Some notes from a stimulating conversation at Smithton re youth ministry with Tim Hawkins and ministry leaders: Jenny, Jonathan, Karen and Kate.

Aim of youth ministry is to:

• Disciple people,
• Build up people in Christ to go out to build up other people in Christ.

How to work out where people are at in their ministry?

• Keen Christians wanting to be involved in ministry
• Wanting to grow as a Christian (or simply happy to attend?)
• Are the Christians in the congregation intentionally befriending young people?
  • to bring friends and family to Christ?
  • to build people in Christ?
  • to send out people to bring and build people in Christ?
• To make disciples who will make disciples
  • disciple making ministry and always in the context of relationships

It’s people around me who will help me to take the steps to grow in Christ

Structure outlasts the relationships (Problem of the Church)

The ministry program is

• to help people to get to know each other
• to enable relationships and
• to enable intentional relationships
• to build disciples

The ministry of Christ’s disciples is to build disciples!

Children leaving home and their church, ages 16-18, need to have sufficiently valued relationships in one church that they can be encouraged to go to a church in their new setting.

Therefore what ministry will connect with them after they leave?

• We must contact people in their new setting who will contact them
• We must phone them ourselves – do not forget them!

Need to recruit in new young adults who have/will have young children.

Our pastoral concern for leadership: that they do not keep on extending themselves.

PS My note taking on serviettes, etc, has been commented upon by some people 🙂 Here are the serviette ‘origins’