INSTRUCTOR:

N. MUCHINGURI
ADVENTIST YOUTH MINISTRY
PHILOSOPHY
 Philosophy
• Inspired by the PAST…
• Called to shape the future
 Philosophy
• The ultimate purpose of Youth Ministry is
to assist the young people to become
Christ - followers by equipping them for
Worship, Discipleship, Service, Outreach
and Fellowship.
 Philosophy
• Help the youth to develop their full
potential physically,mentally,spiritually,
and socially.
 Primary Focus
• The salvation of youth through Jesus
Christ and their acceptance and
involvement in the mission of the
church.
 Youth Ministry essentials
• Various aspects of youth ministry will
guide and inform the model of ministry
we wish to implement.
• These aspects form a theology of youth
ministry and include:
 Youth Ministry Essentials
• 1. Ministry intentionality
• 2. Incarnational ministry
• 3. Identification with youths
• 4. Relations
• 5. Integration
• 6. Holistic system
• 7. Growth dimensions
• 8. Pastoral involvement
• 9. Spiritual ministry
• 10. Scriptural foundation
 Youth Ministry Essentials
• 11. spiritual autonomy
• 12. Christ-likeness
• 13. Leadership investment
• 14. Church focus
• 15. Equipping of youths
• 16. Prayer
• 17. Programme balance
 Ministry Intentionality
• 1. Intentional
• Youth Ministry must be planned based
on a vision for a desired future amongst
young people.
 Ministry Intentionality
• That desired future is to see young
people come to know and love Jesus as
Savior and Lord of their lives, and to
make a difference to them and to the
world.
 Incarnational Ministry
• 2. Incarnational
• Jesus, the God who became man is the
example for all ministry.
 Incarnational Ministry
• Without giving up His divine qualities, He
nevertheless became fully immersed
within the culture of the people to whom
He brought Good News.
• He was part of the culture, yet
transcended it.
 Incarnational Ministry
• The incarnation is a challenge to
understand and live within the world of
youth culture.
• It must make the Good News culturally
relevant to young people and make them
take it into their world.
 Incarnational Ministry
• Enfleshing Christ to Youth
• NOT JUDGING Youth on external
• SPENDING TIME with them
 Identify with Youth
• Being for them at all costs-- God so
loved the world that He gave…
• Feel their hurts and their joys
 Identify with Youth
• Know their minds
• Predict what they will think, feel and do.
 Relational
• 3. RELATIONAL
• Youth Ministry is a strategy, not a
program.
• The “program” is to influence the lives of
young people towards Christ - like living.
 Relational
• Youth programs must be designed to
foster relationships between young
people and their friends, the youth
leaders, and other significant adults, who
can
• have an input into their lives.
 Relational
• Programs and structures are only
important in so far as they promote:
• Relationship - Building.
 Integration
• 4. Integration
• Youth Ministry must be integrated into
the rest of the church and not function
independently.
 Integration
• The operations of most ministries in the
local church have a negative effect on
young people.
• This effect should lead to consideration
of integrating the Youth Ministry into the
church’s vision and interdepartmental
functioning of all ministries.
 Holistic
• 5. HOLISTIC
• Youth Ministry must meet all the needs
of young people- Physical,Emotional,
Mental, Relational and Spiritual.
 Holistic
•The whole person must be ministered to.
• Youth Ministry will encompass the
complete life of the young person to the
rest of their being.
 Holistic
• Jesus developed in four distinct areas: in
the physical, intellectual,social and
spiritual aspects of his being(Luke 2:52).
 Holistic
• Youth Ministry can not isolate the
spiritual maturity of a young person from
the rest of their being.
 Holistic
• For this reason, Age specific ministries
must be developed, namely,
Adventurers, Path Finders, Ambassadors
and Senior Youths/AYS.
 Growth Dimensions
• Six Major Areas of Youth Growth
• Physical
• Cognitive(Mental)
• Social
• Emotional
• Moral and
• Faith/Spiritual.
 Growth Dimensions
• Youth Ministry must encompass the
social sphere within which each young
person operates.
 Growth dimensions
• Youth Ministry must impact and address
issues within the family, school,
community, sport and entertainment and
other areas of life that affect the young
people of the church’s community.
 Growth Dimensions
• Youth Ministry must encompass the
social sphere within which each young
person operates.
 Pastoral
• 6. Pastoral
• Although they don’t always appreciate it,
young people do need to be led.
 Pastoral
• Youth ministry is not the place to let
people “try out” a spiritual gift or
“practice” their leadership ability,
neither is it the realm of those who have
nothing better to do.
 Pastoral
• Most people who are adult christians
made a profession of faith before the age
of 16 as youths.
• Youth ministry should, therefore, be
where the church’s “best” ministers are
used.
 Pastoral
• Experienced adults must be involved in
youth leadership, at all levels.
 Pastoral
• Many young people in the world today
are emotionally damaged, due to
incredible pressures at school and play,
family breakdowns and peer pressures.
 Pastoral
• Youth Ministry must touch their lives in a
compassionate way, giving Biblical
counsel, and attempting to help resolve
these issues.
 Pastoral
• Youth Ministry will very often impact
families and be involved with family
ministry and counseling.
 Spiritual Ministry
• 7. SPIRITUAL MINISTRY
• Youth Ministry is not an entertainment
centre, nor is it a baby - sitting service.
 Spiritual Ministry
• It is a Spiritual Ministry, involving
Modeling and Teaching of spiritual
disciplines by spiritually gifted and
spiritually mature people.
 Spiritual Ministry
• Youth Ministry is in the business of
Molding the image of Jesus Christ in the
Minds of young people.
• Molding vs Entertainment/Baby sitting
• This is not to say that it will not be fun,
but the ultimate purpose is Spirituality,
not entertainment.
 Scriptural Foundation
• 8. BASED ON SCRIPTURE
• Although youth ministry must be
culturally relevant to young people in a
modern world, it will never compromise
the Gospel, nor will it go against
Scriptural instruction.
 Scriptural Foundation
• Youth Ministry by its nature must remain
fresh by always keeping an open
mind,and continually testing whether we
have truly understood the Bible and
applied it correctly.
 Scriptural Foundation
• 1. 1 Corinthians 12: 1 - 31
Our aim should be to help young people
find their gifts, and to use them in
ministry.
 Scriptural Foundation
• (Ephesians 4:11-16) These gifts indicate
some important areas of attention.
• We need “apostles” who are continually
reminding us of the outward direction of
our youth ministry.
• They focus our attention on the world
beyond.
 Scriptural Foundation
• Prophets or visionaries (Acts 2: 17) are
never satisfied with the status quo.
• They remind us that there is always
room for improvement.
• Evangelists long for the salvation of the
souls of the young people we have
contact with week by week.
 Scriptural Foundation
• Pastors or teachers point us back to
Scriptures.
• The guide for youth ministry must not be
human wisdom, but Scriptures.
 Scriptural Foundation
• (2 Timothy 2:2) The role of youth leaders
is to equip young people for ministry, or
Christ - likeness.
 Spiritual Autonomy
• 9. Assisting Young People Act
Independently
• “Good discipleship involves developing a
ministry that lasts”(Burns 1988:62).
 Spiritual Autonomy
• Youth Ministry must produce disciples of
Christ who can think and act
independently of their leaders; who can
spiritually stand firm and are willing to
take a stand against evil.
 Spiritual Autonomy
• Help young people to test the Christian
faith, to experiment with it, and to lead
them on the path of discovery that will
lead to their own personal acceptance of
Christ and what it means to be a
Christian.
 Christ’s Likeness
• 10. To Become Christ Followers
• The task of every discipler is to help
people become more like Jesus.
• To be better Christ - followers, then we
will be succeeding in our ministry - no
matter where they start or end on the
scale.
 Christ’s Likeness
• Salvation is God’s work, not ours.
• Our task is to do ministry, not to “get
people into heaven”.
• (Colossians 1:13) The purpose of youth
ministry is to point youth toward God
and help them become involved in the
Great Commission.
 Equipping
• 11. EQUIPPING
• The ultimate GOAL of youth ministry is
not to do things for young people, but
rather to equip them to effectively
minister for Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16).
 Equipping
• Young people must be encouraged to get
involved and to minister since their gifts,
personality and spirituality permit them.
 Leadership
• 12. LEADERSHIP
• Adventist Youth Ministry Needs to Be:
• To, for, with, and by Youth
 Leadership
• “TO” YOUTH Ministry that centers on
Youth and their: actual felt, real needs,
 Leadership
• “FOR” YOUTH
• Youth Ministry Belongs To The youth, Not
to the adults, and is forr the benefit of
the development of the youth.
 Leadership
• “WITH” YOUTH
• Youth are helped to become actively
involved in the whole planning processes
that focus on their FELT and REAL NEEDS!
 Leadership
• “BY” YOUTH
• Youth themselves do the work of the
Ministry.
• They are not just SPECTATORS.
 Leadership
• I DO
• WE DO
• THEY DO
• I WATCH
 Leadership
• Adults are actively involved as
facilitators, coaches and helpers.
 Leadership
• Adults serve as coach players.
• Youth learn leadership principles and
practice them immediately, instead of
waiting, “Till they are 35.”
 Church Focus
• 13. CHURCH FOCUS
• A church without youth ministry is a
church without a future.
• The church is as dead as the dead.
 Church Focus
• Youth need to Belong, accepted, and be
ministered to from the local church.
• The whole church must support the
youth programme.
 Church Focus
• Church needs youth and the youth need
the entire church.
 Balanced Programme
• 14. BALANCED PROGRAM
• Worship, evangelism, fellowship and
nourture.
• All youth activities must reflect these
four areas (Acts 2:42).
 Prayer
• 15. PRAYER
• Without the prayer support of the whole
church, it will be impossible to achieve
anything of eternal value in the youth
ministry.
• The church must pray for the success of
the Youth Ministry.
 Youth Ministry Objectives
• Youth Ministry
• 108 K Juice Drop
• Provide youth with a Bible-based
foundation.
• Raise the devotional life of the youth.
• Equip and Empower youth for a life of
service.
 Youth Ministry Objectives
• Lead youth to understand their individual
worth and discover and develop their
spiritual gifts and abilities.
• Teach youth the principles of
stewardship.
• Ensure the integration of youth into all
aspects of church life and leadership.