The Importance of Our Youth Ministry
Mark 10:13-16
Intro
Two young children were talking to each other about parent problems one day. One of them complained to the other saying, “First they teach you to talk, then they teach you to walk, and as soon as you learn how to do both, they tell you to sit down and be quiet.”
What is your view of young people in church? How do you believe your view matches up with Jesus’ view? Does your attitude toward the young sound something like this:
a. We want you in Sunday school but we’re not going to go out of our way to see that your spiritual education needs are covered.
b. We want you in Sunday morning worship service, but we’re not going to do anything that meets your needs – Just sit still and be quiet.
c. We want you here on Wednesday nights, but don’t make too much noise.
d. We want you in church as long as it doesn’t cost us too much of our time.
In Mark 10:13-16, people were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw, this he was upset. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” And Jesus took the children into his arms.
Our children stand for something. They stand for the kind of dependence and helplessness and need and insufficiency and faith that his required of adults to enter the kingdom of God. Like Jesus said, “To such as there belongs the kingdom.”
Don’t be upset if you’re a teenager and you hear me used the term “children” In the Greek, there was no word for teenager, the word used in our passage today means youth of any age. Also in the first century, you were either a child or an adult. Once you turned 13, you were treated like an adult. I know some of you are thinking, “Hey, that’s great!” But you not only were treated like an adult, you had the responsibilities of an adult and had to work like an adult. Now you’re thinking “What a bummer!” Actually, because you are young, lots of folks are jealous of you. We’re funny people, When we’re young, we want to be old and when we’re old we want to be young again. So what does our passage teach us about our ministry to youth?
READ TEXT
3 Basics
I. Enlist (v. 13a)
a. Did you notice that it says “people” were bringing children to Jesus?
i. I wonder why Mark doesn’t use the term “parents” there.
1. I guess it was because more were involved than just parents.
a. There must have been grandparents, brothers and sisters, and even neighbors.
2. The same event is recorded in Matthew and Luke and they also use the term “people”.
ii. Many of us will sit back and talk about all that’s wrong with the young people and how things are not like they were when we were growing up, but we never do anything positive to get involved with them.
1. We’re called to bring the youth to know and be blessed by Jesus.
iii. As a result of the adults who brought the youth to Jesus and Jesus’ acceptance of them, the youth were able to find a intimate relationship with Jesus.
b. Why is it important to bring them to Jesus while they’re young?
i. A 2004 Barna survey showed that 85% of Christians began their relationship with Jesus before age 14.
ii. A fairly recent Gallup poll showed that:
1. 19 out of 20 Christians are saved before the age of 25.
2. After age 25, 1 in 10,000
3. After age 35, 1 in 50,000
4. After age 45, 1 in 200,000
iii. If you look at things statistically, it makes sense to spend time evangelizing the young.
iv. D.L. Moody once returned from preaching a revival meeting and reported that there were two and a half conversions. Someone asked, “Two adult and one child?” Moody replied, “No. Two children and one adult. The Children gave their whole lives. The adult only had half to give.”
II. Encourage (v. 13b)
a. Notice that the disciples kept the people from bringing the youth to Jesus.
i. They probably thought Jesus didn’t need to be bothered by people as insignificant as children.
ii. In no uncertain terms, the disciples were going to keep these noisy children and their nuisance guardians away from Jesus. After all, He had to have better thing to do, right?
b. Why would the disciples do something like that?
i. After all, they had already seen Jesus’ heart for children.
1. Mark 5:41, He raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead
2. Mark 7:29-30, He delivered a boy who was possessed with a demon that kept him mute.
3. Mark 9:33-37, Jesus instructed the disciples that, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
ii. You know it’s always amazed me that the people who should be the closet to Jesus cause the most trouble in churches.
1. They’ve been in church almost every Sunday of their lives.
2. They’ve sat in Sunday school classes and studied the Bible.
3. Yet there seems to be a discrepancy between what they read in scripture and what they practice in their lives.
c. What was Jesus reaction to what the disciples were doing?
i. Verse 14, says that Jesus was indignant with the disciples.
1. That term in the Greek means to have deep emotional pain.
2. It’s the only time that word is used in the N.T.
ii. Jesus didn’t tolerate that kind of attitude from His followers then and He doesn’t tolerate it today.
iii. The disciples thought Jesus needed protection from bothersome young people, Jesus points out that it is sometimes the young people who need protection from the bumbling adults.
iv. Listen to what Jesus told the disciples in Matthew 18:1-6.
d. Some what are some practical ways to encourage our youth.
i. Speak to them
ii. Give them a pat on the back and tell them you think they’re doing a great job.
iii. Send a card or letter of encouragement
iv. Invite them to sit with you during church
v. Talk positively about the impact our young people are having on other young people.
vi. Tell others about our youth program
vii. Pray about the needs of the youth.
III. Equip (v. 15-16)
a. What is a youth ministry and what does it involve:
i. Youth ministry is an offering of service by the local church as a whole to and for young people.
ii. It involves us communicating the grace of God to young people through preaching and teaching of the Word, and accepting them as being important in the kingdom of God, and meeting their needs, showing the love of Christ to them through our attitudes and actions.
b. Why should we invest in a strong ministry to youth?
i. It’s for their benefit
1. They need the saving power of God in their lives.
2. They need a strong faith to face the pressures of this world
3. They need the love of Christ.
ii. It’s for our benefit
1. Notice that Jesus says that adults need to become more child-like rather than children becoming more like the adults.
2. Young people are precious in their own right and they stand for something bigger than themselves.
Closing
What we do in our ministry to youth is not about spending money, it’s not just about having a good time and being entertained, it’s not about a different style of music, and it’s not about a place where they can go so they don’t disturb the adults. IT”S ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
We invest in the wrong thing:
1. We invest in houses that will get eaten by termites, or blown away by a storm.
2. We invest in cars that will rust, break down, and get crushed one day for scrap metal.
3. We invest in clothes that go out of style, get too small, and get discarded.
But when we invest in youth, we are investing in the Kingdom of God.
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” Have you done that? Have you sought the kingdom of God with the simple but trusting faith of a little child? We cannot come to Jesus in our pride and self-sufficiency. Yet, to all who will come to Him and place their complete trust in Him, He will receive as His own. Jesus waits with open arms to accept you and bless you just like He did for these young people 2,000 years ago.
