The Future Church Is Here Now
Teenagers aren’t just the “next generation” of the Church.
It was my first youth group at our new church in Bozeman, Montana. Aiden, a high school sophomore who’d grown up in our church, walks up to me and says, “Hi, I’m glad you are here.” It was a fleeting moment—Aiden immediately returned to playing six-square—but it stuck with me.
A month later, Aiden approached me again and asked if I had time to meet with him. A few days after that, we sat down over froyo, and he unloaded a myriad of questions and struggles. They were nothing shocking or out of the ordinary—other than the fact that he actually wanted to talk about them.
Too often the practical outflow of ministry treats the development of the next generation of the church as something to be done in the next generation. This needs to change.
During that school year, it became increasingly clear that Aiden’s story mirrored that of most teenagers who grow up in the church. He knew all the right answers. He knew what he was “supposed” to do. He just struggled to see the point of living out his faith. He struggled to see how God’s plan was better than the world’s idea of the good life.
These are incredibly common, often unasked questions of teenagers. Aiden was a solid believer who was willing to wrestle with his faith. His issue was not his questions but the church’s understanding that his “maturity” was directly—and perhaps solely—tied to knowledge.
Aiden did not struggle with unbelief; he struggled with stagnation. Our discipleship conversations shifted from increasing his knowledge to helping him think about how he could use his gifts and passions to serve the church community. He started relatively small, playing occasionally in the worship band at youth group and reading Scripture in our church worship service. Halfway through his junior year, he started teaching kindergarten Sunday school. He began taking the things he'd learned growing up in church and teaching them to others.
The “future church” is the present church
The future church is currently sitting in your pews, rows and classrooms. Too often the practical outflow of ministry treats the development of the next generation of the church as something to be done in the next generation. This needs to change. The ones sitting in your pews, rows and classrooms are not just the next generation of church members and leaders, they are the church now.
When we, as current church members and leaders, fail to recognize children and especially teens as part of the church now, we short-change their equipping and send them into the world—whether to university or jobs or military—spiritually unprepared for “real life.”
Consider the common struggle for newly minted high school graduates to find a healthy church and their inability to read, study and apply their Bibles in accurate and helpful ways. Not only are the teens short-changed, but the church is too.
Think about the discipleship opportunities, the children’s Sunday school leaders, the worship team members and the caliber of Christian leaders that would be produced if we change the way we engage teenagers in our churches. Lives would be changed; college campuses would be changed; culture would be changed. And your church will be changed by a group of young people wrestling with God’s Word as they walk alongside others.
Ponder the all-too-common testimony of “church kids.” Raised in a Christian home. Went to college, went crazy. Some come back. More never do. For 18 years, every teaching they heard was geared to their exact life stage and the things they faced at that time. There is no expectation set for contributing to the local body or investing in younger Christians. We celebrate when they come and only ask that they consume. It is a set-up for failure. Is it a surprise that an 18-year-old graduates high school, checks out a few churches and feels like none of them fit?
From perception to expectation to equipping
How do we change this reality? How do we as the church in America disciple the younger members and leaders in our church body now? It starts with a shift in perception. Then a shift in expectations. And finally, a shift in how we think about equipping teenagers for the work of the ministry now and in the future.
This shift in perception begins with the staff and church leadership. Teens are not just hopped up on hormones, energy drinks and body spray. They are not just coasting through at minimum effort. Watch them engage in something they are passionate about—you will see their potential. While the potential is there, too often the church vision and the teen’s vision for the church is not. How leadership thinks and talks about teens will bleed down into the congregation.
Are we aiming for spiritual growth and an increase in Christlikeness, or are we content with their mere presence and the fact that last night’s youth group did not stain the carpet?
Leaders: start discipling a teen. Invite them to grab a cup of coffee or froyo, talk about life and read the Bible together. Show them what it looks like to follow Jesus in the everyday things. You’ll see their hunger for spiritual growth when they are given the right tools and some encouragement in the right direction.
As the perception of teens shifts from consumer to active participant in the local body, the expectations placed on teenagers begin to shift as well. Are we aiming for spiritual growth and an increase in Christlikeness, or are we content with their mere presence and the fact that last night’s youth group did not stain the carpet? Expecting teens to participate in the church, using their giftings for the local body, and growing in knowledge and understanding of God and His Word will result in far more growth for the teen and the church.
As the perception bleeds down from the current leaders of the church, the expectations rise. As those expectations rise, those who are teaching, investing in, and raising teenagers must step up to equip teens for these “new” realities. It begins with a simple shift in perspective, a reasonable rise in expectations, and a commitment from church members and leaders to see your teens invest and grow inside your local church.
For youth pastors and leaders
Often ministry structures do not have to change. Youth groups are a fantastic place for teaching the Word and building community. Sunday classes too. But what happens inside those places is where these shifts take place. It’s more than dodgeball, topical life lessons and snacks. As you teach, are you giving them the tools that equip them to better read, study and apply the Word throughout the week? Are you setting the stage for discipleship to be commonplace? Are you connecting students with adults who can disciple them? Are they being encouraged to use their giftings for the good of the group and the larger church body? Are you and your leaders modeling these things in your own lives?
While there is no cookie-cutter approach, one way to move toward this reality is to teach teens how to read the Bible. (How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglass Stuart as well as Bible Study: A Student’s Guide by Jon Nielson are fantastic resources.) Give them tools to approach the text knowledgeably. Give them space to practice these tools with their leaders.
You might also consider working with your children’s ministry leaders to better know the foundation you are building upon. Work together to better equip fourth and fifth graders for middle school and joining youth group. Take what they have been taught for the last 12 years and push students to build upon it. Teach them to wrestle with the Text, with theology and with doctrine. Don’t ignore their daily life pressures, but don’t let that become your sole focus. A child who grew up in your church should leave your doors after high school equipped for the mission field.
Additionally, disciple your leaders, at the very least in your meetings and one-on-ones. Set an expectation that they are doing the same with students. Set aside budget money to reimburse leaders for coffee meetups and other activities outside of church time with students. Remember, discipleship is not just prayer and Bible study. It is modeling what it looks like to live for Jesus in all of life. It is helping others apply a biblical worldview to all that they face and ponder. This requires more than just classroom teaching.
Finally, advocate for students to other church staff. Push for students who could step into roles like reading Scripture in the service, playing on the worship team or even teaching a children’s Sunday school class to actually do it.
For parents of teens
One of Satan’s great lies is that “forcing” your kid to go to church will just turn them off. There are many studies that have debunked that lie, and yet many church leaders and parents still believe it. (Check out Almost Christian by Kenda Creasy Dean and Grounded in the Gospel by J.I. Packer and Gary A. Parrett.) Despite their pushback and the feelings that you’re losing your influence, your teen still looks to you. Still follows your example.
If you had access to 100 future leaders of your church, what would you do to see that they are developed to step into those areas equipped for the work of the ministry?
During election season, I can tell you with 90 percent certainty what political views each family holds. This is not because the teens are particularly interested in politics, but because they hear what you say and see what you do. The same is true spiritually. If you don’t prioritize time in the Word, gathering with the body of Christ, serving, living out your faith, etc. it’s likely your teen won’t either.
Moms and dads, take your kids on a walk or to work or do a project with them. Talk to them about how you apply what you are learning from Jesus. Let the testimony of your adult children be, "My mom and dad showed me how to live a Christian life in a chaotic culture.” Intentionally consider what you are modeling to your teen about values and priorities in life. They are paying more attention than you think.
Moving forward
Raise the bar for teenagers and their spiritual development. Challenge those who clear it to help others do the same. This approach will build community like nothing else. Admittedly, it is slow, but it is real, and it has a lasting impact—for their good and God’s kingdom and glory.
Today, my friend Aiden’s spiritual and emotional growth is evident to all in our church. Like all of us, Aiden still struggles, but I’ve seen significant growth in Christlikeness that is a result of the Holy Spirit using him in the life of the broader church. Now a senior in high school, Aiden has continued teaching Sunday school to the kindergartners, including my own. Every week, it’s incredible to hear my son tell our family what he learned and did in Sunday school with Aiden.
If you had access to 10, 20, 50, even 100 future members and leaders of your church, what would you do to see that they are developed to step into those areas spiritually healthy and equipped for the work of the ministry? Could you imagine having that kind of leadership pool!? What would you do with it?
You have that in the form of teenagers sitting in your church. They are not just the next generation of church members and leaders, they are the church now—and how you invest in them could make dry bones rattle (Ez 37:3-10).
Send a Response
Share your thoughts with the author.