Discipling the Youth
This past week Pastor Tim sent me a podcast about discipleship, targeted explicitly toward how to disciple younger people. The podcast features Cameron Cole, an expert in youth ministry and founder of Rooted Ministry. I found this resource to be helpful in regard to discipleship, which is our church council’s focus for this next year. During their conversation, they provide multiple studies and thoughtful insights and I will do my best to summarize some of the best points they made. There are three main ways they go about discipling children.
1st Method: Parenting
The first and arguably most important way to disciple children is for their parents to nurture their children in the faith. Cameron points out that many evangelical parents today parent in fear. They do their best to shelter their kids from the world with the hope that they never buy into any of the ideologies and pleasures of the world. However, this approach statistically seems to be a poor choice. In a study, researchers found that kids’ faith was strongest in their early teens and weakest right after leaving their parent’s home. This shows that when they are exposed to a multitude of worldly desires, they often cave into the flesh. To combat this, some parents are testing new methods that focus less on censorship and more on guidance. For example, one couple in North Carolina is allowing their 18-year-old to do whatever he wants during his senior year of high school. While this may seem too extreme, their idea is that, if he does do something sinful, it will be under their guidance rather than when he is off alone. This provides opportunities for parents and their children to talk through some of the actions they could do, and which would be the most God-honoring path to take. Additionally, many teens in America have substantially poor Biblical literacy. Many studies point to the fact that the majority of teens do not know or properly understand what the Bible teaches. Catechizing children is one way for parents to fight this. Cameron explains the short catechism he does with his family before school every day in an article titled Making Sure Kids Know the Gospel: A Gospel Catechism for Teenagers. It is essential for kids to learn correct theology and have Biblical literacy if we expect them to continue going to church. Another way for parents to teach their children these things is through daily devotions and Bible study. I have found The Gospel Coalition’s Bible studies and courses to be really helpful, though there are a number of studies you could participate in as a family. Put simply, as a Christian parent you need to be teaching your kid the Bible and theology. There are many resources that can help you, but it is very important that you don’t outsource your kids to other people without discipling them yourselves. Another study shows that kids’ faith rarely exceeds that of their parents. Because of this, it is imperative that you go to church, every Sunday, within reason.
2nd Method: Participation in Church
Another way to disciple the youth is to allow them to have doubts about their faith. Many of the teens that lose their faith are swayed by the neo-atheists’ seemingly persuading arguments against belief in God or the Bible. However, if we address these doubts that they have, they will be much more prepared to face these criticisms and have a response for them. This is something our church is doing right now with our Faith in the Face of Doubt series where Pastor Tim answers many of the common objections Christians are faced with. Another effective method is to involve kids in church. One of the goals of Cameron’s church is for someone in the 10th grade to be able to teach a kid’s Sunday school class. On top of this, they want kids to be functioning as full-blown adults in the church before they are out of their parent’s home. By doing this they are much more likely to continue going to church. A study done by Barna found that youth that are involved in the church’s operations in some way are extremely likely to stick around. There are many ways to involve them in the service, youth group, or Sunday school, and it appears to be beneficial for their individual spiritual growth. Also, the church should be focused on educating parents and equipping them to successfully raise their children. As mentioned above, this is necessary for discipling the youth.
3rd Method: Relationships
The third way involves building relationships and being involved with the young people in the church. The podcast mentions a corny but true quote,
“They don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.” -Theodore Roosevelt
Simply saying hello to someone younger and learning their name reinforces the idea that church is a place where people know and care about them. Complimenting someone after a scripture reading or prayer can significantly increase the chance they keep returning to church (this is not me fishing for compliments but something they mentioned in the podcast). One of the things that I find to be very true that Cameron points out is that the key to discipling the youth is NOT trying to be cool. Being cool has no correlation to how effectively you are able to disciple the youth. Building a relationship with someone, engaging in their life, and sharing the timeless word of God with them will do much, much more than trying to win them over by being cool.
-Noah
