Beyond the Status Quo: 8 Components of an Intentional Life-Change Ministry Model
The teen years are not a “holding pattern” but should be a time of utilizing the power of youth. We are not preparing them to be leaders in the future; we are preparing them now for this moment. Being salt and light is not a post-graduate concept.
Some of the most vocal advocates for change in student ministry are the “twenty-something’s” and “thirty-something’s.” I think this is because they have seen the fallacy or have been a victim of “unintentional” youth ministries. They are weary of program and personality-driven ministry models.
Another group of people I find ready for a change are parents. They are no longer afraid of questioning the status-quo. They are declaring it is time to approach student ministry with this new paradigm of intentional life-change.
Intentional Life-Change Ministry Model
- Teach solid Biblical content including doctrine, not just the current trends.
- Develop students to take responsibility for their own spiritual walk with Christ.
- Train adults to be godly leaders who do “life-on-life” discipleship.
- Create partnerships between parents and youth ministry.
- Develop students with a Biblical worldview who are culture shapers.
- Answer real-life questions with the truth of scripture.
- Demonstrate how the spiritual life can be fleshed out in daily living.
- Focus on life-change, not life management.
We have already mentioned it but discipleship of every student must be our ultimate goal. Intentional life-change ministry will reject the hypothesis that it is enough to have faithful attendees or groupies in our youth groups. The discipleship ministry model gives us a grid by which to evaluate every activity, program, idea, and goal, thus elevating all ministries to a new level.
If you would like to explore this concept further, check out my book, The Greenhouse Project: Cultivating Students of Influence.
