2. • A closer look at what the book says regarding teaching patterns
to maximize effectiveness with teenagers will be considered.
• There are some insights I would like to share from my personal
experiences as well.
• The information used in this PowerPoint presentation was mostly
from personal convictions and my notebook notes from our
textbook: The Teaching Ministry of the Church – 2nd Edition
cited as follows:
• Yount, William (editor). The Teaching Ministry of the Church: 2nd
Edition. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2008.
• The Holy Word of our LORD was also used.
3. • I don’t know when or where the LORD will have me take a youth
ministry position but I am ready to take it for His glory.
• My heart beats for youth ministry everyday and the thought of
ministering to young people makes me shout for joy.
• The youth today, in my opinion, need so much and I know I cannot
give them everything they need.
• I desire to work with a Spirit led ministry and a willing team of
people ready to help so we will be able to do our best to meet
those needs.
• I very much enjoy seeing parents of students care about the
spiritual journey their family is on as individuals and as a group.
• The most important thing to me is that students fall in love with
Jesus Christ in a way that is indescribable and make Him the
Supreme Ruler and Redeemer of their lives on a daily basis.
4. • When I was a teenager I remember wanting to
participate in anything I could with my friends and
family.
• I feel like hanging out with them gave me a sense of
belonging to a group of people and I know youth need
that today.
• Teenagers today must know they are loved and cared
for in order to really feel connected.
• What I mean is that as a group of teenagers in a
student ministry must operate with an open
atmosphere attitude to welcome in any newcomers to
promote Christian living and community.
5.
6. • John 11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.
Anyone who believes in me will live, even if he dies.
• 14:6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me.
• This is the truth students need to hear.
• They are dealing with relative and secular humanism each day of
their life and we must remain strong teaching them how to overcome
this and put on the armor of God.
• Jesus died for them for this life and for the life to come.
• Embracing Jesus Christ and believing in His supreme power is
something we must do as ministers.
• Einstein came up with E=MC 2 and as youth ministers we need to
teach T=GJH (Truth = God*Jesus*Holy Spirit).
• God revealed to us the truth through His acts as the Father in the
OT, His willing sacrifice of His Son in the NT, and the overwhelming
theme throughout the Bible of His Spirit being present at all times.
• God cannot be ignored and we should never attempt to ignore Him.
7. • In chapter 15, with an introduction to preschoolers, I was
made aware of the learner’s mind at that age and gained
some knowledge for myself.
• Even as a young child, they need to be respected as someone who
can grow spiritually.
• They are spiritually sensitive at the ages of 3-5 and have the
ability to learn spiritual truths.
• Parents should not overlook teaching spiritual truths at an early
age.
• As children are the lifeblood of the future, they must not ever be
overlooked.
• This truth comes into affect at the beginning of the next
chapter.
• From birth – 15 years of age, the above is always true but looked
at from different angles as the young child becomes an older child
and then a teenager.
8. • Chapter 15 mentions five different ways a learner grows as they age:
• Mental development
• Physical development
• Spiritual development
• Social development
• Emotional development
• Clearly, a teenager is more developed than a preschooler in each of these areas,
but the development does begin at an early age.
• However, There are similar trends in parenting represented by the numbers
presented in the book.
• As children are sensitive to the Spirit, if the parent does not take charge to
nurture the child spiritually then a pattern has a tendency to set in and the role
of spiritual leader is passed to the church.
• The church was never meant to serve as the spiritual leader for a child or
teenager.
• Parents, parents, parents are the ones who lead their household and those living
in it.
9. • Children, like youth, need consistency in order to
remember the lesson, the application, the verses used in
the lesson, and why they are there in the first place.
• Colossians 2:1-10 discusses the need for consistency in
theology, Christology, and philosophy.
• Without it, children and teens will be tossed out and most
likely be part of the 60+% who drop out after high school.
• Consistency begins at the home and continues at the
church.
• A child is confused when home says one thing and the
church says another!
10. • Knowing is half the battle – I
know it was on G.I. Joe and it
is true.
• If our students know what is
being taught to them then
the LORD has done something
great through us.
• I agree with the book that
one central and clear point
that a student can see
through to connect it with
the application to their life is
amazing and necessary.
• Jesus taught in Parables (ex:
Matthew 25) and usually had
one point to them.
11. • A teenager must learn to survive in this world that
negates all they know to be true.
• The teens of today are at a serious crossroads in
history floating in a relative cloud containing nonlinear
thinking, and they come from broken homes where
they talk to their parents less than 15 minutes a week
about things that matter.
• Many of them feel distant from the church and are
not considered as vital to the life of the church.
12. • An average of 77% of people accept Christ by the
time they are 21 yrs of age.
• Over 50% of young adults who profess to be
Christians when they are freshman in college walk
away from their faith by the end of their
bachelor’s degree.
• Over 60% of students walk away from the church
after high school.
• Over 80% of youth attend church for an average
of 2 months when they are a teenager.
• Parents, as a majority, are not involved in the
spiritual outline of their student’s life.
13. • They alternate between maturity and childhood.
• They are on an emotional roller coaster and they need
some help.
• They need leaders who are loving and patient
• The teens of today are realizing their dreams may or
may not come true.
• Youth desperately want to belong and they need a
leader to show them they do.
• They are in a fight between dependence and
interdependence as adulthood approaches and
childhood is left behind.
14. • They need to be taught Matthew 22:37-39 – Jesus
MUST be loved with ALL of them and made supreme
and their fellow neighbor must be shown the love of
Christ.
• They SEEK an identity constantly.
• They ask multiple questions and are expecting an
answer for each one.
• They are developing
• At different rates
• Spiritual and moral values
• An adventurous mind wanting to discover new things.
15.
16. • They must be taught how to serve each other.
• The parents are vital in this role.
• Without the parents, it is VERY difficult to get a
student on track with serving the LORD and other
people.
• A parent is the GREATEST person in the world for a
student to learn from because they have the greatest
amount of influence on them.
• This critical relationship must be nurtured by the
Holy Spirit as it is key for the youth to develop a
respect for spiritual truths they will carry with them
for the rest of their life.
17. • Luke 10:27, Matthew 22:36-38, Mark 12:28-30, and
Deut. 6:4-9 are all instances when God or Jesus state
what is the most important act we can do.
• Teaching these concepts to the youth are without
question a necessity.
• Teaching the parents to do it, when necessary, must
be kept in mind.
• Teenagers are great, I look forward to serving them
for the rest of my life, and I will connect them with
their parents on a spiritual level.
