Guidelines for Youth Ministers - I Tim. 4:12-16
(A charge for a new youth director, the church and the youth).
Illustration: A youth pastor wanted to illustrate something to his students. He placed some valuable objects on small tables around the room. On one of the tables was a Bible. There was a $5 bill on another table. There was a happy meal on one table. Other tables had other desirable items.
A student was blindfolded outside of the room before entering. The other students were divided into groups. Each group was to shout to the blindfolded student directions to the item and table that was assigned to them. However, only one person was assigned the table with the Bible.
When the blindfolded student was led into the center of the room, all the students began yelling instructions and directions. The noise level was deafening. However, with six different groups screaming instructions, no set of instructions stood out. The blindfolded student stood in the center of the room, confused, lost and without direction.
Worse of all, the one voice trying to direct the student to the Bible was lost in the noise.
• This is an illustration of the state of our society today, particularly concerning our youth. There seems to be no clear voice to give directions.
• Our young people often stand without clear instructions, godly examples, or sane leadership.
• Brent, my goal tonight is to make some things clear, for you and for all of our Church.
• God has placed His hand on your life to be a voice of good for the youth of this community.
• That responsibility can be staggering and overwhelming.
• Sometimes it will fill you with such joy, you will want to shout from the rooftops.
• Sometimes, it will fill you with such sadness and pain, you will weep the night through.
• But I want you to understand that you are simply taking leadership in the ministry of this Church to our youth.
• You are not alone. We are not assigning or dispatching youth ministry to you so we can go about other business and do our other things.
• That’s how it may seem and that’s how it will feel sometimes.
• But I want us to enter into this new chapter of ministry on the same page together as a Church.
• All the ministries of the Church are just that, Church-wide ministries.
• All ministries of our Church have the full backing, support, prayer, and love.
• Brent, we don’t just want you to lead youth in this position.
• We want you to lead the Church in doing youth and family ministry.
• We are going to do youth ministry as a Church. We are going to do missions as a Church.
• We are going to do children’s ministry as a Church. We are going to do senior adult ministry as a Church.
• We are a Church who uses God-talented and God-called leaders to lead our ministries, but we do them as a Church.
• We do youth ministry because there is a special need in our youth.
Illustration: A new study from LifeWay Research reveals that more than two-thirds of young adults who attend a Baptist church for at least a year in high school will stop attending church regularly.
• Let’s look at 1 Timothy 4:12-16 and see what charges there are for you, Brent, our youth workers, our Church and our youth.
1Ti 4:12-16 Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
• Today, more than at any other time in history, young people are looking for examples and role models.
• Youth are looking for direction about many things but especially in ways they can develop their character.
• Paul gave Timothy guidelines in this passage for everyone who wants to know how to minister to youth, or even to minister as a young person.
• He saw the need to give people the foundation to live their lives from a biblical perspective.
• Today we live in a world where most young people get their perspectives from TV, movies, music or their peers.
• However, this simply leaves a deep soul-hunger for deeper meaning, one we can supply as a Bible-believing Church.
Illustration: George Lawton captures many young peoples’ attitudes in his list of guidelines for meeting adolescents’ hopes:
1. Stand by us, not over us.
2. Make us feel we are loved and wanted.
3. Train us by being compassionately firm.
4. Bring us up so we will not always need you.
5. Try to be as consistent as possible.
6. Say, "Nice work," when we do something really well.
7. Respect us, even if you don’t agree with us.
8. Give direct answers to direct questions.
9. Show interest in what we are doing.
10. Treat us as if we are normal, even when our conduct seems peculiar to you.
11. Teach us by example.
12. We need fun and friendship.
13. Don’t laugh at us when we use the word "love".
14. Prepare us to lead our lives, not yours.
15. Permit us the failing of average young people just as we permit you the failings of average parents and youth leaders!
• The better a youth worker understands the problems youth face, as well as their needs, the better they will be able to understand and relate the biblical message to them.
• By keeping in touch with young people by being a good listening, one can learn to enhance the effectiveness our communication.
• It all begins by being an example in the following five areas:
1. Be an example in serving Christ at your age.
• Timothy could easily have been discouraged by those who might have thought he was too young or inexperienced to Pastor.
• But it isn’t necessarily age or experience that determines our successes in God’s work.
• A young shepherd king, David, wrote, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High." (Psa 46:1,4)
• When we are feeling inadequate we can draw upon the rivers of living water’s nourishment, adequacy and power that supplies us with whatever we need.
• A wise leader will draw upon the living water for success, not our flawed experiences.
• Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" (John 7:38)
• That experience will keep us from traps of character that we would otherwise fall into.
Illustration:Bill Hybels related a story of integrity in Leadership Magazine. It illustrates proper humility in a leader. One evening I stopped by the church just to encourage those who were there rehearsing for the spring musical. I didn’t intent to stay long, so I parked my car next to the entrance. After a few minutes, I ran back to my car and drove home.
The next morning I found a note in my office mailbox. It read: A small thing, but Tuesday night when you came to rehearsal, you parked in the "No Parking" area. A reaction from one of my crew (who did not recognize you after you got out of your car) was, "There’s another jerk in the ’No Parking’ area!" We try hard not to allow people -- even workers -- to park anywhere other than the parking lots. I would appreciate your cooperation, too. It was signed by a member of our maintenance staff.
(This man’s) stock went up in my book because he had the courage to write to me about what could have been a slippage in my character. And he was right on the mark. As I drove up that night, I had thought, I shouldn’t park here, but after all, I am the pastor. That translates: "I’m an exception to the rules." But that employee wouldn’t allow me to sneak down the road labeled "I’m an exception." I’m not the exception to church rules or any of God’s rules. Exemplary conduct means encouraging others to imitate us, even in the small matters.
• Character matters, and young people will pick up inconsistencies faster than we will know them or see them.
• But drawing from that living water, we will find the resources to live consistently and with integrity that will build character into our youth.
2. Be an example in conducting yourself in a way that will give you greater respect.
• If a youth leader not disgrace himself with complacency, indiscipline lifestyles or follies that cause others to disrespect them, youth will respect that and allow for mistakes to be made.
• Authorities have taught that even though young people may not agree with adult leaders, they will respect them if they know they are committed, serious, loving and focused on doing what they believe to be God’s will and God’s work.
Illustration: Charles Spurgeon said, “A man’s life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching.”
3. Be an example in your preparations.
• Those who are working with youth need to do their homework in excellent preparation.
• Paul told Timothy, "Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. " ( I Tim. 4:13).
• “Prior preparations tend to prevent poor performance.”
• Never get lax in your preparations. There are no shortcuts to excellence.
• Many people think they can coast on their experiences or their past performances.
• Do not make of preparing in every way except prayer. Do not neglect the most important preparation of all.
• Paul told the Corinthians “my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God. (I Cor. 2:4-5).
• Preparation in every area reduces mistakes, but preparation in prayer is the only way to draw upon the power of the Holy Spirit in our ministries.
4. Be an example in teaching youth what to be, what to do and what to think.
• This goes against the grain of our culture, but people need the truth.
• Do not hesitate to give youth the biblical towards which they should aspire.
• We live in a relativistic age. Consider this….
Illustration: 70% of high school grads leave the church, never to return.
65% of evangelical teens never read their Bibles
33% believe religion is out of date and out of touch
40% of all teens believe in astrology
30% read astrology column daily, maybe more on facebook.
42% of protestant teens say there are many ways to God.
28% feel the content of the Bible are not accurate.
• The best thing we can give the youth of today is absolute truth. We must give them the Word of God.
• Never shy away from the truth because God works through the truth better than our cautious words can work.
5. Be an example in not being distracted by things.
• The key guideline to follow in fellowship with youth is, "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty and in all things, love."
• It is easy to get confused in wanting to train up our youth to look like us, but that is a distraction.
• Learn that there are many non-essential aspects about styles of dress, music and fashion that are not worth arguing about.
• Instead, in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself to be an example.
• Young people will love you as you remain a positive example in these five essential aspects of life while giving them freedom in the areas of non-essentials of their culture.
One word for our youth:
• We know there are a lot of voices in your life, some good, many bad.
• Why do we do youth ministry as a Church? Raise thousands of dollars for your camp and mission trips?
• We love you and value you.
• We know there will be pressure for you to one day walk away. We want you to be strong and faithful at every age.
• We are not perfect. There is no perfect youth director, youth worker, pastor or Church.
• We know you are not perfect. We love you anyway, and we ask you to love us anyway.
• We ask you to not just be a part of this youth group, but be a part of this Church.
• (Prayer for Brent.)
