Doug Franklin, president of LeaderTreks and seasoned youth minister, recently blogged about a common problem in youth ministries in our consumer culture: expectations. Franklin suggests that parents rather than youth ministers or those volunteering in youth ministries should serve as the primary faith influencers of their teenaged children.
So what?
What is the point of youth ministry? Put differently, why does your congregation engage in ministry in an age specific manner to students during their middle and high school years? When answering these questions it is essential that everyone plans with the same basic understanding regarding whether the expectation is that the youth ministry supplements the work of parents or substitutes for it.
- In your congregation are parents/guardians understood as having primary accountability for faith formation of their children? If so, how is this communicated by the Senior/Lead Minister? by other leaders? by the nature of your programming and experiential learning opportunities for children and youth?
- What percentage of your youth minister’s/director’s time is dedicated to equipping and empowering parents to fulfill their roles as the primary faith educator in the lives of their children?