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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | How can we assist our youth? | Bible general Archive 1 | KBurgee | 2074 | ||
This is something that I've grappled with for a long time. As Christians, we've experienced spiritual growth, either as adults being saved or as children and young adults experiencing the joy of Christ. However, and I'll be blunt, I think we could do a better job raising our children to be followers of Christ. Let me explain: I am not questioning nor bashing anyone's parental skills; I am not saying that such and such or whoever is a "bad parent"; I'm speaking specifically in the church family. As Christians, we have a responsibility to raise our youth, to help guide them and nnourish them, to help support them and influence them positively. Our greatest resource is our children. What pains me sometimes is that I've been to a few churches where the emphasis has NOT been on children. It stinks, and it's the quickest way to iradicate a generation: Not treating our youth the way the God we love and cherish treats HIS. One church that I have been to, it used to be that once you reach a certain age, you were basically considered "on your own". They have made leaps and bounds above that, starting a couple youth young adult ministries, and I feel extremely blessed at watching (and being a part of) them. What do I mean by "on their own"? The number of teens and young adults in a few churches that I have frequented is alarmingly small, and when I inquired about this, their response was mostly "because the church doesn't really help us out". Now, I know I'm making a sweeping generalization, and if your church doesn't act this way, then you won't really be offended by my words (you can give me some insight), and if you are offended, well, you'll get over it, because my purpose is not to offend. I'm not here to smooth anyone's feelings; I'm here to make an observation based on my (albeit limited) experience. My question, then, is this: I'd like for people to chime in and give me an answer to this problem that has worked, or even if they have experienced it before. I'm not just talking about Bible study and church, and maybe a couple of youth events that get the youth involved, but don't give them a forum to relate to, or a church body to grow in. Some people don't know that our youth are not stupid; some have gotten extremely distrustful of people within church, thinking some people are frontin'. And please keep the "well, it doesn't happen at MY church, so there" to a minimum, because it doesn't help out the situation. I'd like to hear everyone's comments on this :-) |
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2 | How can we assist our youth? | Bible general Archive 1 | prayon | 2108 | ||
Dear Brent, I am mother of three (23,22, and 14) and a grandmother of two. Having been in the military and a traveling nurse we have been to many churchs. I hope I will be able to give some suggestion that will be helpful. First - I believe that the most important thing is to pray for youth leaders who will meet the teens at their level and be accepting of them the way they are - no matter how they dress, how much jewelry they wear, what color their hair is or whether it is neatly combed or standing up in spikes. Jesus never cared how someone looked and neither should we. Youth today are seeking love and acceptance. Many don't get either of these at home unfortunitly. The need of these things often is what leads them to gangs and drugs. The church has to be able to meet those needs. Youth leaders have to be able to sincerly care for them and love them. No one can recognize a false front as fast as a teen. They also have to know that they CAN TRUST the leader. That no matter what problem they have they can go to the leader and talk about anything and it will be kept in strict confidence. Usually kids go to friends for advice because they have no one they can trust - wouldn't it be much better if they had someone they could trust that would give them Godly advice? 2nd - You have to make the teens feel a part of the church. They need to be needed. Let them do nursery duty (we always have one teen and one adult), let them usher - (I have seen some 8 and 9 year olds usher better than adults), let them help teach the little ones, let them read the scripture sometimes or say the prayers. Every 5th Sunday of the month we have Youth Sunday. The youth plan the service (with an adult to oversee), pick the speaker, do the praise and worship and run the service. You will be amazed at what they are capable of. 3rd - You have to make church and bible study interesting to them. They have to be able to relate to the sermon or teaching. Nothing can turn my kids off of a church faster than not being able to understand or relate to what is being said. 4th - You have to give them music they enjoy, that will keep them coming back. I like some of the old hymns but very, very few youth do. They want to hear rock or rap or gospel. I used to hate rock but I have learned to enyoy it - still don't like alternative though. :o). 5th - You said you wanted to get ideas for church, bible study and youth activites. The best thing is to ASK THEM. They know what they like, what they enjoy. Let them plan their activites. Let them do the fund raisers. Teach them to be responsible. Then support them in whatever they decide whether it be a concert (just take some earplugs and go), skating, a street dance, a lock-in (a big slumber party at the church), or a camping trip. There are many 2-3 day long music festivals during the summer such as Creation or Sunshine. Pick the closest one and suggest a short trip. One thing our church did was to have youth "vs" adult forums where youth could voice their concerns and there not be any repurcussions afterward. The parents never heard what was said. Also do it vice versa where the parents can voice their concerns and the youth have to respond to those concerns. You also mentioned young adults. They need the same things plus more, especially single parents. One of the main problems I experienced as a single parent is that my sons had no one they could go to for fatherly advice and guidance. No role model. This is a very big problem of today. I think that for every one parent family where the father has no involvement or negative involvement the church should step in and fill this very important role. If it is a single mom then some man from the church needs to step in and spend time with the children. If it is a single father then a woman needs to step in and spend time with the children. Something similar to the big brother/big sister idea. There must be consistance though. There are lots of other needs for a single parent but that is another issue. I don't remember who said it but they said the youth of today WILL be our leaders of tomorrow. Teach them to care, to listen, to be responsible. Many unfortunetly don't get these lessons at home anymore. I hope this has helped you because our youth are the most important thing in the church. |
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3 | How can we assist our youth? | Bible general Archive 1 | charis | 2187 | ||
Dear prayon, Great answer! This one is going up on the church bulletin board, but I have to translate it into Japanese first. If I may, without giving offense, I would like to add a few comments. The church, for all age groups, must teach respect and responsibility as key elements of fellowship among the saints. (This is, of course, after our spiritual attitude toward the Lord) If these are taught to all, it would include the youth, and they would partake of the benefits. If there is an unhealthy division anywhere along the line in a church, young people will see it in a moment, and call it rightly, hypocrisy. In every area, and to all who come, the church must portray the love, truth, and reality of our Lord Jesus. This would mean, though, that we cannot favor the youth, either. They must participate in this 'universal' respect and responsibility. After all, "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him." Proverbs 22:15 NASB. We must recognize a natural tendency to rebel and be foolish, and try to deal with it beforehand, if at all possible. (This would make us a little wiser than them, I hope :-) After the fact (sin or 'unwise decisions'), we must accept them, and try to 'minimize the damage,' and teach them the importance of ongoing repentance. I do not believe we should accept their foolishness and allow it to continue in the church, for that would be hypocrisy. We must be wise and gentle, as Jesus is, but firm and determined, as He also is. I discern that one of the greatest problem areas in dealing with young people is the correct wielding of discipline. There seems to be a 'pendulum effect' working that either is too strict and demanding, or too forgiving, allowing sin to escalate. This would be an off-center balance-weight. Worse would be the absence of a balance-weight, causing wild swings of love and wrath, leniency and unreasonable strictness. Jesus is our balance-weight, and He always points to perfect center. When He walked the earth, He always shocked those who heard Him. The Pharisees were shocked at His authority concerning the Word of God, the sinners were shocked at His love and grace. He was always righteous and kind, in a simple, straightforward manner. This is what we must show forth in the church, and our youth will be ministered to as a matter of course. As another saint observed, we should not be focused on the youth, on missions, on worship, on healing, on study, on the pastor, on the denomination or 'covering,' or on anything but Jesus. If we find Him, every area will be covered. Blessings to you in Christ Jesus, charis |
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4 | How can we assist our youth? | Bible general Archive 1 | prayon | 2198 | ||
Charis - I agree with you 100 per cent. I was trying to just stick to the issue of the youth. Without proper role models and intercessors we would not be able to be what they need. Later |
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5 | How can we assist our youth? | Bible general Archive 1 | KBurgee | 2213 | ||
Awesome! Thanx for all of your input. It is true that young adults feel that there's nobody that they can relate to, nor trust. I can honestly tell you that one church I was a part of had a service which was supposably designed for the youth, but the pastor spoke in a way that only people who had been through before were able to understand. It was like he was trying to explain the 4th theory of quantum physics, and the end result was that some (if not all) of the youth were saying, "Huh?", and when you lose your audience, you've lost the impact of your message. Also, the point about music is a very good one. being a musician myself, I can appreciate the way music affects people, and I can truly say that the wrong music at the wrong time does the exact same thing as earlier stated. Since I'm also part of a bilingual ministry within the music, I understand needing to relate the music with the audience. Even if some of our songs sound slammin', there are some songs that we cannot do at specific churches, because 1)they would not be received well by the "traditional" folx, and 2)God has blessed us with being able to touch so many hearts in many different forms that we need to (and do) take advantage of every opportunity. I mean, wow, the effect of music on people's souls (NO MATTER WHAT IT MAY BE, AS LONG AS IT PRAISES GOD) is incredible. Getting back, another way we can support our youth is to support them outside of the church. Tutors, mentors, even people to play video games with (you would be AMAZED at how playing basketball on Dreamcast brings people closer together, hehe), you name it; the point is to get more involved. I have been blessed with everyone's feedback on this! Thanx! |
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