How to Grow Your Youth Ministry

The focus all youth ministry should be to produce disciples according to the Word of God (Matt. 28:18-20). As we examine the youth groups across this nation, pragmatism reigns. Pragmatism is a practical approach to problems and affairs. Pragmatism says, "whatever works, do it." Friend, the Gospel works, and we need nothing else. I'm not going to change my youth ministry to look like the world just so it will appeal to more lost people. The church must be the church, and for some reason in America today, the church is looking more and more like the world. The church's strength has never been in its numbers or public approval; never has and never will.

These pragmatic churches are among the fastest growing in the nation, but just because they're growing, does not mean that they are healthy churches. It is a sad thing when the church depends on anything else other than the Gospel to add to God's Kingdom. With pragmatism, at worst you get many tares in with the wheat, and at best you get many baby Christians who go through their Christian lives with very little growth; for where pragmatism reigns, the meat of the Word perishes. They may have numbers, but just because they have numbers, does not justify the way they got them, nor does it imply health. One would think that obedience to the Lord would be the goal, not numeric growth.

Earlier I said that the goal of youth ministry should be to produce mature Believers. The way to accomplish this is by placing more and more emphasis on God's Word. We should teach our youth how to rightly handle God's Word themselves, how to daily apply what they learn, and how to live out what they learn. When I was in youth ministry, I named the youth ministry "Raising the Bar youth ministries," for the standard has been lowered nationwide, and it must be brought back to the standard of God's Word one verse at a time. As these youth mature in Christ, they will understand the importance of sharing the Gospel; and God will grow His Church. Do you trust God's evangelism strategy... sharing the Word and Living out its results?