In youth ministry, we need to ask three key questions:

1. Why youth ministry? (What are our core values?)
2. What should youth ministry be? (What is our mission?)
3. How should youth ministry be conducted? (What is our strategy?)

We believe that youth ministry should be grounded on the following core values and directed toward the following mission.

Youth ministry core values

We begin with some essential beliefs about God, God’s will and the church’s appropriate response:

• God deeply loves all youths. It is the appropriate response of the church to value and cherish youths.
• By God’s design, youths are relational beings. The church’s appropriate response is to provide a relationally based youth ministry.
• The Holy Spirit is drawing and gifting youths for lifelong, personal relationships of devoted service to Jesus Christ. We want to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in actively evangelizing and discipling youths.
• God is the Creator of families and often draws people to his Son working in and through families. We therefore desire to work with youths in partnership with their families wherever possible.

Youth ministry mission

Grounded in these core values, we feel led by the Holy Spirit to propose the following two-part mission for youth ministry:

• Create an environment in which youths are exposed to the gospel and brought into the presence of Jesus Christ.
• Prepare, equip and release the youths for ministry in their congregations, their communities and in the world at large.

Author: Ted Johnston