GBC Youth Program Goals

The research shows…

These are effective methods and ideas that come from looking at different books and sites. We
combined their ideas into common themes, narrowing it all down to a "top 5" that seemed to
appear in all of them in some form.

#1: Provide opportunities for relationships: This is key in terms of getting the students to
“buy in” to what is going on - they need to trust and respect but also enjoy the adults and their
message. They need to feel comfortable approaching the adults and therefore will be
comfortable approaching the Gospel.
#2: Build an awareness of God’s Active Presence: This is many times what teens struggle
with - and this can come from the relationship building. The goal is for the students to see Godly
relationships taking place in the Youth Group and extending that to a relationship with Christ,
realize he is always there for them, and therefore they will want a relationship with Christ/want
to deepen that relationship.
#3: Increase the Congregation’s Appreciation of Students: It is key for the students to
feel recognized and loved in the church - they are the future! Find ways to expand this
relationship and appreciation. Many times teens feel under appreciated and constantly ridiculed -
this can’t happen in a church environment.
#4: Create programs and events that have value and purpose: Set up events that can
relate back to the lessons that are taking place - but also include events that build the
relationships among the kids and adults.
#5: Encourage personal and spiritual growth: create an atmosphere that encourages and
allows for students to grow spiritually by beginning a relationship with Christ or growing a deeper
Biblical understanding of ramifications of the Gospel. Yes it is a “group” but there also needs to
be that sense of personal growth and spiritual growth in Christ that comes from the group
environment and lessons.

Purpose

Our purpose as the adults working with the youth at Grace Baptist Church:
Church:
to SERVE
SERVE the youth, within
within the guidance of Biblical Boundaries!
Boundaries! To provide
opportunities for relationships, build awareness of God’s active presence, to increase the
congregation’s appreciation of students, to create programs and events that have value
and purpose, and to encourage
encourage personal and spiritual growth,
growth, in Christ!
Christ!

Vision

We strive to have a ministry that is first Christ centered and second student (youth) centered.
We aim at fostering intentional relationships of youth to mentoring adults, youth to one
another, and ultimately, youth to the person of Jesus Christ.

Page 1/3
 Foundations

Foundations on which the Youth Program at Grace Baptist Church is built:

1. Through prayer, the providence of God and presentation of the plan of salvation in
the Bible, young men and women can accept, be baptized and live for God their
entire life.
2. The appropriate intervention of a Christian adult can change the life of a child.
3. Children should be treated with the respect and courtesy that we all seek.
4. The youth group activities offer an environment that is safe physically, mentally
and sexually, for all its members.
5. The members of the youth group will understand that the adults who work with
them will love and care for them unconditionally and will do everything in their
power to protect them.
6. Children need appropriate social, mental and physical contact with mature
Christian adults.

Goals and Objectives

Goal: Our overall goal is to provide an environment in which students are

challenged/strive to work on BECOMING a believer in Christ, BELONGING to GBC
through engagement in the community, be TRANSFORMED by the Spirit of God
in order to SERVE others and share their faith.

Objective 1: Youth Ministry works to foster the total personal and spiritual
growth of each young person and their faith in Christ. This goal emphasizes
becoming. Our understanding of the unique life tasks and social-cultural context of adolescents
provides direction for fostering their growth in discipleship and Christ like identity.

To achieve this objective we will provide the following opportunities:

1. We promote growth by addressing the unique developmental and social needs of

adolescents, by promoting the internal assets of young people through personal guidance and
specialized programming, and by strengthening the external structure that provides support
and encouragement for this growth.
2. We help youth develop a deeper and more personal relationship with Jesus Christ;
experience a sense of personal well-being, security and peace; grow spiritually through study,
reflection, prayer, and discussion with others; and develop a deeper understanding of the
Scripture and Christian tradition and their applicability to life in today’s complex society.

Objective 2: Youth Ministry seeks to draw young people to responsible

participation in the life, mission, and work of Grace Baptist Church and our
Christian faith community, being a part of the family of God and church. This goal
emphasizes belonging.

To achieve this objective we will provide the following opportunities:

1. Active engagement of youth in the Christian community’s life and mission provides an
important context for growth and overcomes the danger of marginalizing youth in the
Church.
2. Community provides a context for the healthy development of Christian values and
identity, a community of engagement for youth, and opportunities to develop positive
relationships between adolescents and adult Christian role models.

Page 2/3
 3. This goal challenges us to provide the meaningful participation youth require, to
support family life, and to integrate young people into the life of the faith community.
4. Teach them about GBC and our mission and vision as a church.

Objective 3: Youth Ministry empowers young people to become disciples of

Jesus Christ who witness to their faith by living out the fruits of the spirit in
their lives. This goal emphasizes transforming and serving.

To achieve this objective we will provide the following opportunities:

1. Helping young people realize that their faith in Jesus Christ calls them to serve others and
share their faith in Jesus Christ is an essential task for youth ministry.
2. We do this by helping young people integrate faith and life, develop life-affirming Gospel
values, develop skills for serving others and advocating for and become personally involved in
action.
3. We are called to take on an activist or experiential focus so that young people can learn how
to be a disciple by being a disciple.
4. We need to provide concrete ways by which the demands of discipleship can be personally
experienced.
5. A youth ministry that promotes discipleship will be a ministry in which adolescents’ resources
are tried and tested, in which their present capacities and skills are stretched to the limits, and
in which the excitement and daring of being a Christian is experienced personally.
6. Putting our faith in action and witnessing in action, word, and our lives. Young people need to
have a true opportunity for testing out and exploring what discipleship in the church and
world might ultimately involve. We also acknowledge that our Biblical concept of witness
involves Sharing the Gospel as a primary part of witnessing.

Our challenge, as a youth ministry: is to help youth use their considerable energy and efforts in
positive ways. There is nothing that can compare with the increase in sensitivity to others, sense of
personal value, and compassion that adolescents develop when adults provide concrete structures to
channel their energy. Combined with this involvement is reflection which brings them to new insights
and a more positive view of themselves, their world, and their future all based on their faith in Jesus
Christ as their Savior.

Mission:
Through love and respect with guidance and support focusing on
relationships we strive to create a Christ-
Christ-centered climate of intentional
discipleship in which students work to have self-
self-actualization, self-
self-
evaluation, self-
self-exploration, and inquiry, using scripture as our foundation
within a community of other youth pursuing the same desires.

Page 3/3