youth ministry and, as a result, suffer from high turnover and untrained people. Youth ministry is more than dodge ball and pizza! It requires much training to do well because of all it involves for its staff members: One-third of their time is spent investing in students, one-third in leading volunteers, and one-third in partnering and encouraging parents. (Three respected seminaries in the country now even offer Ph.D.s in youth ministry.)
Understandably, the survey was not a stratified random sample, and the results only speak securely for those who filled it out. Having said that, 100 percent of these youth pastors believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation and are martialing a wide host of resources and venues in which this is taught. I have every expectation that youth in these churches will have a historic Christian view of the Bible, salvation, etc.
By contrast, I see many church-based youth ministries around the country that do not have the Bible or teaching about Christ at their core. They value getting along, communication and worthy social-action projects. Those are all good things, of course, but without the basis of the Bible and what it teaches about Jesus, something very important is missing.
It seems to me that Evangelical Free Church youth pastors are solidly on the right track in terms of teaching and ministry priorities.
My View Looking In
I WAS QUITE PLEASED TO SEE that among the 70 full-time youth pastors who replied, their average length of stay in that church was 6.3 years. The national average is just under 5 years. This probably means two things: Evangelical Free Churches value professional youth ministry and have created a church climate that supports youth ministry. And youth ministry is not seen as a purgatory or stepping stone or hoop to something “more important.”
Many churches try to get by “on the cheap” with youth ministry and, as a result, suffer from high turnover and untrained people. Youth ministry is more than dodge ball and pizza! It requires much training to do well because of all it involves for its staff members: One-third of their time is spent investing in students, one-third in leading volunteers, and one-third in partnering and encouraging parents. (Three respected seminaries in the country now even offer Ph.D.s in youth ministry.)
Understandably, the survey was not a stratified random sample, and the results only speak securely for those who filled it out. Having said that, 100 percent of these youth pastors believe that Jesus is the only way to salvation and are martialing a wide host of resources and venues in which this is taught. I have every expectation that youth in these churches will have a historic Christian view of the Bible, salvation, etc.
By contrast, I see many church-based youth ministries around the country that do not have the Bible or teaching about Christ at their core. They value getting along, communication and worthy social-action projects. Those are all good things, of course, but without the basis of the Bible and what it teaches about Jesus, something very important is missing.
It seems to me that Evangelical Free Church youth pastors are solidly on the right track in terms of teaching and ministry priorities.
Len Kageler, professor of youth and family studies at Nyack (N.Y.) College, is writing a book about the realities of youth ministry in a culture that screams for tolerance. In December 2012, he contacted the EFCA for permission to survey the movement’s youth leaders. These are his reactions to what he learned.