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Our Youth Ministry is entering its infant stages. Notice, we will call it a ministry, not just a program. We want to minister to all the needs (especially spiritual) of our youth.
In the little word all lies the cause of much of the misdirection and many of the problems in the church today. Should the church even attempt to minister to all the needs of any special interest group? I think not.
The needs of youth are many. The needs of singles, widows, the elderly and middle-agers are also many. Needs may differ from group to group, but many of them are also quite common. Must the church, or should the church, or can the church “minister” to all the needs of any group? Those who answer “yes,” and they are numerous, have led the church in developing entertainment, recreational, and other social activities in an attempt to thus “minister” to all our needs. There is, however, no justification nor authorization in Scripture for such practices and programs.
As Christians of any age group, we are “built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). Let us return the church to the firm path of serving the spiritual needs of people while limiting her work in the physical realm to attending to genuine benevolent needs.
Other institutions are in trouble today because many expect them to be all-things- to-all-people. Consider, for example, public schools and even the government. Why must the church make the same mistake of even trying to be such?
[Note: I wrote this article for, and it was published in The Edifier, weekly bulletin of Pearl Street Church of Christ, Denton, TX, late in 1988, of which I was editor. Exact date of publication is unknown]
Attribution: From thescripturecache.com; Dub McClish, owner and administrator.
