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In the early days parents had the primary responsibility to teach spiritual disciplines to their children. (see Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 11:18-21) The youth usually sat with their parents and were included in almost every aspect of the worship service. The spiritual community acted as a large family and everyone looked out for their children as well as the needs of other families. It truly did take a village to raise a child.  In the last century we saw the emergence of the full-time paid youth minister. This development came about as churches recognized the need to meet the ever-changing obstacles faced by teens and to assist families with spiritual issues. I myself have been a youth minister for the past ten years. I firmly believe that youth ministry can help young people deal with the everyday struggles they face. However, with the rise of youth ministry came an unintended consequence: the decline of solid, spiritual parental involvement. Youth ministry was intended to serve as a supplement to, not a substitute for, parental involvement. For example, I grew up in a church where parental involvement consisted of three questions: “How much money does he need?”; “What does he need to bring?”; and, “When do I need to pick him up?” True family ministry, however, seeks to involve the parents in every aspect of a child’s spiritual development, not simply to chauffeur children here and there and provide a card for the ATM machines. In a society where parents are often portrayed in the media as clueless buffoons, it should be the intent of family ministry to lift parents up as the spiritual leaders in the family. I believe that parents are God’s original youth ministers, and that the church as an  extended family should support parents in
their responsibility to bring children up “in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord,” (Ephesians 6:4)Moreover, family-based youth ministry is about involving not just the nuclear family but the whole church family – from singles to older adults. We especially believe that today’s older generation has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share with today’s young people. More important, it’s about incorporating youth into the life of your church. Here at College Avenue, it is our mandate to equip parents with the tools necessary to truly become the spiritual leaders in the home. We seek to accomplish this task by offering classes that are pertinent to today’s families and their struggles. We also plan activities and projects that involve the whole family, not simply the youth of our congregation. We recently had a family devotional that involved over 100 of our people and several visitors. We also recently had a Family Skate Night that allowed many of our members to spend time with each other in a wholesome family atmosphere. In conclusion, we envision our young people developing a relationship with God and learning about spiritual maturity through the direct example of their parents and other caring adult Christians who are involved in this ministry.
–Kent Jobe |
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