Pastor Offers Additional Suggestion for Youth Ministry

Dear Dr. Bill:

I'm responding to a comment you made to a family earlier this year about finding a youth group. You said if their church is small and doesn't have an active youth group, you'd encourage them to look elsewhere. This saddens me because I pastor a very small church, and if every family followed your advice, our church would grow even smaller. I would like to respectfully suggest an alternative to your advice. My wife and I have three sons who attend our church, but we've also arranged for them to participate in the weeknight youth meetings at a nearby large church. I think many families could make similar arrangements to meet the spiritual and social needs of their youth while continuing to support their home church.

— Pete

Dear Pete:

Thanks for writing. I think you're commenting on a response I gave on the air a few weeks ago to the parents of a 13-year-old girl. I reminded them how important it is for teens and pre-teens to be involved in a strong church youth group — one that emphasizes discipleship and character development rather than simply fun and games.

I mentioned that if their family currently attends a small church without a strong youth program, they might want to consider finding a church in their area that has one. I pointed out that the middle school years are vital to a child's emotional and spiritual development, so involvement in a healthy, thriving youth group is crucial during this time of life.

I think your suggestion is a good one — families shouldn't abandon a small church just because it doesn't have the resources to offer a youth program. Instead, those parents could encourage their teen son or daughter to participate in weeknight youth meetings at a larger church in their community.

In fact, recently I was speaking to a group of pastors from a rural area in Michigan, and I suggested that their churches might want to partner together, across denominational lines, to sponsor a community-wide Christian youth group.

I told them that if none of their churches had a large enough facility to host such a group, they might want to consider renting a local high school gym or community center one night a week. Add refreshments, a worship band, and some solid, relevant teaching, and who knows — it just might become the happening place to go on a Wednesday night!

Thanks again for writing, Pete, and know that here at Focus on the Family, we appreciate you and your commitment to serving God through your ministry.

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