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| They are separate, and it is an accurate representation of many churches throughout the country. The congregation needs to instead look at the ministry with youth as a “mission field,” according to Dean and Foster, and I must agree. The problem, as Dean and Foster point out, is that in most congregations the word “mission” or “missionaries” often turns people off. But I agree with this view of adolescents and youth ministry as a mission field. It is important for youth pastors to enter the field of youth ministry with proper knowledge of those they plan to minister with. Dean and Foster stress the importance of not adopting their culture, but instead we must inhabit it. We cannot allow ourselves to become one of them, but instead must be one with them. This is one of the greatest signs of being a healthy adult leader. It is also equally important to realize that youth ministry is more then just an 8-5 job or career. These youth need nurturing. Youth Ministry is not work, but a life work and life calling Once we realize that we are missionaries, that we must be one with the youth, and that youth ministry is a life work, our task then becomes helping the congregation fix their view and see youth ministry as a real mission, and the youth as pastors and missionaries in their own right. When we make the concise decision to minister with youth, we are jumping on board with God, saying “Yes, I will participate in the development of these teenagers’ holiness and not their wholesomeness.” In other words, we are saying to God that we will help them take responsibility for their souls. Continued... |
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