Is youth ministry still relevant?

A scenario I see playing out in a lot of churches around the country is the phasing out of student ministries. There is a notion out there that says they aren’t relevant to the church any longer. The main justification for this premise is that we now have a lot of cool churches with young pastors and they are more relevant. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons why this might not be the best strategy to reach young people. In the first place it doesn’t matter how young, hip, trendy, or relevant your lead pastor is. My lead pastor is practical and hilarious, but the truth is that I don’t know of a church anywhere in the country where the lead pastor is gearing his messages to teens. So even if the lead pastor is funny, young, and trendy, we are still doing our students an injustice because we aren’t focusing on the issues that students are dealing with right now. 

I have heard the argument that students seem older than they did in the past. Let me help you here. They may seem older, but they are less mature. We live in a tech-driven world, and students are being exposed to more and more at younger ages than ever before. This creates the illusion that students are maturing faster. But recent scientific studies show that while adolescence is starting at a younger age, it’s also lasting longer than ever before. 

Most would tell you that youth ministry is a relatively new idea in the history of the church. And if you look back to its roots it wasn’t started as a way to have a more fun or trendy space for young people. It was birthed from a place of need. Youth ministry in the American church got its start back in the 1940’s, but saw a huge increase into the 50’s & 60’s. Up until that point the family unit was strong, but as we began to see a rise in families falling apart and the divorce rate rising significantly there was a greater need for the Church to focus on these young people. I could make a strong case that the family unit in our country hasn’t gotten stronger, but weaker over the last 60-70yrs. 

One more thought on this… Is youth ministry really a new idea? Most theologians will tell you that Jesus disciples were teenagers and young men. So, Jesus build His ministry and the Church with young people. Why would we, as the body of Christ write them off, discredit them, or not be intentional about building ministry that invests in them? 

I believe that Youth Ministry is still very much relevant, I do, however believe that often times our approach misses the mark, but I will digress for now. When we create fewer environments for students, I think we are missing it, and I fear we are creating long-term effects that the next generation of church leaders will have to deal with.

Matt Moore

Pastor & Author of Intentional Youth Ministry