Are children and teens any different today than in previous generations?  No, they are not any different; however, they certainly face different pressures than previous generations.  They do not know their pressures are different; all they know is what they are experiencing now.  To them, today’s culture is just normal; to us “old folks,” it may seem so much worse.  Yet God gives to each person, and thus to each generation, the grace and help necessary to cope with the particular trials of life (1 Corinthians 10:13).

It is natural for us to try to come up with “new” ideas, programs, and methods for this new generation faced with all these new challenges from this new world; but we must keep in mind that the old principles from the old Book still work on the old man and on the new man, as well.  Do not misunderstand what I am saying here.  Creativity and innovation are good, but only as they are consistent with the Word of God.  While we may come up with “new” activities and methods to reach this generation, we must allow biblical principles to permeate every aspect of our current programs and methods.  It does not matter which generation we are working with or what we are doing with the teens—whether going on a trip, playing sports, soul-winning, doing service projects, or having fun nights, picnics, parties, or prayer meetings—these basic principles must be present if a youth ministry is to succeed in reaching each new generation for our Lord Jesus Christ.

I. The Faithful Leader Principle

A. The ability to teach others also

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2).  In the last phrase of this verse, we see that the ability to teach is tied to being a faithful and dependable person.  Is it any wonder that when teens do not respect an adult, their number one reason is the inconsistency of that adult?  Example has the power to open or close minds.  It behooves those who would wish to lead and influence young people to redouble their efforts in this biblical character trait of faithfulness.

B. The requirement of God for servant-leadership

“Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2).

There are two aspects in this verse that one must consider.  One is the aspect of faithfulness and the other is the aspect of stewardship.  Both areas are important and seldom stand alone when being considered in relation to leadership.  So while we will look at these two qualities individually, they must be put into practice in tandem.

Faithfulness in the area of stewardship (servant-leadership) is an absolute necessity.  It is characterized by serving others when it is both convenient and inconvenient.  Likewise, it is not just serving others for a short while but serving consistently over a long period of time. Stewardship is basically caring for someone else’s interests before you care for your own.  As youth leaders, we are stewards of  the interests of the church and of the parents of the young people.  Likewise, we are stewards of our Lord Jesus Christ and we care for one of His interests, young people, through servant leadership.

“As every man  hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).  There is no doubt that when Jesus started talking to His disciples about serving others, He was treading on new ground; for nowhere in the ancient world was there any precedent for the servant-style leadership that He introduced to His disciples in Mark 9:35:  “If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.”  The ancients thought service to others was undignified; they believed that sacrificial service was just not something the disciples expected to hear from Christ when they were expecting to rule in the “kingdom” with Him.  He then said the unexpected again by equating service to others with service to Himself in Matthew 25:40:  “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”  In essence, putting others first through servant-leadership is putting Christ first and serving Him.

II. The Balanced Focus Principle

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (Luke 2:52).  The importance of  this short verse cannot be overlooked as it applies to the youth groups because it is the one verse in the Bible that seems to best summarize the youthful years of Christ’s life.  This significance is especially true because our ultimate goal is to help young people progress toward conforming to the image of Christ.  It is only fitting then that we should look to this example of His early years to give us some help in working with our youth and children today.

Any youth program must address all four life goals (mental, physical, social, and spiritual) in each activity, as well as having the goals as an overall focus.  We accomplish the overall goal of Christlikeness by making sure we ask the following questions as we contemplate each aspect or event in the youth ministry:

• What learning will result?
• How will this aid in their physical development?
• Will this improve their social skills (friendship, manners, appropriateness)?
• What spiritual benefit, growth, or lesson will flow from this?

Physical growth is happening everyday for young people.  Exercise and physical activity is as good and necessary for them as it is for puppies  The physical should never become an all-consuming focus, but it must never be given less than its proper place just because it is not “spiritual.”  There is always a challenge for balance in a youth program.

Much of manners and learning the social graces is based on three scriptural principles:  others-first love (Galatians 5:13-14), appropriateness (1 Corinthians 10:31-33; Ecclesiastes 3:1-8), and self-control (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).  Use the teaching of good manners to teach these spiritual principles.  Teach your youth that “everything means something,” and teach them  to examine what their actions say about their respect for others.  Do not let them get away with saying, “I didn’t mean anything by that.”  That is a lie hatched in hell.  We must do everything we do with the Lord and what it means in mind (Colossians 3:23-25).

Of the four goals, the spiritual one must be considered the primary one, for it is the eternal one and profitable unto all things (1 Timothy 4:8).  In another verse, the Lord gave us the same basic priority order when He asked us to put Him first and that then He would see that these other material things would be added to us (Matthew 6:33).  First Corinthians 10:31 also teaches this balanced focus of being able to, in essence, serve God and accomplish spiritual goals by doing any righteous activity in a way that glorifies Him.

We know that kids want to have fun, be around friends, and generally experience a variety of new things as they grow into maturity.  We also know that they need a number of things such as education, character development, morality, good manners, and spiritual challenges which outwardly they may deny needing or wanting, but which inwardly they really do want.  The churches, of course, have the goal to fulfill the Great Commission through presenting the gospel and through discipleship programs.  Their goals are essentially spiritual in nature; and they are willing to have the “fun” aspects of a youth group, as long as their main goals are being satisfied.  If the youth group becomes over-balanced in one way or another, it will struggle for survival.  If there is no fun, the kids will shun it; if there are no spiritual challenges and results, the church will walk away from it.  The youth leader must strive to meet all four life goals—mental, physical, social, and spiritual—in a balanced way in order for the youth group to survive and flourish.

III. The Concentric Circle Principle—Christ’s example  (See The Concentric Circle Principle for more information)