Last weekend I was at Momentum2010 and one of the breakout sessions was led by Kevin DeYoung. In case you don’t know him, he is a pastor and has written a few books. I’ve read one of his books. It was great and I highly recommend his books.
Anyway, his session was called and described as this: How to Reach the Next Generation: It’s Easier and Harder Than You think – Too many people think the secret to effective ministry lies in our styles and cultural relevance. But the secret is there is no secret. Fruitful ministry is more about our character and passion for God than any gimmicks or tricks of the trade.
Here are my not-so-great-notes:
- Grab them with passion (your teaching and preaching should be personal, passionate pleading)
- People want to see our zeal, our faith; style matters less
- We can’t pass on what we don’t feel ourselves
- Win them with love
- Culture is important but not as much as love
- Stop preaching the false gospel of cultural identification
- Hold them with holiness
- People need your personal holiness more than anything
- Do teens see your personal zeal and passion?
- Parents have the biggest influence on teens and your ministry should have an emphasis on them
- Challenge them with truth
- Bold meaty teaching is part of the solution, not the problem
- Moralistic, therapeutic deism – refute this!
- Can we explain the doctrines of the faith ourselves? If not, it’s hard to teach.
- Amaze them with God
- NOT moralism
- Are we trying to amaze them with our own cleverness or God?
- Reach the next generation for God with God
So there ya go. A hour lecture boiled down to 5 simple points. I may not have captured everything completely but I think you can get the big ideas.
I enjoyed his lecture tons and I’m wondering what others who are in youth ministry think?
Sounds about right to me, and it seems like reading your blog only took me 27 minutes, which is 47 minutes less than an hour, so I saved some time there.
Glad to be of service Jeff.