I think we underestimate the about of contact we already have, and i think this applies as much to adult ministry as youth ministry. We spend alot of our time planning events to make “contact” with our community, but what of the contact we already have?

Most people would agree that Evangelism is about relationship, but we still seek to run these events to get these people into our buildings for a once off event.

If we have 10 people in our congregation or youth group or what ever, these people have contact with heaps of people each day, and the best thing is they have a real relationship, one that is exercised everyday. I think this is the greatest platform for evangelism.

so if those 10 invite just one person in the year our congrgation doubles to 20, and if the trend continues its 40 then 80, 160 and so on......

The major strength i see in the changing the world model is that it takes full advantage of those existing relationships, and equips people to always be ready to give a reason for the hope that they have. instead of having 1 or 2 youth leaders doing the evangelism, you now have 10 or 20 or however big your group is. I think we underestimate the ability of young peole to be a personal witness on a day to day basis.

I think we need to take the evangelistic emphasis off the group, program or event, and onto the place i think it was meant to be and thats the individual, living as a chosen person 24/7.

moser model

I had the privelege of being in a Youth group that Ken took from 120-30 upto about 25! I was 15, barely Christian and Ken was a long way off writing any books.

He taught me then, that Youth Ministry is ministry to youth. It has the same principles as ministry to men, or women, orany other “boxed people group;” ie, to help people come face to face with Christ through the preaching of God’s word. Anything less, well (to quote Tigger) is less!

If you run an entertainment based programme, then come 18
(or even 16 in my case :-)) many of your youth will turn to the pub for fun and relationships. Even implementing the Moser discipleship model is no guarantee against the exodus - but at least you know you’ve taught them who Jesus is and ‘the whole counsel of God’.

Mind you, most parents hate it when you first implement it. When their grandkids come along, they change their minds! ;-)

Follow the Saviour,
Darren

Interesting topic. I agree with previous writers that a lot of what Ken Moser wrote is a distillation of what successful Youth Groups have been doing for a long time.
I began an after school fellowship group circa 1974 in Marrickville. it sprang from a primary school ISCF group which, being run at lunch times, was short and snappy. It was heavily Bible based. Quizzes about Bible passages, games about the Bible, camps where we could spend more time reading and discussing the Bible.
The after school group began because students about to go into High School knew that there was not a similar activity in their prospective High Schools. They wanted their group to continue. It was mostly a group of boys who were keen to know more about Jesus.
For the next 13 years this group continued. With the approval and permission of the Principal of the Primary School, we met on a Friday afternoon at about 4.30 for a program that concluded at about 7.30.
The 4.30 start worked for us. it meant that we could have a time of physical activity until 5.30. This was a great time for the kids just to continue relating to each other and to me. (I was the group’s only leader for most of the time, with the backing of a very patient, very supportive wife.)
At 5. 30 we headed for the classroom. from then on, for the next two hours we engaged with the Bible through organised talks and studies, a very occasional film, games which were intended to reinforce Biblical concepts and knowledge, singing etc.
We also had oyings on weekends, just for the fun of experiencing other aspects of life, but, invariably, there would be deep questions raised.
This format worked predominantly because the kids wanted to know about Jesus. They invited their friends.
We also attended programs such as Youthquake (Churches of Christ) and BYF (Baptist Youth Fellowship) which was held once a month in the sydney Town Hall. During the 70’s most of the kids attending this group were from Greek Orthodox and Catholic backgtrounds. During the 80’s a sizeable number of kids from Buddhist families also attended. 
In 1986 I moved to Grenfell. Here I have witnessed and been involved in two Youth Groups. They have had little impact in our small country town, until recently. Youth group was a safe place to go on Friday night for a bit of fun, to hang out with your friends, but not to take Christ seriously.
About 18 months ago, our pastor handed around the Moser books . . .and our group began the serious work of discipling. it is paying great dividends.
The church sponsored four students to attend Katoomba Youth Leadership Convention in 2005. just last week, the Youth Group organised and ran the family service for the first time. Their aim was to explain the What, How and why of Youth Group. What we do, How we do it and Why we do it.
it is exciting to be part of the discipling process in a real way again.
More than pleased to add to this if others are interested.

I’m interested in hearing how different youth groups are run.  What models/method/philosophy of youth ministry are at work in your parish currently?

-bw

G’day guys,

I have been reading this thread in the background thinking through all that has been said.

I’m wondering what type of kids are most youth groups aimed at reaching. Are they mainly church kids, that is children of parents who go to church and their friends?

What do you do to reach an entire different type of youth who normally would not go any where near a church or to put it in the vernacular of some local youth - near the churchy kids

Stuart Robinson wrote an excellent article on how he killed a church because it was not going to meet his expectations of how church should be run and he now regrets it.

Certainly I agree that doing Bible study and getting into Gods word and to get the kids to read Gods word is a must, however what do you do with the school drop outs, those who struggle with their reading and writing, those who dropped through the cracks in the school system because they could not handle the academic side of things and I doubt if they will fit into the normal type of study that is being argued here.

craig b

I remember when Ken copped a bit from guys and they said to him; This only works because your church is in a North Shore, afluent middle-class area”.

[quote author="Mitchell Liddle"]I think we underestimate the about of contact we already have, and i think this applies as much to adult ministry as youth ministry. We spend alot of our time planning events to make “contact” with our community, but what of the contact we already have?

Most people would agree that Evangelism is about relationship, but we still seek to run these events to get these people into our buildings for a once off event.

You’re right about those contacts, Mitchell!

At the smallish Anglican church with which I was involved in my last time in Sydney, we wondered about those contacts.

We made a list of them from the various groups in the church - CEBS, after school girls’ club, Sunday School and ESL and youth group. Other than Sunday School, none of those groups would have had more than 10 people. Sunday School might have had 15. There would also have been a lot of cross over ie, the family who had a son in CEBS might also have had 1 or 2 daughters in the after school club and they all might have come to Sunday School. You get the idea.

From those contacts, we compiled a list of about 50 people. OK, what now? How about an evangelistic dinner? We’ll cater, the kids can be involved and we’ll ask for a small donation ($2, I think) from those eating. To play safe for ourselves, we asked for replies to the invitation. We expected about 40 people to reply. We received about 100 replies! Grandparents and all sorts of people wanted to come! A further 20 or so people turned up unexpected on the night!

Did we make the best use of those contacts? I hope and pray so, but ultimately, it is up to God. We pray. We try. God does the rest.

Cheers,
Andrew

Hi Craig,

Back in July this year, [quote author="You"]What do you do to reach an entire different type of youth who normally would not go any where near a church or to put it in the vernacular of some local youth - near the churchy kids

Simple answer, I think, is, you go to them. Expanded answer follows.

As a result of the programme that our Youth Group runs, the knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, God is demonstrated in how this Year 7 girl, who attends Youth Group, spoke to her class at the local State High School. All the students were invited to speak on a topic.
[I have asked both the student and her parents for permission to reproduce her short speech. I won’t include names or identifiers.]

Good afternoon. My topic is “Why my faith is important to me”
I don’t go to church because my parents make me.
I don’t go to church because it is the right thing to do.
I go to church to learn more about God and how much he loves me.

I learn about that at both church and Youth Group on Friday night.
I enjoy the singing, the music, playing fun games, talking to other Christians and studying the Bible. At Easter time, I enjoy going to Katoomba to study the Bible with 200 other teenage Christians.

One question that people might ask today is, ‘Is the Bible still important?’.

I believe that it is.
For me, it is important to do what the Bible says because it gives lots of helpful guidelines that are practical for how to live our lives. For example, we’re not to worry about our outward appearance, but be more concerned with our character.

Because I believe that Jesus died on the cross for us so that we could be friends with God, it is important that I would want to know and obey what God expects of us. Reading the Bible gives me a good picture of what God is like. I think God is the creator of the world and is in control, even though sometimes it doesn’t seem that way. I think that God is trustworthy, gracious, loving, forgiving and generous.

I’m thankful for what God has done for me.

Thank you.

I thank and praise God for the witness that this girl, and many like her have, as a result of the knowledge, confidence and enthusiasm gained through solid instruction and fun in attending our Youth Group!