By Dave Wright
Youth ministry can be an uphill battle. The congregation and church leadership often don’t fully understand the challenges that youth leaders face and don’t know how to support them. Yet many church leaders are still looking to start or develop a youth ministry.
In the parable of the sower and soils (Matthew 13), Jesus compares the seeds that fell on good soil versus the seeds that fell on rocky or shallow soil. If we don’t faithfully prepare the soils of youth ministry, we should not expect to reap a harvest. So how do we prepare the church for effective youth ministry? Based on 15 years as a youth pastor and a dozen more consulting with churches and training youth pastors, I offer these four key ingredients.
First, youth ministry needs a profile.
Second, youth ministry needs a vision.
Third, youth ministry needs a strategy.
Finally, youth ministry needs support.
Read more at http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/06/17/4-key-ingredients-for-youth-ministry/