4 Views Of Youth Ministry - The Preparatory Approach

April 12th, 2007

I wanted to start my small descriptions of the 4 models of youth ministry and the church by exploring the preparatory approach to youth ministry, I wanted to start here as I think it’s probably the default model for most youth ministries. I also wanted to start here to outline a few of the mutations of this model that have been perpetuated by churches without a true understanding of their role in this model.When thinking about this model the phrase “the young people are the future of the church” pops to mind, because in this model young people are prepared for ministry, fellowship and mission. Everything the church does in it’s youth ministry is to prepare young people to be involved in the church (fellowship) and in it’s outreach (mission) of the existing church after they move from adolescence to adulthood.

“A specialized ministry to adolescents preparing them to participate in the life of existing churches as leaders, disciples or evangelists”

The church becomes a laboratory in which young people are inited to experiment, practice, learn and be educated as disciples in training. The youth ministry in these churches revolves around a number of mentors and educators who work with the young people as they develop from apprentice to disciple and also member of the worshiping community. Programs in this model are to develop disciples, and so they may include mission trips, bible studies, courses, prayer groups…

“Youth ministry is a laboratory in which disciples can grow in a culture guided by spiritual coaches…

One purpose of a laboratory is to allow learners to fail in a safe context and discover specific skills in the process. A lab is a hands-on place where involvement is essential to learning.”

I guess the strength of this model is that it’s aimed at the faith and spiritual development of the young people within it’s ministry, it’s reliance on mentoring by other members of the community and providing spaces for the young people to practice their faith and learn makes the model attractive to many congregations.

The drawback for this model seems to be that young people who want to be seen as a part of the community and mission now may begin to feel left behind, another drawback is the model’s reliance on programs. The model also seems to be focused more on those who are already a part of the church and doesn’t focus as much on the evangelization of the community, and as young people are usually separated from the life of the community until they “graduate” from the laboratory, so lacks a community of people who worship together as a whole.

I think that this tends to be the default model of youth ministry for most churches, however I also think that it would be rare for most churches to actually be operating on a mutated version of the model.

I say mutated as these churches rarely move from “the youth are the future” to handing the church over to them, in a mutated model young people are rately able to graduate from being “young” to being a fully fledged participant in the life and ministry of the church. It might be common to see young people graduate into young adults who are then encouraged to become a part of the youth ministry as leaders of the program that they’ve been a part of for the past number of years…

A mutation of this model could also include a program based model of youth ministry that has long since been focused on the development of leaders and disciples. These kind of ministries seem to be more focused on entertainment than being focused on ministry, and as such rarely produce disciples or leaders who are able to participate in the church as the preparatory approach would have them.

“The activity based approach is built upon a series of youth activities, a programming approach…

A ministry based approach is radically different in key areas. It grows out of the ministry of the church and is consequently related to the purpose of the church…”

In these mutations the phrase “the youth are the future of the church” can be translated to “the church is ours and we’ll give it over when we’re through with it.”

So, to add to the list of drawbacks is the ease at which the model can mutate within a community that doesn’t adopt and own the ideal preparatory model.

In order for a church to really adopt the preparatory approach to youth ministry their:

Youth ministry must become comprehensive
Youth ministry must become a shared ministry, the entire church communtiy must adopt it, it’s goals and the young people…
Youth ministry must begin to bridge the gap between church and home, we need to realise that faith formation is not done apart from the home, but as a part of the home life, we must involve parents and family.
Youth ministry must become ministry based… It’s easy to mutate into an entertainment based ministry, and while social interaction and entertainment is good it’s important to make sure that it doesn’t take over the youth ministry.
Youth ministry must begin including the parents, family, minister and the church… as in all ministries with young people “Anything we wish for among our young people must first be true among our adults” our ministry needs to be a part of the larger community.

Well, I think that lists many of the strengths, weaknesses and mutations of this particular model of youth ministry, if you really want to dive into it more I’d suggest giving the book a good read.

The next model I’ll explore is the Missional Approach to youth ministry…