Welcome

We at national youth ministries thank God for you and your commitment to youth! Thank you for loving, lifting, leading and living students. This monthly e-publication is about you, the youth leader. Every issue aims to encourage excellence and spark ideas in you as you endeavor to “make disciplined-learners (disciples)” of youth for Jesus Christ. We want to help you win, build and send them to fulfill the Great Commission. You are our heroes in this charge. We believe in you! Pray daily. Live like Jesus. Tell the Truth. Serve others. Give generously. You’ve got Momentum! —Jay Mooney, national youth director

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From Leader to Leader

Rod Whitlock is the National Student Discipleship Director. He has been married to Kim for 22 years and they have four children. Rod's main responsibilities include student discipleship, National Fine Arts Festival and Bible Quiz. We hear a great deal today about church planting. But have you ever considered the idea of "planting a youth ministry?" Presently we have over 12,000 AG churches nationwide. Of these 12,000 churches, only 25% have a part or full-time youth leader. 50% have a volunteer youth leader and 25% of our churches report NO youth ministry at all. What if we were able to take what I believe to be the finest youth leaders in the US and empower and equip them to both "plant" new youth ministries and "jump start" existing ones? What if I told you that God wanted to increase your influence and expand your territory? Not for personal gain but for Kingdom gain. Can you think of one or two youth ministries in your area that are either without the leadership or tools to help them reach students? And even if you could, how would we accomplish such a feat? August 1, 2006 we will launch TheFiftyTwo.com. A year-long, youth leader resource equipping youth leaders with a year of sermons (written by some of the finest youth leaders in the nation), power point presentations, small group resources (based on the sermons), drama sketches to reinforce the messages, and a Parent-Teen Connect (bringing parents and teens together for devotions over the sermons). In addition, TheFiftyTwo.com includes leadership materials, resources, ministry and discipleship strategies and over a dozen lists containing 52 ideas, icebreakers, quotes, etc… Youth Leader, God has called you. You now have a resource to place in the hands of nearby AG youth ministries to help reach students. Would you do three things over the next month? Pray. Ask God if he would have you help plant or revitalize a youth ministry in your area. Discuss this idea with your pastor. Let him know how your church can be a blessing to those around you. Consider purchasing TheFiftyTwo.com for a nearby church. Consider raising up and mentoring volunteer youth leaders in nearby churches. For less than the cost of a latte at Starbucks each week, you can equip youth leaders, volunteers and/or a Senior Pastor with the resources to help reach more students. Watch for details concerning this exciting step in ministry. We will have a sample of this resource on www.thefiftytwo.com beginning July 1 with an August 1, 2006 release date.

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For Your Library

The Last Christian Generation by Josh McDowell Book Summary (from the book) The research on the current generation of young people reveals an alarming fact: they have redefined what it means to be Christian. The Last Christian Generation documents the urgency of the crisis but also provides a fresh revelation of the heart of God through seven lifelong responses of a true follower of Christ a definitive "Christianity 101." Josh makes a ground-breaking case for the need to move from program-driven to process-driven ministry. (from Rod Whitlock) Written by Josh McDowell, The Last Christian Generation,challenges us as youth ministers to re-examine how we do youth ministry. We've heard it before. We are losing more and more students once they graduate. The problem is not in our services, events or worship experiences. The overarching issue may very well be that we aren't discipling our students with biblical truth that will last them a lifetime. Quote from Book "In the eyes of our kids, today's 'Structural Church' model often appears to be more concerned about events and making a gospel presentation to a spectator audience than perpetuating a constant relational interaction with God. They simply do not relate to this model. We must shift to a 'Missional Church' model – one that is engaged in a spiritual formation process with its members, leading them to know the person of God so they can respond to him and become conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:28-29)." Purchase this book online: www.beyondbelief.com

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Quotes for Leadership

[This generation of youth] is in a state of spiritual turmoil. They long for personal meaning and they are comfortable with incredible technological and media-driven tools that would enable them to accomplish whatever spiritual goals they choose. But millions of teens are precariously close to simply shelving the Christian faith as irrelevant, uninspiring, and 'just a phase.' Millions of previously churched [youth] ended up rejecting Christian spirituality after high school. [Today's youth] are in even greater danger of making that leap from faith to doubt. When teenagers settle for cheap alternatives instead of choosing intimacy with God – and relying upon His care and His power – it can lead to years, even decades, of spiritual entrapment in their lives. These excerpts were taken from a study titled, New Research Explores Teenage Views and Behavior Regarding the Supernatural (January 23, 2006) performed by those at The Barna Group.  This study can be found online at www.barna.org. What we build into a child's life prior to the age of 13 represents the moral and spiritual foundation that defines them as individuals and directs their choices for the remainder of their life. Garbage in, garbage out; there's no magic that suddenly changes the young person from what they were trained to be in their formative years into a model Christian once they get older. These excerpts were taken from a study titled, Parents Describe How to Raise Their Children (February 28. 2005) performed by those at The Barna Group.  This study can be found online at www.barna.org.

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Statistics that Speak

In fact, three-quarters of America's youth (73%) have engaged in at least one type of psychic or witchcraft-related activity, beyond mere media exposure or horoscope usage. Most teens embraced the biblical position on life after death: "every person has a soul that will live forever, either God's presence or absence" (82%). However, a smaller proportion (61%) believes Heaven is a real place or paradise where people go when they die. Most teenagers – 71% – embrace the orthodox Christian view of God (the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator of the world). A slight majority (58%) say that Satan is a real spiritual being and the enemy of God. Having a significant faith commitment and an identifiable set of religious beliefs was mentioned by just one out of every five parents as an ingredient required for parental success. Parents described what they feel are the most important outcomes they are devoted to helping their children experience. By far the top-rated outcome was getting a good education. Four out of every ten parents (39%) listed that as a critical outcome they were committed to facilitating. Helping the child to feel loved was the second most frequently mentioned outcome (24%), followed by enabling them to have a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ (22%). The above statistics were taken from www.barna.org.

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From the Field

NATIONAL YOUTH WORKERS CONFERENCE This year's conference, titled DREAM '06: Impacting the Next Generation, will be held in Kansas City, Missouri, from Thursday, September 28, to Saturday, September 30, 2006.  Packed with over 70 workshops, 12 Super Session, and 3 General Sessions, DREAM '06 will focus on today's issues, tomorrow's challenges, and God's answers.  This will prove to be an outstanding experience for our nation's youth leaders, while giving them the opportunity for rest, resource, relationship, reason, and renewal. For more information, and to register, please visit us online at: www.youth.ag.org/nywc.

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Resources

G5: Growing in the Five Commitments A 15-chapter guide to being a Campus Missionary. Includes practical applications and thought provoking questions on the Five Commitments of a Campus Missionary: pray, live, tell, serve, give. Buy it online at the GPH store or give them a call at 1.800.641.4310 and ask for item number 731-319. They are $10 per book.

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