(Our youth group’s Basic Training graduation was the occasion for this sermon.)
Ephesians 4:1-16
The main goal of our youth ministry is to engage teens with the gospel of Jesus Christ. A secondary goal is to break down the wall between the youth and the rest of the church. This passage helps us think about our unity in Christ, showing that we share one identity, destiny and duty.
Identity [v.4-6]
Barna and USA Today research agrees that roughly 75% of youth group members leave the church after they graduate. One reason for this trend seems to be that youths are not united with the church beyond the youth ministry. Yet, teens and adults share one:
- body
- Spirit
- hope
- Lord
- faith
- baptism
- God
- Father
Adults, when you look at the teens in your church, do you see such-and-such’s son and so-and-so’s daughter? Or do you see your brother and sister in Christ?
(Important note: Paul is talking about Christians, those who have heard and responded to the call to trust and follow Jesus. Youth group member does not equal Christian.)
Destiny [v.11-14]
I’m currently reading a book called Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church, in which four seasoned youth ministers argue for their approach to youth ministry. But there’s something very important missing from their discussion: SCRIPTURE!
Why would they discuss youth ministry without working from the Bible? Maybe it’s because there are no teenagers in the Bible. I don’t mean there are no people between the ages of 12 and 20. I mean there is no notion similar to modern American adolescence, an in-between age during which you’re neither a child nor and adult. In the Bible, you’re one or the other. If you’re a child, you are to obey your parents. If you’re not a child, you’re to grow up into maturity in Christ.
I don’t believe our youths are children. I break my back to call them young men and women rather than kids, because I want to nudge them toward maturity, not pull them back down to childhood.
We are in this maturation process together, building each other up, regardless of age.
Duty [v.16]
I rolled my ankle while playing basketball with our youth group a couple of months ago. My ankle was out of commission for a week thereafter. My toes on that foot worked fine. So did my other foot, both legs, my arms, torso, hands, neck, head, brain, eyes, etc. But because I couldn’t put weight on that one small part of my body, I was hindered in every task (even sleeping!).
The church is a like a body and each Christian is a member. We have a duty to each other to function properly. When one doesn’t, it affects the whole body. A teenager’s function affects the middle-aged man who sits on the other side of the sanctuary, and vice versa.
Helpful Links
Six Reasons Young Christians Leave Church, by Barna Research
The Myth of Adolescence, by Alex and Brett Harris of The Rebelution
The Case Against Adolescence, by Robert Epstein
Adolescence, according to Wikipedia
Adolescence, a history by King’s Psychology Network
Growing Young, three short films by the BBC
Meet the Twixters, Time Magazine cover story
