"Youth Ministry as Mission" (Brian Hull & Patrick Mays)

TITLE: Youth Ministry as Mission: A Conversation About Theology and Culture
AUTHOR: Brian Hull & Patrick Mays
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Ministry, 2022, (264 pages).
 

Mention the word "Youth Ministry" and one might conjure up images of fun and games, or various activities associated with trying to be relevant to the needs of young people. Others might think about summer camps, retreats, Bible camps, sleepovers, and all kinds of fun outings for youths. As churches all over the nation age, the focus on youth ministry becomes more urgent. They would hire youth pastors, children's workers, and various support staff to attract young people to their churches and also parents of young children. However, youth ministries, and in particular, young people are going through massive changes in their offerings and expectations respectively.  In many cases, youth ministry strategies are not adapting quick enough to monumental changes in society and especially among young people. Having observed the Youth Ministry situation in many churches, authors Brian Hull and Patrick Mays have combined their knowledge and experience to point us to a crucial way of thinking about Youth Ministry: See YM as a mission field and Youth Ministry workers as missionaries. Like like conventional missionaries who study the history and work of missions, YM workers need to study the history and work of youth ministry. Missionaries begin by learning about the different cultures and contexts. YM workers too need to learn about the different cultures and contexts of young people today. Hull and Mays lead us through their reasoning via several detailed descriptions and applications of missiology for youth ministries. They answer basic questions like:

• What is a missionary?
• How is Youth Ministry considered a Mission Field?
• Why mission?
• What is the role of the Church?
• How can the Church adapt to seeing Youth Ministry as mission?
• How does theology lead to youth ministry as mission?
• What is God's calling for the Church?
• ...

Inspired by the missiology of Lesslie Newbigin, a renowned missionary and professor of missions, the authors eagerly apply youth ministry as "domestic missiology for the West." They show that by describing the Church as a counter-cultural community, a "community of truth," and "God's embassy." Essentially, the authors help us avoid the dualism of mission only for overseas stints or adults only programs. They show us that the gospel is for all. The gospel is relatable and translatable. The gospel is relevant. After showing us proof and multiple arguments that demonstrate the need for the gospel in all walks of life, they come back to the crux of the whole matter: The Church needs to discern her role as a key participant and not delegate youth work to certain professionals only. The authors remind us that mission is for all and when we think of Youth Ministry work, it involves mission work. The primary considerations for missions are adaptability, open to learning, perseverance, and most importantly, going back to the roots of the gospel.  Going back to the gospel requires discerning both individually as well as a community. In other words, discern the needs from Scripture. Discern together in a community. Discern with different voices, but all must start from the Bible. Why? With so many competing sources of information, all of us are stretched to make important decisions at various junctures of our lives. They share lessons from Africa about community discernment. Beginning with small groups, discuss about issues concerning the culture, their perceptions, how the community ought to respond. Allow time for people to observe, interpret, question, and interact. Providing nine steps to discerning, they remind us the importance of telling the story and helping young people tell their own stories. The acronym LASTS (Language, Action, Space, Time, Symbols) can be used to help use engage the culture. Other aspects of youth ministry include understanding the different "religions" around us. This is not simply the traditional mainstream religions. They are the new worldviews such as exclusivism, inclusivity, pluralism, postmodernism, etc. The authors gradually lead us to consider short-term missions as a way to express our desire to reach the world with the gospel. In fact, readers will learn that just as the way educators try to reach them with the gospel, missional style, they could pick up the method and do the same to others. 

My Thoughts
A fellow pastor once said to me that youth ministries need to be revamped every two years. For some, the number might be even shorter. With technological changes that have revolutionalized ministry environments, it is tempting for many to just try to be what young people want, to be where the young people are, and to be focused on how to meet their needs. However, this will be like what Ecclesiastes describes as the vanity of chasing after the wind. Instead, start from the rock of the Bible, which does not shift and change like the world. For the Word of God is the anchor, the unchanging Truth for all. Strategies and methods may change but the Word of God will not change. That is why it is crucial to consolidate our ministry efforts with the Word as the springboard for all planning and activities. Hull and Mays have given us a powerful resource to connect Youth Ministry with the overall purpose of God: Mission. Many youth ministry efforts tend to center on how to meet the needs of young people for the purpose of either Church growth or survival. In doing so, many unwittingly are serving out of their own strength, based on their own ideas of God's will. The authors remind us that discernment must come before action. This leads me to the next strength of this book: Discernment.

My favorite chapter in this book is about "Developing a Discerning Community." This is an important objective as far too many YM programs are about adults telling young people what to do. Discernment turns it all around and consider together the purpose and the reasons for youth ministries in the first place. I find it quite ironic when I read about African proverbs the authors use in the writing of this book. Whenever we think of Africa, church leaders might be tempted to think about how to reach them with the gospel and how missions is about bringing the gospel to the dark continent. However, as Hull and Mays have shown us, there is much the West can learn from Africa, especially the meaning and practice of community. Unlike many people in the West who tend to be self-dependent, the Africans discern life together as a community. Simply put, Christian discernment is about community discernment on God's leading.

Finally, if anyone still wants to ask: "What has Youth Ministry got to do with mission?" this book connects all of these together in a conversational style which appeals to open discussions and active interactions. I appreciate the questions at the end of each chapter. They not only refresh the concepts mentioned earlier but also to point us on the next steps to take.

This is a unique way to see and re-examine youth ministries. I believe there is hope when churches take mission at all levels to the next level. 

Brian Hull (PhD, Asbury Theological Seminary) is associate professor of Youth Ministry at Asbury University and director of Asbury’s Youth Becoming Leaders Program. Among other books and journal articles, Hull is coauthor of Reachable Reconciliation with Fred Oduyoye (Youth Specialties/Zondervan).

Patrick Mays (PhD, Asbury Theological Seminary) is professor of Christian Ministry and campus pastor at LeTourneau University. After co-launching the Passage Institute for Youth and Theology, a one-year discipleship program for high school students, he now serves as its campus director. Additionally, Mays has served in numerous pastoral roles, as a short-term missionary, and for seven years as a guest Bible scholar at a Bible translation ministry in Nigeria.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of Kregel Academic without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.