Four Erroneous Youth Ministry Philosophies

“I’ve tried everything!” I frequently hear these frustrated words from well meaning people who want to make an eternal impact on the lives of students.    They work hard trying various approaches but are unable to grasp the illusive key to successful ministry.

Over the last thirty years, I have observed some of these valiant efforts which I call “erroneous youth ministry philosophies.” I have divided the ministry approaches into four sections determined by their predominant thrust. I have not fabricated these for the sake of this blog; unfortunately, they all exist in the world of youth ministry.

The four sections manifest themselves in a variety of ministry styles but for the sake of clarity, I will only address the general features of each section. This blog will be divided into two additional posts on Tuesday of the next two weeks.

 Section One:

“IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME” – Activity and Entertainment Centered Ministry Style

Section Two:

“DON’T FENCE ME IN” – Freestyle Ministry Style

 Section Three:

 “ALL DRESSED UP AND NOWHERE TO GO” – Buttoned Up and Tied Down Ministry Style

 Section Four:

“THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ME” – Personality Centered Ministry Style

I hope you will evaluate these approaches to youth ministry with me and I welcome your comments.