Josh McDowell's Youth Ministry Handbook: Making the Connection

By Sean McDowell and Zondervan

Drawing on the wisdom of insightful leaders around the country, Josh McDowell's Youth Ministry Handbook equips youth workers to help kids connect with God--and with their parents, their peers, and a world in need of Christ. Featuring articles from Dawson McAllister, Barry St. Clair, Jim Burns, Tony Campolo, Al Menconi, John Maxwell, George Barna, and others, this is an invaluable leadership resource with practical, useful ideas for today's youth workers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Release date: Oct 10, 2000
• ISBN: 9781418561833

Sean McDowell

Dr. Sean McDowell is a gifted communicator with a passion for equipping the church, especially young people, to make the case for the Christian faith. He connects with audiences through humor and stories while imparting hard evidence and logical support of a biblical worldview. Sean is an associate professor in Talbot School of Theology’s Christian Apologetics program at Biola University. Sean is an internationally recognized speaker and the author, co-author, or editor of numerous books. He has a popular YouTube channel in which he discusses apologetics, culture, and worldview issues and regularly hosts conversations with non-Christians. He blogs regularly at seanmcdowell.org and engages a range of different social media platforms.

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Title page with Thomas Nelson logo

© 2000 Josh McDowell. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations used in this book are from The Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Copyright © 1973, 1978,1984, International Bible Society.

Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

Other Scripture references are from the following sources and used by permission:

The King James Version of the Bible (KJV). The Living Bible (TLB), copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Publishers, Wheaton, Ill. The New King James Version (NKJV), copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers. New American Standard Bible (NASB), © 1960, 1977 by the Lockman Foundation. The Revised Standard Version Bible (RSV), © 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

The Holy Bible, New Living Translation (NLT), copyright © 1996.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Josh McDowell’s youth ministry handbook: making the connection / compiled by Sean McDowell and Ray Willey.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-8499-4209-8 (tp)

1. Church work with youth. 2. Postmodernism—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. McDowell, Sean. II. Willey, Ray.

BV4447 .J67 2000

259'.23—dc21

00-039921

CIP

00 01 02 03 04 05 PHX 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: The Disconnected Generation

Josh McDowell

SECTION 1:

MINISTRY CONNECTING POINTS

1. The Battle for a Generation

Ron Hutchcraft

2. Having a Heart for a Disconnected World: Loving Like Jesus

Tony Campolo

3. The Power of Prayer in Youth Ministry

E. V. Hill

4. Discipling Students: The Core of Your Ministry

Barry St. Clair

5. Gaining the Next Generation: Serving the Perceived Need

Willie George

6. Church-Based Youth Ministry

Dann Spader and Bill Clem

7. Student Ministry for the 21st Century

Bo Boshers

SECTION 2:

RELATIONAL CONNECTING POINTS

8. Relational Youth Ministry

Jim Burns

9. Family-Based Youth Ministry: Reaching the Been There, Done That Generation

Mark DeVries

10. Daring to Disciple

Jacob Aranza

11. Effective Ministry to Teens through Small Groups

Daniel Hahn

12. Mentoring: One Kid at a Time

Miles McPherson and Wayne Rice

13. Adult Partners in Ministry: Pastors, Parents, and Leaders

Chris Renzelman

SECTION 3:

LEADERSHIP CONNECTING POINTS

14. Leaders Touch a Heart before They Ask for a Hand

John Maxwell

15. Power for Effective Leadership

Dale Adema

16. Authentic Leadership

DanWebster

17. Principles of Networking

Paul Fleischmann

SECTION 4:

CONNECTING WITH YOUTH

18. Presenting Great Youth Talks

Les Christie

19. Principles for Communicating with Young People

Bill Sanders

20. Ministry to Second-Generation Christian Teens

Daniel Hahn

21. Preparing an Effective Evangelistic Message

Steve Russo

22. Making Kids Laugh: Using Humor to Connect with Youth

Ken Davis

23. Helping Youth Handle the Influence of Entertainment

Al Menconi

24. Developing a Youth Group Web Site

Mark Matlock

25. The Thrill of the Mountain: Using Camps and Retreats

Pete Newman

26. Making the Most of Music in Your Ministry

Ken McCoy

SECTION 5:

CONNECTING TO YOUTH IN CRISIS

27. Counseling Youth

Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler

28. Helping Kids through Life’s Tough Stuff

Rich Van Pelt

29. At-Risk Youth

Kurt Andre and Scott Larson

SECTION 6:

CONNECTING WITH YOUTH IN A POSTMODERN AGE

30. The Minds, Hearts, and Souls of America’s Teenagers

George Barna

31. Saving the Millennial Generation

Dawson McAllister

32. Understanding the Times: The Threat of the New Tolerance

Josh McDowell and Bob Hostetler

33. Sharing from Inside This Generation

Josh Weidmann

SECTION 7:

CONNECTING YOUTH TO A LOST WORLD

34. Why Go on a Mission Trip?

Ron Luce

35. Mission Trips as a Tool for Discipleship

Paul Borthwick

36. Mission Year

Bart Campolo

37. Empowering Youth to Influence Their Communities

Aaron Jayne

38. Peer-to-Peer Evangelism

Dann Spader and Eric Liechty

39. Youth Evangelism

Bill Muir

40. Reach the Campus, Reach the World

Chuck Klein

41. Youth Leaders, Christian Teachers, and a School Plan That Works

Forrest Turpen

SECTION 8:

CONNECTING TO URBAN YOUTH

42. The Cultural Matrix

Fred Lynch

43. How to Have an Effective Urban Youth Ministry

Harvey Carey

44. Urban Campus Ministry

Larry Acosta and John Lewis

45. All in Their Grill: Following Up Urban Kids

Phil Jackson

SECTION 9:

MAINTAINING YOUR PERSONAL AND SPIRITUAL CONNECTIONS

46. No One Is Invincible: A Challenge for Your Personal Spiritual Survival

Billy Beacham

47. Manage Your Life and Your Finances

Larry Burkett

48. Spiritual Snags in Cyberspace

Mark Matlock

49. Avoiding Burnout in Youth Ministry

Jim DiRaddo

50. Are You Missing Something on God’s Top Ten List?

Kara Eckmann Powell

51. A Personal Bible Study Plan

John MacArthur

52. Memorizing Scripture

Lori Salierno

Appendix

Notes

Acknowledgments

This handbook combines the insights and experience of over fifty men and women who not only understand youth ministry, but who also have directly and effectively ministered to the spiritual and relational needs of youth. Their combined wisdom represents literally hundreds of years of ministry to youth, and I thank all of them for sharing their wisdom in this handbook.

I also thank Ray Willey for challenging me with the original idea of developing this handbook and for the many hours he spent contacting youth leaders and reviewing the chapters. I also want to thank Sean McDowell for managing the entire project from beginning to end as he selected the topics; edited every chapter; and, as lead compiler, coordinated the overall effort. I am not only a proud father but also a grateful colaborer with my son.

And finally, thanks to Dave Bellis, my resource developer of twenty-four years, for guiding this project though the publishing maze, and to Can-dace McMahan for her editorial skills.

—JOSH MCDOWELL

As lead compiler, I want to thank Ray Willey for asking me to be a part of this project; Dottie, my mom, for providing such help to me during the editing process; Dave Bellis for his expert guidance; and finally, Josh, my dad, for believing in me—I’m proud to be called your son.

—SEAN MCDOWELL

INTRODUCTION

The Disconnected Generation

JOSH MCDOWELL

In today’s culture, youth rage and murder are escalating at a shocking rate. There have been more shootings, bombings, and killings by our children in school hallways and on quiet suburban streets than ever before. It is only natural to ask why. What has happened in our culture to allow mere children to become so callous and murderous? An even more alarming question is this: Will my own youth get caught up in this juvenile mayhem?

In my 1994 book, Right From Wrong, I showed that a significant problem facing youth is the absence of moral absolutes in our culture. Youth violence thrives in a moral vacuum. When kids don’t know right from wrong, what is to prevent them from venting their anger and frustration through violence and a cold disregard for human life? Restoring moral absolutes to the fabric of our families and society is a key to curbing the destructive trends among our youth.

Yet I believe there is a deeper crying need among our youth that must be addressed as we restore moral absolutes and stand against a sin-filled world. If I had to identify the core reason our young people are succumbing to the lure of a godless culture and lashing out with rage, I would say it is because they feel alone, disconnected, abandoned, and unsure of who they really are. Many of our kids, even those from good Christian homes, feel disconnected and alienated from their parents, from adults in general, and from society as a whole. Recent scientific studies, my own personal research, and my interaction with thousands of young people confirm that our kids are disconnected from most adults and lack a sense of personal identity. This alienation from the adult world and fuzzy sense of identity cause them to feel adrift in a hostile world. That’s why I call them the Disconnected Generation.

In order to reach this generation we must first understand their makeup and why they feel so painfully disconnected and alone.

What Is Unique about the Disconnected Generation?

The Disconnected Generation are those born between 1977 and 1994, after the X’ers. They are perhaps the richest, most populous, best-educated, and most physically fit generation in history. Our kids are growing up in a prosperous society with unprecedented career opportunities and access to virtually limitless information.

However, these societal changes come at a steep price. The high-tech devices that allow our kids to connect electronically with people and places around the world are encouraging them to disconnect relationally with their parents, the church, their friends, and many others. Kids and their parents spend more time staring at their monitors than they do interacting with one another. As wonderful as they may be, computers are insidious contributors to the Disconnected Generation.

Today’s youth are logging on to the Internet for more than just information and entertainment. Increasing numbers of kids are using e-mail and chat rooms in an attempt to connect socially with others. Yet those seeking emotional and relational connections on-line are finding it unfulfilling, a cheap substitute for in-person friendships and interaction. A study by Carnegie Mellon University reveals that the more hours people spend on the Internet, the more depressed, stressed, and lonely they feel. ¹

Two major studies of churched youth I commissioned, first in 1987 and again in 1994, revealed that the closer youth are to their parents relationally, the less at risk they are to unacceptable behavior. And yet the sobering statistics underscore the mounting disconnectedness and loneliness in this generation:

• Almost half of today’s young people have lived through their parents’ divorce.

• Ninety-eight percent of teenagers spend eleven hours a week watching TV.

• Teenagers spend an average of three and a half hours alone every day.

• Sixty-three percent of youth are in households in which both parents work outside the home. ²

Every major sociological study over the last fifteen years that cross-tabulates human relationships—or the lack of them—with human behavior reveals that the more disconnected a person is relationally, the more prone he or she is to engage in antisocial behavior. We should not be surprised to find that the generation that suffers through parental abuse and divorce, comes home to an empty house, spends an inordinate amount of time alone, or sits for hours in front of a TV or computer monitor is also the generation that feels disconnected from adults and whose behavior is at risk. And when that painful sense of aloneness is not adequately dealt with, anger and fear may escalate into violence and tragedy. Your youth may not be on the verge of violence, but you may be shocked to learn how disconnected they may feel.

So many members of this generation are isolated emotionally as well as relationally. They feel lost, not knowing who they really are. I wish you could read the letters and diary entries that kids send me. Traveling tens of thousands of miles around the country and around the world each year, I hear countless hundreds of young people share the same heartache with me in person: Josh, I feel so very alone. One student wrote me this letter: Dear Josh, I am so lonely I can hardly stand it. I want to be special to someone, but there’s no one who cares about me. I can’t remember anyone touching me, smiling at me, or wanting to be with me. I feel so empty inside.

The Cultural Gap

Perhaps no generation in history has witnessed rapid and expansive change in such a short period of time as today’s adolescents and young adults.

Think about it. Members of the younger generation were all born since Ronald Reagan became president. Many of them have probably never bought a vinyl record or watched a movie at a drive-in. They can’t remember a world without AIDS. Most are too young to remember the fall of communism. They can’t imagine a world without computers, video games, or the Internet. They are the first generation to claim computer technology as a birthright. The world has changed rapidly in their short lifetimes, and today’s kids reflect those changes.

A cultural language gap also exists that distances adults from kids, and many adults are simply unaware of it. In fact, most young people speak a totally different language than their parents and other adults. I’m not talking about some homes where the parents speak Spanish, Russian, or Chinese while the children speak English. I’m not even talking about the slang that many adults don’t understand. I’m talking about adults and youth using a common vocabulary but with different definitions, all the while unaware that such differences exist. George Barna, in his book Third Millennium Teens, says, While there has long been an understanding gap between adults and teens, the gap seems to have widened in recent years. As post-modern perspectives have become increasingly prevalent among young people, their elders have expressed dismay at the absence of recognized ethical and moral moorings to influence their behavior. ³

The Effects of Postmodernism

Young people are receiving input from television, public education, media advertising, movies, secular music, and their peers that is colored by the modern cultural doctrine of postmodernism. Young people’s views are being subtly impacted by postmodernism, while adults’ values reflect those of their own generation. The terminology is often the same, but the definitions of those terms are very different between generations.

For example, postmodernism asserts that an individual’s identity is inseparable from what he does, thinks, and believes. So today’s kids are influenced to believe that who they are is equal to what they believe or do. So if your opinions, instructions, or discipline somehow clashes with what your young people think or do, they may tend to think you are disparaging them. And if you suggest that their behavior is wrong, they may feel that you are judging them.

The postmodern culture is subtly teaching young people that if someone does not accept their beliefs or lifestyles, that person is an intolerant, judgmental bigot—and who wants a relationship with a bigot? But what do young people do when the intolerant, judgmental bigot happens to be their youth leader? Most likely they will disconnect themselves relationally.

Consider another concept that is being subtly contradicted by the postmodern culture: truth. You undoubtedly accept some things to be absolutely and universally true, that is, true for all people, in all places, at all times. You also accept that these absolutes are determined by God and communicated to us through His Word. It is this view of truth and morality that formed the basis of much of Western civilization up through the modern age.

However, the present generation does not universally accept that objective truth exists. The postmodern worldview is characterized by the belief that truth is created rather than discovered. To postmodernists, truth is determined by specific cultures and is true only in and for those cultures. They contend that anyone who claims to hold an objective truth that unfavorably judges the values, beliefs, or lifestyle of another person is intolerant and bigoted.

Since young people have grown up under this influence to some degree, they may use the same terms you use in discussing key issues, but with different definitions. It is these differences and the misunderstandings they spark that may encourage an emotional and relational disconnection between you and the youth you work with. Consider how the terms in the chart below are defined differently from generation to generation:

What Do We Do?

The real challenge before us is to learn how to enter each young person’s sometimes complex and confusing world and make a relational connection at a deep emotional level that no cultural influence will be able to destroy. The influence of the postmodern culture on this generation makes connecting with them incredibly challenging and difficult. But even with these forces at work, the distance and aloneness our youth feel will not be permanently destructive if youth workers can be trained to relationally connect with their youth as well as to be able to help youth effectively connect with their parents, the church, their friends, and a lost world. This is what I want for my four kids and for the tens of thousands of kids around the world I minister to each year.

Sadly, however, hundreds of parents and youth leaders have told me that they struggle and often fail to know their kids and connect with them at a deep personal level. I hear caring and yet frightened adults say, Josh, I’m afraid the culture is going to capture my kids. These are good parents and youth workers who love their kids and desperately want to enter their world, connect with them, and let them know they are loved for who they are. They just don’t know where to begin.

Obviously, we want to protect our kids from the negative influences and consequences of a godless culture. Yet we are misguided if we focus our energies solely on changing our kids’ behavior or militantly resisting the godless culture. It is important to understand the damaging influences of our age, and it is vital that our kids make right choices in life. But the real battlefield is the very hearts of our young people.

Yes, you want your kids to live right and behave right. But they will continue to struggle with loneliness and emptiness until you convince them that they are loved for the unique people they are. This may be a cliché, but it’s true: Your kids won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Youth worker, I know how much you love your young people. I know you are concerned about the Disconnected Generation.

Connecting with Youth

This handbook is designed to help you—the youth worker—connect relationally with young people as well as help them to connect with God, their parents, their friends, and a lost world.

Section 1: Ministry Connecting Points offers the fundamentals for effective relational ministry to the Disconnected Generation. Each section is written by a youth ministry expert—such as Tony Campolo, Ron Hutchcraft, E. V. Hill, or Barry St. Clair—who shares his heart on the essentials we must know and apply to our ministries in order to be relevant to young people today.

Section 2: Relational Connecting Points. Youth ministry today largely depends on the quality and depth of relationships. Without genuine relationships— no matter how good our efforts may be— our efforts will be void of lasting impact. This section will help you to surround your youth with the necessary relationships to help them mature in the Christian faith.

Section 3: Leadership Connecting Points. This section describes proven leadership skills and applies them to youth ministry. Each chapter will challenge you to be a more effective and authentic leader to young people.

Section 4: Connecting with Youth is the nuts and bolts section for equipping young people to not only survive, but to also thrive in today’s culture. From Presenting Great Youth Talks to Using Camps and Retreats —this section is a must read for all youth workers.

Section 5: Connecting to Youth in Crisis. If we are going to have a genuine impact on the lives of young people today we must be prepared to help them in times of crisis. In this section, proven experts share their hearts and insights on how to minister to young people in times of crisis.

Section 6: Connecting with Youth in a Post - modern Age. What is postmodernism? And how does it affect ministry to young people today? It is no secret that our society has gone through a complete and rapid transition. So how do we apply unchanging principles to changing times? George Barna, Dawson McAllister, Josh Weidmann, and I will address these questions and suggest how we must reach out to young people in today’s postmodern world.

Section 7: Connecting Youth to a Lost World. Recent surveys show that youth are eager to have a positive impact on their communities and on the world. Unlike Generation X, these young people believe they can make a difference. And we can help to empower them! This section offers practical steps for planning mission trips, equipping youth to have an impact on their communities, empowering youth to do evangelism, reaching the public campus, and more.

Section 8: Connecting to Urban Youth. Have you noticed that urban America is setting the cultural trend? Whether it’s music, clothing styles, or language, suburban America is following the urban example. Why is this so? Larry Acosta, Phil Jackson, Fred Lynch, and others help us to understand the urban mind-set as well as equip us to minister effectively to urban youth.

Section 9: Maintaining Your Personal and Spiritual Connection. Genuine ministry to young people today must flow out of our own intimacy with God. If we are going to help young people grow spiritually, we must be personally connected to Him ourselves. This section will help you to grow in your relationship with God and to keep your focus on Him as well as avoid many of the common pitfalls, such as discouragement, burnout, and moral compromise, that can hinder lasting ministry.

SECTION 1

Ministry Connecting Points

CHAPTER 1

The Battle for a Generation

RON HUTCHCRAFT

Several years ago, some major research was done on American teenagers. The researchers were so alarmed by their findings that they entitled their report Code Blue. When my wife was in the hospital for surgery recently, the button next to her bed had those two words over it. In a medical environment, a code blue is a summons to all personnel that this is a life-or-death emergency—one for which everyone drops what he or she is doing to respond. That is how researchers described the desperation of American teenagers. Drop everything . . . respond quickly . . . this is a matter of life or death.

Does that describe the attitude of your church or your organization to the needs of young people? Are you in a code blue mode, marshaling an urgent, aggressive response to teenage lostness? Even people without an understanding of spiritual lostness can see the danger our kids are in. Surely God’s people must be mobilized for the emergency.

It is time for us to wake up. We have the answer. All the world can do is document the problem and cite the statistics. We who have the answer need to hear the wake-up call. Reaching young people is a life-or-death issue.

The Disconnected Generation

The war for young people begins with an understanding of teenage lostness. Twelve sentences define this generation:

Loneliness is their heart condition. If there is one word other than lost to describe young people today, it would be the word lonely. They are desperately lonely people.

Relationships matter most to them. Relationships have become number one because deprivation creates value. Whatever you are deprived of is what you tend to value. Kids of recent generations have been deprived of relationships. They have been deprived of closeness and love, belonging and relationships, so they’ll do anything for closeness.

Music is their language. Music expresses what is in our souls. What is in the soul of a younger generation that carries a suitcase full of pain? It is anger, hurt, and pent-up frustration. That dysfunctional music expresses the dysfunction in their souls. That screaming singer is screaming their scream. For contemporary young people, their music and their souls are tightly intertwined.

George Barna, in his study Third Millennium Teens, says, Researchers have discovered that music is one of the most important influences in the lives of young people. For millions of young people music produces a life philosophy; cultural icons, heroes and role models; support for values and lifestyles; a common language; and the opportunity to develop community related to a shared sense of common sound, ideas or artists. ¹

Self-worth is their struggle. Many of the problems of youth are actually only symptoms. The problem is often self-worth, surfacing in behaviors such as alcohol abuse, sexual involvement, violence, and occult activity. The impact of teenagers’ self-image on their behavior cannot be underestimated.

Anesthetic is more important than cure. Kids are often not as interested in solutions to their problems as they are in getting the pain to stop. They have no idea how to deal with the pressures or problems they face, so they think their only hope is to feel good for a while. When kids commit suicide, it is not usually because they want to die, it’s because they want the pain to stop.

They know no boundaries. Because authority was lost back in the sixties, today’s young people play in a field without boundaries. Since there is no right or wrong, they have no sense of sin. As we work to understand the young people around us, we need to remember they are products of a culture that knows no boundaries. We cannot assume anything about their understanding of Christian morality.

They want authority. Young people are looking for authority—but it is authority that is earned, not demanded. You can earn authority by listening to them, loving them, spending time with them. And they are looking for someone who is worthy of trust. Positional authority—authority demanded from the position you hold—does not mean much to kids today. But personal authority—the kind that comes from the kind of person you are—is exactly what their questioning hearts are looking for.

Their now matters more than their future. The future is too far off, and it may never come. That’s the unspoken feeling behind many young choices. Teenagers live in the present, so they’re saying, Hell? That doesn’t matter to me. I’ve got to live with my parents. I’ve just got to get through this week. I have to handle this pressure. I was so depressed last night . . . maybe that’s hell. I don’t know. A spiritual case that is focused on the future—gaining heaven, avoiding hell—will not be persuasive for many kids who are mired in their now.

The world doesn’t interest them. Probably the most uninformed kids in the world—about the world, that is—are American teenagers. Most of them don’t know who is in charge of what country. They don’t know where any country is. They don’t know what’s going on politically, and they couldn’t care less. They only really care about the small world of who’s going with whom and what’s going on Friday night and when’s the next concert.

Commitment is too risky. A man was asked, Do you have a hard time making decisions? He said, Yes and no. That remark could well have been made by a contemporary teenager. The struggle with commitment affects everything from homework to holiness. Young people are reluctant to make long-term commitments to anything.

Sex is expected . . . and confusing. Far too many young people are having sex by the end of high school. The tragedy is not only that so many teenagers have sex, but that it is expected they will. And it is happening at younger and younger ages. Media images don’t help: Commercials exploit sex; prime-time television shows assume that dating includes sex. Nowadays, instead of a girl apologizing because she isn’t a virgin, she has to apologize because she is. You mean you haven’t done it yet? What’s wrong with you? The pressure to be sexually active is intense.

These teenagers are post-Christian.We are living in America’s first post-Christian generation. Before this generation, most people at least knew what morality is, knew the basic outlines of the gospel, and had heard John 3:16. Today that is no longer true. Christians in America no longer have the home-field advantage. We are the visiting team.

So those of us who are concerned about teenagers find ourselves in the middle of the most unreached generation in the history of North America. Because they are a blank slate spiritually, today’s teenagers are easily deceived by the devil’s lies. They’re ready for anything that feels religious or spiritual because they have no truth by which to measure it. This post-Christian teenager is extremely vulnerable.

The Rescue Plan

Here is a basic lifesaving principle that we must apply to our efforts to reach young people: Dying people will not come to the lifesaving station to be rescued. The rescuers have to leave the comfort of the station and go where the dying people are. Never in history did a drowning person come to the door of the lifesaving station asking, Would you please rescue me? In every case, someone had to leave the safety of the station to save lives.

Today our lifesaving station probably has a steeple with a cross on top. The title of the lifesaving talk is on a sign out front, along with the name of the Head Rescuer. Inside, people are singing lifesaving songs and having lifesaving committee meetings. The station is a great place for the rescuers to have their needs met, their strength built. And it is the best place to bring people after they are saved. But it is not the best place to rescue people. In fact, when it comes to lost teenagers, most will probably not come to our lifesaving station. If we wait until they do, most of them will die.

Youth ministry, Jesus-style, requires the courage to leave our comfort zone and plunge into the surf and the storm—as He did. Our rescue efforts will take us into places that are not comfortable, into methods that may not be understood, into a youth culture that is out of control. But that is where the kids are who are dying emotionally and spiritually.

In a sense, our work is not even youth ministry. It is a war. A battle rages for a generation of young people—and the winner owns the future.

I am convinced that the forces of darkness are trying to spiritually neutralize one generation of teenagers so that generation belongs to them. If they can capture one generation, they can have all the others that come from it. That generation may well be in our schools right now.

But the forces of darkness are no match for the force of Jesus Christ: You . . . have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

Then how come the darkness seems to be winning our young people? The forces of Christ have not shown up for the battle. This is a time for full mobilization of God’s people to rescue dying young people. A battle rages for a generation, and if we do not join this battle, we forfeit a generation. Our call to arms is the cries of lost kids. Calling us to take the risks to rescue them. Calling us to war.

Anyone who touches the life of a teenager will be involved in this war. Every one of us ought to join this battle, whether we have children of our own, lead a youth ministry, or know any teenagers in our towns. Warfare strategies are not theoretical; it’s time to practice active warfare.

It is vital that the church be mobilized for this battle. I know no statement that will unite and ignite a local congregation faster than this: We are going to fight for the kids in this town. It’s the one cause the church as a whole can all agree on, because today’s kids are front-page news.

The Compelling Bottom Line

There is a bottom line that has driven me for more than thirty years in ministry. At least three-fourths of all those who ever accept Jesus Christ do so by the age of eighteen. But now there is a new reality. Studies by the Barna Research Group show that unless a child comes to Christ by the age of thirteen, he or she probably never will. ² When you go to the local high school graduation and watch the kids walking across the platform, realize that those who don’t know Christ then will probably live and die and spend eternity without Him. The church of Jesus Christ has nothing more urgent to do than reach people before their lives turn hard—while they are young.What more important, more urgent mission do we have? We must work as long as it is day. For sooner than ever, night is coming, when no one can work (John 9:4).

The battle rages for a generation of young people. They live all around you: in your neighborhood, your church, even in your own home. You drive by them all the time. They are very lonely, very wounded, very lost.

But there is also some hope-filled good news about young people too. They are more ready for Jesus than they have ever been. They don’t know they’re ready for Jesus; they just know they’re ready for something.

Hope for them begins when a heart for them emerges in a caring Christian adult. Maybe you. Maybe your church.

Ron Hutchcraft is a veteran of over thirty-five years of youth and family work. He has presented the gospel across North America, Europe, South America, Africa, Asia, the South Pacific, and the West Indies. Through citywide evangelistic outreach events called Make a Difference Weeks, Ron presents Christ to various groups through parenting seminars, singles’ events, youth outreaches, and business/ professional dinners. Mr. Hutchcraft is also involved in ongoing ministry outreach to and with Native Americans. He has also spoken at NFL and Major League Baseball chapels. Through Ron’s Web site, many people worldwide come to Christ on a weekly basis. Ron also hosts the radio program Alive! with Ron Hutchcraft, an award-winning weekly international youth broadcast with a Spanish counterpart (Chevere!).

Mr. Hutchcraft’s closest partner in ministry is his wife, Karen. They are grateful to God that their three children (Lisa, Doug, and Brad) and spouses all serve in full-time evangelism ministry. Ron and Karen also have one grandson (Jordan).

Ron Hutchcraft Ministries, Inc. may be contacted at:

P.O. Box 400, Harrison, AR 72602

Phone: [phone]; Fax: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Web site: www.hutchcraft.com

Recommended Resources by Ron Hutchcraft

1. The Battle for a Generation: Capturing the Hearts of Our Youth (Book/Audio)

If Satan can capture one generation, he owns all those that come after. Today, unchurched young people know little or nothing about Christ, and most Christian young people make little difference for Him. How can we begin to turn the tide and win this battle for a generation?

2. Ten Time Bombs: Defusing the Most Explosive Pressures Teenagers Face (Book)

Provides a young person with practical ways to avoid life-wrecking explosions in the pressure areas of sex, friends, family relationships, anger, and more. Youth workers! Ten Time Bombs is for you, too! Ron’s straight talk will equip you with knowledge and understanding so you can provide help to today’s youth. Great source material you can use!

3. Sex at Its Best: A Positive Morality for Today’s Youth (Video, 52 minutes)

How can we help young people know what they’re missing—and paying—by not waiting for marriage? Here’s the message about sexual intimacy that has not been told. Sex the Inventor’s way delivers love without scars