Youth Ministry
I wrote this a few years ago. it is a summary of what I think youth ministry is all about.
Youth Ministry is an umbrella term that describes the systematic attention the faith community gives to young people which enables them to reach their full God created potential. That is, everything the faith community is involved in that promotes both healthy development and faith growth in adolescents.
v As a communal and relational ministry, it encompasses the whole faith community's work of nurturing, encouraging, and sustaining the relationship young people have with God as part of the church and the world.
v As an incarnational ministry, it takes seriously the whole person and all their needs, including physical, cognitive, emotional, social, moral and spiritual.
v As an incarnational ministry it also takes seriously all the contexts in which the young people live. This includes working to both provide a climate within our faith communities, and in the wider community, which fosters positive development; and to remove obstacles to this development.
v As an empowering and enabling ministry it takes seriously the gift each young person is. It empowers young people to discover their giftedness, and enables others to receive the ministry of young people as they live this out.
For more information on this Understanding, refer to “A Theology of Relational, Incarnational and Communal Youth Ministry” by John Hebenton.
Youth Ministry is an umbrella term that describes the systematic attention the faith community gives to young people which enables them to reach their full God created potential. That is, everything the faith community is involved in that promotes both healthy development and faith growth in adolescents.
v As a communal and relational ministry, it encompasses the whole faith community's work of nurturing, encouraging, and sustaining the relationship young people have with God as part of the church and the world.
v As an incarnational ministry, it takes seriously the whole person and all their needs, including physical, cognitive, emotional, social, moral and spiritual.
v As an incarnational ministry it also takes seriously all the contexts in which the young people live. This includes working to both provide a climate within our faith communities, and in the wider community, which fosters positive development; and to remove obstacles to this development.
v As an empowering and enabling ministry it takes seriously the gift each young person is. It empowers young people to discover their giftedness, and enables others to receive the ministry of young people as they live this out.
For more information on this Understanding, refer to “A Theology of Relational, Incarnational and Communal Youth Ministry” by John Hebenton.
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