For one Sunday in August, our youth group led the worship service. They took up guitars, drums, and the keyboard—some of them playing with a worship team for the very first time. One of our youth leaders preached the sermon, and one young man interviewed another about what they’ve learned from the men in our church. The service wasn’t flawless, but it delighted our congregation and surely honored Christ.
Our youth also handled behind-the-scenes ministries like the soundboard, livestream, and bulletins. Some practiced hospitality as ushers and greeters, serving donuts and hosting the book table. And as Southern California weathered a hurricane, young men with umbrellas walked the older ladies of our congregation, to and from their cars.
It struck me that a few of our youth were not even born yet when the church began. Like many church plants, we started our youth group with only a handful of students, and most weeks, we had more adult leaders in attendance than kids. But that ratio allowed for quality mentorship. We couldn’t compete against the megachurch ministries with their hundreds of students, but we gave our youth a place to belong and opportunities to grow.
As a smaller church, we’ve always invited young people to serve in children’s ministry, assisting with toddlers, teaching Sunday school, or volunteering for VBS. During the COVID pandemic, we trained our youth to serve in audiovisual roles, the hospitality team, and many other areas previously led by adults. We gave them simple responsibilities like setting up tables and chairs or serving the fellowship lunch. And our short-term mission teams often bring different generations together to serve side-by-side.
Our vision as a church is to make disciples who love Jesus, and this ministry starts when our children are young. We teach them and train them. We encourage and support families. We equip parents as the primary disciplers in the home. As we do so, we pray that this generation will faithfully serve the Lord even as we send them off to college, careers, and future marriages.
So we’ve embraced three basic practices that we believe help cultivate a lifelong faith. First, young people must be regularly involved in the intergenerational ministry of a local church. They need to see older saints rejoicing as we sing or pray with passion. We need to be okay if they squirm a bit in “big church” or express their doubts as they explore challenging doctrines. We want our children to witness godly examples up close both at home and in the church, instead of being secluded into age-specific silos.
Second, we encourage our youth to serve early on and to learn from mentors in the process. When they serve as greeters, they can practice their firm handshake and how to look adults in the eye. They might ask how a visitor likes their coffee as they serve them with a smile. They appreciate their Bible teachers more when they are challenged to teach a lesson themselves. We must give our youth room to struggle but enough support so they don’t feel they’re on their own. This culture of discipleship emphasizes the vital importance of Titus 2 ministry.
Third, we train our youth to foster a genuine faith for themselves instead of being carried along by their parents. Through discipleship, they learn the means of grace, such as Bible study, prayer, and evangelism. We call them to make commitments such as professing their faith through public baptism and clearly declaring their testimony of salvation. Our dream is to one day send out homegrown missionaries, church-planting families, and future pastors.
Youth Sunday is just one way to celebrate what’s been happening all along as we encourage the next generation to step up and step forward. May the psalmist’s prayer be true in all of our churches: “I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever” (Psalm 45:17).