Change can come about in several different ways. Some things change naturally and over time, like the aging process. This type of change sort of creeps up on us. Other change comes about due to a crisis. For instance, on the positive side, the birth of a child or grandchild can alter family routines and interactions. On a more negative side, a near fatal heart attack can cause a person to make changes in lifestyle and diet. As a professor, I often see change in the maturity level of students who, upon entering college life as a freshman, grow in maturity by the time they complete their senior year. I see another type of change happening here at our Christian college. It seems more students coming from “Christian homes” are struggling with anxiety and depression at equivalent rates to students who do not come from Christian homes. Further, the level of biblical illiteracy among Christian and non-Christian peers is comparable. This is disturbing to me.
In John 14:7, Jesus states, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (NIV). In my roles as parent, professor, and pastor, I must wonder, “Why is it that our students coming from Christian homes do not experience this peace that Jesus promises? Why are our ‘Christian kids’ so much like their non-Christian peers?” I am convinced that one of the reasons our children and youth are so anxious and lonely is because we have not provided adequate discipleship or Christian nurture both in the church and at home. This is not meant to be hypercritical, rather to point out what many church leaders and researchers have discovered: many young people who grow up in the church do not have a faith that is life-long and that produces other disciples. For the sake of this article, the terms “Christian nurture” and “discipleship” are used interchangeably.
Regarding the loss of young people from the church, we should be encouraged for as long as Jesus reigns from His throne, all is not lost! I am encouraged by the students who do come on to campus with a faith that is alive, vibrant, life-giving, and disciple-making. Not always, but most of the time, students who possess this authentic faith have been discipled well by their church and in the home. These students display the peace that Jesus talks about in John 14:7. This has led me to be further convinced that there must be change in the way Western churches think and practice discipleship. In fact, the lack of discipleship in the lives of many young people is at a point of crisis. I believe this crisis must lead to a change in how we provide Christian nurture. While I have spent most of my life in youth ministry, there is a recognition that discipleship must have a stronger and more intentional approach both at home and in the church. In some ways, youth ministry has gone through a life process that has now led to some maturity.
While a simplification of youth ministry, in its infancy, youth ministry was born out of a necessity to care for urban street children through the advent of Bible clubs and eventually Sunday School. In its childhood, youth ministry took root and moved into a realm where experts were not crafting age-appropriate methodologies for teaching children and youth. As it moved into its early adolescence, youth ministry became very attractional as well as an industry. Youth had been won over by popular evangelical efforts and now were being invited to camps. By mid-adolescence, youth ministry had its own curriculum, conferences, and was widely practiced throughout many denominations. By later adolescence, youth ministries began having their own worship services and conferences began to develop for college-aged young adults who found themselves struggling to find their place in the church. All of this came about as youth ministry was professionalized and industrialized to the point where many young people have simply given up the struggle to fit in and have walked away from the church. Like many who are coming out of their adolescence, youth ministry is finding its identity. For some youth ministries and organizations, they are content to live in the past because they feel attractional ministry still works. Yes, it works to attract young people, but it does not necessarily make life-long disciples who continue to make disciples. Today, “youth ministry” is finding its way back to the family. Many Christian organizations and denominations are engaging in the concept of “family ministry” but struggling to define “family.”
This move to family ministry has come about because research validates the fact that we are not providing robust Christian nurture to our children and youth. As a pastor, I also see families struggling to find ways to provide Christian nurture for their children and grandchildren. As a parent of three sons, I have empathy for those of us who desperately want to disciple their children and grandchildren into a life-long committed relationship with Jesus. The truth is, we are still figuring out how best to go about that process. It is for these reasons I believe God has moved me to contribute to efforts that might help all who are willing to provide Christian nurture (discipleship) to the next several generations. I have been struck by the profound reality that we, as well-meaning Christian parents, lack an intentional discipleship plan to accomplish the goal of having our children and grandchildren develop a life-long committed relationship with Jesus. This relationship must move beyond the level of justification, that is, wanting a relationship with Jesus only to save us from Hell. We must nurture our children and youth in sanctification where they begin to look like Jesus and then into mortification where they understand their faith is “for the sake of others.” Once we learn to surrender our lives, for the sake of Christ and for others, that is when we find it. This is what it means to be a life-long disciple of Jesus who, in maturity, produces more disciples. This ultimately allows us to share in the Kingdom glory (glorification) Jesus promised us.
For some time now, I have become more and more convinced that the best type of discipleship is found in a Deuteronomy 6:5–9 approach. The focus here is to provide Christian nurture beginning in the home, encouraged in the church, and expressed in community—but it must start in the home. This is where Discipleship Is Leadership was born. This book helps adults provide Christian nurture to children and youth through their life stages by looking through the lenses of Eric Erickson’s theory of Psychosocial Development and Leadership Models in order to produce life-long disciples of Jesus Christ. To order your copy, you can go here.
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