News / Education
Youth workers helped by LifeWay's student ministry conference
Students, parents, youth leaders critical for spiritual development of teens
In an effort to encourage and strengthen those on the frontlines of youth ministry, LifeWay hosted the National Youth Workers Conference Sept. 22-24 in Nashville, Tenn. The goal of the week was inspiration and biblical training.
"The main reason we held the conference was to answer a need that Southern Baptist youth workers had been making known to us," said Paul Turner, LifeWay’s national student ministry leader. "As we traveled around training and learning from youth leaders, they were telling us that they wanted something to attend that would inspire, encourage and provide training that would be doctrinally sound."
Breakout sessions discussed issues of student ministry today including the relevancy of Sunday school for students; the seven mega-trends of youth ministry; spiritual practices for teen girls; and whether marketing a ministry is biblical.
Jeff Pratt, LifeWay’s director of student ministry training and events, challenged youth workers in the spiritual development of their students versus just the development of a student ministry.
"Statistics show that there are more teenagers today than ever before, and yet our baptisms are going down," said Pratt. "Seven out of 10 college students are dropping out of active church service – not bailing on Jesus and their faith, but bailing on the church. We have to figure out why we are losing so many kids after high school. The solution is not to find a better plan for student ministry, but find a biblical model for student development."
According to Pratt, the Bible says that Jesus as a youth grew in three main areas that are relevant growth areas for today’s teens – wisdom and stature, and favor with God and favor with man.
These correlate to KNOWN, LifeWay’s student development strategy, in that upward development highlights knowing God through biblical disciplines and understanding His lordship; the inward development of the student relates to character and discernment; and the outward development of making Christ known is enhanced through relationships and influence.
"For development to be biblical, it has to be relational," said Pratt. "You can’t love your neighbor until you love yourself. When you understand who you are in Christ and what Christ has done for you, you want to share it with others."
The conference also placed emphasis on the role parents play in the student ministry.
"In every major study, parents are the primary influencers of teens, for better or for worse," said Turner.
With that in mind, Pratt challenged youth workers to remember that parents are primarily responsible for the spiritual development of their teens.
"God gave the responsibility of developing kids to the parent, not the student leader," he said. "You are not supposed to be the primary spiritual developer of those kids. Sometimes it drops down to us as the secondary spiritual developer, but we can’t bypass the parents."
As a parent of two teens himself, Pratt spoke of his appreciation for youth leaders who come alongside him to partner in the spiritual development of his children.
"We as youth workers come and go, but moms and dads never do," said Pratt. "For the most part, parents want what is best for their kids. They don’t even have to be believers, but they love their kids, and when they see that you love their kids, they’ll support you."
The importance of grace
Guest speakers at the conference spoke about grace and how God handles brokenness and failures.
"God does not see us in our failures and define us by that," said worship leader and speaker Todd Agnew. "God knew all of our failures before He created us. He can’t be disappointed because He already knew we were going to fall. We may feel like failures, but He sees the potential. And we get to see that students."
Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer shared the spiritual lessons he learned after creating the company Big Idea and then watching the business fall into bankruptcy.
"Have you ever had an idea, like a new way to reach kids, and it really, really worked and it took off and then it died a painful death?" Vischer asked the crowd. "If God gives you a dream and shows up in it and the dream dies, maybe God is trying to see which is more important to you – the dream or Him."
The Evangelism Linebacker Derwin Gray, a veteran of the NFL and a pastor, spoke about brokenness before the Lord.
"God is attracted to brokenness," said Gray. "We don’t have to hide in the shadows or pretend we are something that we’re not."
Gray asked conference attendees about their marriages or their personal spiritual lives, and warned against isolating themselves from others.
"Ever feel like you’re alone with no one to talk to or to be vulnerable with? That is a tool of the enemy – isolation," said Gray. "Some of you are tired and at the end of the rope. You’re tired of hiding and can’t fix yourself. That is a good place to be. Now God can work and God can heal."
Experiencing grace in their own personal lives was a critical focus of the youth workers conference, explained Turner.
"Youth workers have a tendency to not slow down long enough to allow God to speak directly to them," he said. "Without God’s grace, there would be no reason for any of us to be involved in ministry.
"It is easy to get caught in the ‘doing the next thing to help students’ that we forget to experience God’s continued grace in our lives," he added. "Grace is amazing and many times forgotten and overlooked in the busyness of life. This week youth ministers were just reminded of the grace God has so freely offered."
For more information about the KNOWN student strategy or other LifeWay resources for youth leaders, visit www.lifeway.com/students.
For up-to-date news and information from LifeWay Christian Resources, visit LifeWay.com/News.
