Our  Responsibility

I've searched and searched to find where the Bible says youth work is all about having fun, or providing a place where young people can find someone to date, or they can hopefully be kept out of trouble long enough to make safe choices.

Hmmmmm. It's not in there. Instead I find a call for leaders to equip God's people (uh, that would be the youth) to do His work and to encourage one another to maturity. That's our responsibility.

"He is the one who gave these gifts to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God's people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ, until we come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God's Son that we will be mature and full grown in the Lord, measuring up to the full stature of Christ.
Then we will no longer be like children, forever changing our minds about what we believe because someone has told us something different or because someone has cleverly lied to us and made the lie sound like the truth. Instead, we will hold to the truth in love, becoming more and more in every way like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church..." Ephesians 4: 11-15 NLT

Which leads to a philosophy of sorts that drives our youth ministry.

The young people are part of a package, their family. Their parents know them, care about them and love them far more than we ever could.  We come along side the parents to help them bring their child through the teen years, by learning to know them, caring about them and loving them as best as we possibly can.

We do all we can to help them know and love God by modeling that lifestyle ourselves. We are a sounding board when life has more questions than answers, a shoulder to cry on when it gets hard, a patient friend when hearts are troubled and a gentle shepherd when they wander close to the edge.

Because we believe it is absolutely critical for a Christian to know and love God's Word, we emphasize teaching that is practical and engaging. Teaching that encourages Biblical thinking and consistent living, and holds up the Bible as God's revealed word to man. A plumb line that shows us God, what He expects from us and what He longs to do for us and through us.

Sunday morning the youth work through a series of lessons designed to give them an introduction to church history, doctrines, major themes, apologetics, practical theology and we throw in a little kitchen sink too.

Sunday evening is more relaxed and a time to build on what was taught in the morning, fellowship with each other, build friendships, and address the issues youth face from a Biblical perspective. And eat donuts, lots of donuts. And sing my version of Happy Birthday, whenever a birthday comes up.

The proverb "you can give a man a fish and feed him for a day or teach him to fish and feed him for a lifetime" applies to the Bible as well. Which is why Wednesday evening at the church is my favorite time. The group is smaller and we concentrate on prayer for each other, the church, our friends and our brothers and sisters around the world facing persecution.

We then focus on in-depth Bible study. Hard stuff. Greek Interlinear Bibles are spread out on the table, along with notebooks and copies of Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. We talk theology, discuss controversial doctrines and learn why the Greek tense makes a difference when studying 1 john.

Yeah. Young people. They tell me one of their favorite times is in church. Go figure.

Dwight Ball
Youth Director

This ministry wouldn't be possible, by the way, without Susan and the support and love of the parents and families at Grace.