The church I serve can be described as broadly evangelical, with a Baptist flavor. Washington Heights belongs to a network of churches called CBAmerica, also known as the Conservative Baptist Association of America. Our philosophy of ministry flows from our church's mission statement, which we take very seriously: "Experiencing together God's grace and transforming power, one life at a time." In short, our primary hope is that each student and family that we work with would come into a saving relationship with Jesus.
Knowing Jesus
Our lead pastor told me something when I interviewed for my position as high school pastor something that has always stuck with me: that my job would be to help our students be missionaries where God has placed them. Our students are encouraged not just to bring friends to events, but to have meaningful relationships with their friends in which they share--in word and in action--about the love of our merciful God.
We recognize as a church (our children’s and youth ministries do a pretty good job of working together and being on the same page) believe that the ideal place for a child or teenager to learn about Jesus is in his or her home. This is why we partner with parents as much as possible, and we have planned some more concrete ways to do this in 2011. But while it’s the ideal, it’s not usually the case. This is why we take very seriously our charge to present students with a biblical view of Jesus and the Good News he came to proclaim.
Because we believe that salvation comes through Christ alone, we attempt to make the gospel clear on every occasion possible. However, we are careful not to present a shallow Gospel that would equate a relationship with Jesus as nothing more than fire insurance (more on that later). A saving relationship with Jesus isn't just so that we can go to heaven one day, far in the future. Rather, a follower of Jesus lives a life of discipleship in which the Holy Spirit. In short, we don't see a confession of faith in Jesus as the culmination of what we do in our youth ministry, but only the beginning.
As a youth pastor, I recognize that some students who walk through our doors have a relationship with Jesus, and others do not. Our approach is to preach and teach about the Good News of Jesus as much as possible and introduce students to the unconditional love of God and the salvation that is available through his Son, Jesus. When a student comes into a relationship with Jesus, we see that as a HUGE reason to celebrate (Luke 15). We encourage students who have a saving relationship with Jesus to be baptized by immersion--believer’s baptism. However, we do not push this in such a way that it becomes a pressure-filled decision for a teenager to make. And remember, we see a student’s conversion as just the beginning, which leads us to...
Discipleship
We take discipleship seriously, and encourage students to grow in their faith through Bible study, prayer, service, and fellowship with other believers (primarily through small groups). A huge part of our philosophy of ministry is that people--especially teenagers--tend to learn about Jesus best in the context of relationships. This is why I make sure every leader knows that he or she aren’t simply chaperones--they are co-leaders along with me and the rest of the leadership team and are expected to build meaningful relationships with students. Whether during our regular Sunday morning gatherings or at a crazy event (like the multi-church Up-All-Night event we attended in December), relationships are important to us, because as the old youth ministry addage goes, “kids won’t care about what we know until they know that we care.”
In addition, we encourage everyone to be a part of a small group (we call them GO Groups, and perhaps 30-40% of our students are involved in one). this isn’t the case just in our student ministry, but in our whole church body as well. I don’t think there’s anything magic about the groups themselves. However, I do know that most of our most Christ-centered students are involved in one, and I believe it’s because there is a level of belonging and accountability there that does not always happen at our large group gathering.
We also believe that a big part of discipleship is service. Too often, evangelical youth ministries unwittingly encourage teenagers to be consumers and passive participants in the church body, rather than help them use their God given gifts to serve Jesus inside the church walls as well as outside the church walls. Our ideal (which we don't always live up to, admittedly) is that the teenagers in our church wouldn't be confined to the "Oasis room" (where we meet), but would know that they have a place within the wider church body as part of the Body of Christ. I believe that using one’s gifts--whether in our church’s worship service or by loving others in Jesus’ name at a local food bank--is a big part of discipleship and growing in our walk with Jesus.
Before I finish, I'd like to address common criticism of evangelical youth ministry: that evangelical youth ministries are often shallow, simply trying to get every teenager possible to "say the prayer." Then these ministries move on to the next teenager, resulting in false confessions and lives that remain untransformed. I'm aware that there are some youth workers that would advocate such an approach, but a strong focus on a personal relationship with Jesus need not bring such results. The reason we place such importance on coming to a saving relationship with Jesus (which can happen all at once or over time, but that's another post) is that it is through a relationship with Jesus that our sins are forgiven and our relationship with God our Father restored. If what Jesus about himself is true--"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6)--then our central goal ought to be to bring every teenager we come in contact with to Jesus. When we cut all the fat away, that is why we do what we do.
I won't put my bio here; if you want to find out more about me, then you can track down my mom (she loves to tell stories about me), or check out the About Benjer page.
