Philosophy of Youth Ministry

I came across this brief response by Voddie Baucham through a link from a friend. Much of what is said here goes right in line with many of the views I recently taught concerning the local church. We must see ourselves as one body, each needing the other. We must grow close to one another and allow ourselves to be dependent on one another. We can segregate in many different way besides youth though. We can offer services for those that prefer Saturday night rather than Sunday morning. We can offer different services based upon your worship style. I have not moved to a fully integrated worship approach, because I do feel that children need to be taught on their level. However, when groups begin getting an entire identity of their own within the church, a line vital to the biblical church has been crossed.

Q. Do you do church youth services?

A. Church “youth services (i.e. separate Wednesday night services for students) are a method of congregational segregation. They are a very common practice, but not a very biblical one. In fact, one would be hard pressed to demonstrate that they are not completely unbiblical. Rather than elaborate here, allow me to send you to a website that addresses this issue head on in a very cogent manner. Hope Chapel Christian fellowship in Sacramento, California has a revolutionary view on youth ministry, which I happen to share (see http://www.hopechapel.cc/). I warn you, this is a complete departure from the contemporary view of “youth ministry. Look at their philosophy of age integration, as well as their philosophy of youth ministry.

This is not to say that I am opposed to the occasional youth event (conferences, seminars, etc.). These can be valuable tools that address specific issues which young people uniquely encounter. The same can be said for a men’s conference or a women’s conference. There is a time and a place for such events. This, however, is much different than a philosophy that consistently segregates one part of a body of believers from the rest of its members. That is the practice with which I take issue. That is the practice that sends families to church in different cars, and essentially under different pastoral leadership.