As a youth pastor in a Southern Baptist church, I am asked often what can we do with our young people. Normally, when people ask me that question, it is not about what I can teach them, but about what "events" I can produce them to be faithful. It is amazing that youth pastors, in the minds of some people, are called to be an entertainer or provide some form of entertainment. Don't get me wrong, having a fun event is okay, but if that defines your ministry, then all you got being an attractional model of youth ministry that will fade once teenagers go off to college.
The real question is what do we need to teach teenagers. That is a very good question. I know I have been asked what is the number struggle of teens then I would give a really stupid answer, depends on the teen. The real answer to that questions is the same struggle you and I face everyday and that is the struggle of sin in its various forms. In a recent article, Cameron Cole identifies 5 key areas that all youth pastors, teachers, and even parents, must teach their teens to equip to serve God:
1. Knowledge about the canonization of Scripture.
2. Developed theology of sexuality, particularly homosexuality.
3. Ability to teach the Bible in the greater context of redemptive history.
4. Theological, not only moral, understanding of sin.
5. Understand adoption as an element of salvation.
Check out the rest of the post here.
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