THE IMPACT OF TEENS MINISTRY TO CHURCH GROWTH
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
In fact, teens play a significant part in the ministry. Which can only be made feasible by adults showing them that the church embraces a culture of discipleship and love. (Day & Kurtz, 2017). To help them develop and promote the gospel. Teens in our various congregations have been denied access to the right resources from the church, parents, and schools. As a result, these resources will help to keep teens from engaging in high-risk behaviors. Such as premarital sex, drug use, and anti-social behavior.
As such, teens will encourage and model pro-social behavior among themselves and their peers in the church. Because, encouraging healthy and spiritually effective living standards. Thus, this will result in a prosperous and law-abiding adult society.
Moreover, to boost these efforts, the church must incorporate contemporary stratagems to the teens ministry in establishing the growth of teens. The elders have a role to be flexible and adjust to the ever changing needs of teens. Through updating and matching the teens energy and vitality while avoiding old models.
THE IMPACT OF TEENS MINISTRY TO CHURCH GROWTH
The teens must therefore in the long-run not to dilute the gospel message. But discover how to live out the good news and encourage others to do so (Nielson, 2016).
In the church, the teens must play the same role as adults as the gospel mission calls all believers to glorify and spread the good news of God. Today, the youths in church are learning many Christian faith concepts which is important. But they should not be set aside by adults as the Christian calling is a calling to all (Campbell, 2000). Teens involvement in the church community is crucial. Because, it is in the church that the people of God meet Christ through the Holy Communion in a way that is concrete.
Therefore, the churches must be friendly to youths in fostering their growth spiritually. The teens have a role to present their youthful vision and energy in the activities of the church since they have a great deal to offer as youth Christians to the church. Through meaningful roles, the teens can express their faith hence develop a commitment spirit to the church as a community.
The church therefore must tap the talents from youths and be friendly to them. Through valuing the adolescents through adequate response to their needs and carefully giving the audience. The church must facilitate the youth activities. Thus, through providing them with money and facilities that enable them to grow as disciplines (Thompson, 2017). As the youth commit to the church, the church must also give back to the youths by committing to their development.
Church Growth is a movement within evangelical Christianity which focuses on developing methods to grow churches based on business marketing strategies. (Day, D., & Kurtz, C. (2017).
The elderly stands out but teens contributions have been shinning and have always been flag bearers of every Church. For any tangible growth to take place in any Christian community, the teens must be significant in that process of growth (Nielson, 2016).
Therefore, it is of vital importance in today’s Church to prepare assiduously teens for the tasks they would naturally face in the coming future. It is only when we have nourished our teens that they in-turn develop the Church. The questions are “what amount of attention do we give the teens and what level of devotion does the teens give to the church.
The teens of today have very high ideals, and to deny this would be grossly unfair. Unfortunately, this is the usual progression of events today. “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. But set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). This is an admonition on the need to live a Holy and blameless life addressed to a young man, Timothy.
But, premarital sex, insolent speech, materialism, ruthlessness, theft and violence are some of the common vices generally found among Christian teens today (Folmsbee, C., 2007).
Disappointments lead to abysmal falls, often to depths lower than those they condemned when their idealism was fresh.
The sectarians far from the fullness of truth are able to inspire teens to make such amazing sacrifices. Yet at the same time, the Orthodox Church, possessing the fullness of Truth. Has a real difficulty in keeping her teens(Abednego: 1989).
It could be that in ignoring the high ideals and potential moral heroism of our teens. Unfortunately, we have failed to familiarize them with our examples of such heroism. Displayed by our own young, even the very young, who loved Christ and His Church in past ages.
The teens are important fabrics in the society. Can there be any society without teens?. Obviously no, that is why we must see to it that our teens find their rightful places in the church. This study is on the impact of teens ministry to church growth.
The teens ministry seems to be in the midst of a crisis, since it fails young people because of its inability to help them develop into mature Christians (Klinenberg, E. 2013). Not every churches are called to establish the teens ministry but all churches are obliged to impact on teens ministry. David and Pat Alexander emphasized that:
“Salvation is God’s gift, but it carries with it the obligation to live and behave, from that point on, as God wants. This means deliberately discarding the old (selfish way of life). Shedding former habits, and letting the new life change our thinking and remold our pattern of behavior.
Our Lord Jesus explained that:
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house. Yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beats against that house and it fell with a great crash (Matthew 7:24 – 27). Therefore, it is of vital importance in today’s Church to prepare the single’s ministry for the tasks they would naturally face in the coming future. It is only when we have nourished our teens that they in-turn develop the Church (De Vries, M 2004).
Church growth begins with church health and not the other way around. We see in nature that healthy things grow. This is by no means a new concept, but it’s still true. The teens must therefore in the long-run not to dilute the gospel message but discover how to live out the good news and encourage others to do so (Nielson, J. 2016).
The sole aim of the church is not only for the edification of believers and its congregants but to take part in what the triune God is doing in the world.
The church has a responsibility towards society. And such responsibility should not exclude the single’s ministry, which forms part of the church participating in God’s mission on earth. From this research, we will discover what a healthy church is like and how teens ministry can boost church growth.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
One key problem is the inability to examine teens ministry and church growth. Another problem is how best to measure numerical growth. A variety of indicators for attendance and occasional offices are available. But all are affected to some degree by measurement error and random fluctuations. Such variability poses particular problems with small churches. Where the addition or subtraction of just a few people produces large proportional changes in the totals. Today, a great percentage of our Christian teens are living a life of disobedience to the Word of God. They are copying the patterns of this world with dexterity.
Today, the lifestyle of the teens is such that it is very difficult to have a distinction between Christian teens and of those who are not Christians. How can we change the perspective of our teens who are easily lured and enticed by worldly lifestyle? This research is vital because it aims at making an analysis of the Christian teens’ lifestyle, enlightening them and warning the victims of the dangers ahead. This study is on the impact of teens ministry to church growth.
Most organizations especially in church set up always want their teens to live and practice the godly lifestyles (character trait of Jesus). The absence of this brings a very big problem between the teens and the leadership of the church. In some instances, the teens are removed from position of leadership or placed on church discipline. This indicates that Christian organizations are after godly lifestyles. Thus, that will lead to a very good behavior and achievement of its goals and objective.
CONCLUSION
In the church, the teens can do so much through volunteering to work with both children and the older congregation in many ways. They can as well reach out to people who are close to their own age. Who are walking through doors that the older church leaders may never understand. They are crucial and the church must tap this talent and energy. Owing to the fact that the church is one generation away from extinction as is believed that tomorrow’s church leadership belongs to the teens.
With this respect, it is self-evident that the church must be serious on their commitment to the teens and give them priority in today’s church. It is not true to be hesitant as elderly church ministers that they could effectively minister the teens or prematurely conclude that teens have no interest in serving God.
In as much as they think about latest secular music and movie stars. They should be made to serve God in the church through music. Also, other areas where best talented so as to prevent them from engaging in worldly destruction pleasures.
Hence, the only value we as Christians can give to the church today is to take care of the teens and value them as this will reward the teens. The church and the whole global community now and in the coming future. Wholistic development of our teens with ungodly lifestyles must include transforming the agent of development. The emerging model of changing them is not only spiritual. But also demands an investment of the person. For example rebuilding relationship and forming covenantal communities demands investing in relationship.
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