22 Aug 2008
Spend a few moments thinking about these questions:
- What is the aim of the youth work you are involved in?
- What do you want to achieve?
- What does/would ‘success’ look like?
- What do you want the young people you work with to learn?
- What would be your ‘mission statement’?
In the
UK there is a lot of ‘youth work’ going on. The question we have to ask ourselves is what are we doing as ‘the church’, as followers of Jesus Christ, as his ambassadors, which is distinct?
A few years ago I was involved in what can only be described as a ‘youth agencies’ show. I was in a school hall surrounded by hundreds of young people wandering around displays that explained and demonstrated what some of the ‘best’ youth work providers in the country has to offer young people. There was information and advice on careers, sex, drugs, alcohol, homelessness, bullying, abortion and general health matters. Young people were walking away with their free ‘goody bags’ containing pens, condoms and countless leaflets. Towards the end of the afternoon I found myself standing in the corner looking out at everything that was going on, and I almost cried. So much was being offered to these young people, so much good stuff; they were so fortunate compared to the majority of young people in the world. Yet none of these youth work agencies were ‘offering’ these young people what they really needed.
This is where we, Christ’s ambassadors, come in. We can ‘offer’ (If that is an appropriate way of phrasing it – which it almost certainly isn’t – but I’m sure you understand what I’m getting at!) what young people really need – and that is Jesus, the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).
There is nothing wrong with us offering information and advice on careers, sex, drugs, alcohol, homelessness, bullying, abortion and general health matters. It’s good for us to explore these issues with young people and help them discover what the Bible has to say about them. However, we must never, ever, forget that we can help young people discover something, actually, someONE, that they really need – Jesus.
So what’s the ultimate aim of your youth work? I hope that it is something along the lines of wanting young people to encounter Jesus and have their lives transformed by him. Engaging young people with biblical truth is an essential part of this. It’s necessary for us (with the Holy Spirit’s help) to help them do that BEFORE they can encounter Jesus, and it’s just as necessary for them to engage with biblical truth AFTER they have encountered Jesus so they can stand strong in the faith and experience transformation.
Written by Phil Green and originally published on the Evangelical Alliance *essential website.
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