About Us

We focus on what makes the Church unique: God + Bible + Fellowship.

We work with parents to equip students to do the work of the ministry. We understand church to be a spiritual clinic and as such we recognize our limitations and our great need for the community of Christ.

We are Bible expounding, Gospel saturated, Christ centered, prayer loving servants of Jesus - who was, who is and is to come.  

We are the student ministry of Southern View Chapel.

Our Priorities

Prayer, study of the Word, and pure fellowship.

It is our goal to simply come along side parents to aid in the monumental task of bringing up children in the discipline and instruction of the LORD.  

We understand that young people are not the future of the church but are part of the church body now. Thus, we strive to plug our young people into practical service within the church and to walk together with their families down the path of righteousness. 

The ambition of this ministry, with all its commotion and activity, is to encourage and correct, to shed light and to expose darkness. How? There is only one way - by rightly dividing the revealed Word of Truth and walking in that path. 

Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Proverbs 22:6; 1Corinthians 4:2; 1Timothy 3:15; 2Timothy 2:2, 15; Titus 2:7-8, 10; Ephesians 6:4; 1John 1:7

Why Youth Ministry

There are many different opinions as to why and how a church should deal with the young. So we must approach the issue humbly, practically, and theologically. Here is our answer as to why we do what we do.

Why Youth Ministry?

Because, humanly speaking, the church is always one generation away from extinction.

Look to the church of Ephesus for a sad documentary on this principle. A once thriving church that benefited from the personal ministry of Paul, Timothy and John. But then we read the condemning words of Christ in Revelation 2 and we see the ruins on the ground. A people who seem to have lost their way. We must be faithful not to just evangelize but to disciple as Paul demonstrated for us in his relationships most obviously with Luke, Titus and Timothy. Check out the pastoral letters and in particular 2Timothy 2:2 to get a glimpse Paul's philosophy of ministry.

 

Why Youth Ministry?

Because the ages of 12-25 are possibly the most influential years of a person’s life.

It is often said that if you do not win a person’s heart when young you will never win it at all. And there are staggering statistics to back up this sort of claim. Most people choose to follow Christ or reject Him by the age of 20. Not only this but it is obvious that one who continues in sins continuously grows in their callousness to God and to His truth. Passages such as Romans 1:18-32 and Ephesians 4:17-19 vividly illustrates this concept.

 

Why Youth Ministry?

Because the church has always practiced some form of targeted effort in discipling the young.

Whether it was catechism, confirmation, orphanages or Sunday school the church has always applied special attention to the young, albeit in different forms and methods. The church has historically seen this as a vital age but has addressed it in different ways. The church ought to never be the sole teaching agent of children. Most work is done in the home. The work of the local church ought to be a reinforcing agent in the disciple making process. 

Why Youth Ministry?

Because practically speaking the culture is gunning for them.

The advertisers know that if they get the kids to cry loud enough then they will bring their parents and their money to the store. If you cannot see the all out media assault upon the young people of America then you must have your head in the sand. Before a kid even makes it to preschool he will be confronted with evolution, Freudian psychology, atheism, pantheism, and the homosexual agenda - all this can be seen just in the cartoons that are out there! A kid can't even make it to preschool without being trained that the earth is billions of years old and that daddy has a big ol' carbon footprint that is killing the earth. And this is nothing compared to the all out blitz of influence they will experience during their school years. They are gunning for your kids. What are we supposed to do to counteract this? 

The Word of God. The systematically, regularly and passionately taught Word of God. By parents at home whenever they can and reinforced in the ministry of the church. 

Why Youth Ministry?

Because it stands on a Biblical precedent.

Who is the specific audience of Proverbs but the young?

  • Over and over again you will find in the book of Proverbs that Solomon refers to the “naïve” and those who “lack understanding.” Who are the naïve and those who lack understanding? The typical audience being called out by this designation are the young, the undecided, the people who are still trying to decide which path to choose in life (Proverbs 9:14-16). The young are targeted by Proverbs and logically stand to gain the most from practicing the proverbs.

 

Who is being screamed at the loudest in Ecclesiastes?

  • Read Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:7 if you find this to be unclear.  
  • If you understand Ecclesiastes to be an extension of Proverbs (to illustrate what happens if you ignore the wisdom literature) then this is an easy jump to make.

 

How lofty is the parental task as explained in Deuteronomy 6:7?

  • To effectively drill these lessons home is no easy task. What parent would refuse assistance along the way? This is youth ministry at its finest: assisting parents in discipling their children toward Christlikeness. The very best youth ministry is a supplement and a buttress to the work already being done in the home. It ought to never function so as to supplant parents or provide surrogate parenting. As Paul put it, "I planted, Apollos watered but God caused the growth." We are co-laborers in God's field alongside of parents.  

 

So then, if the Bible has sections that expressly address the young why wouldn’t the church operate with the same paradigm? 

Recommended Resources

Youth: Despise, Distract, or Develop - Eric Bancroft

Striving for Excellence in Student Ministries

Eric Bancroft Associate Pastor, High School Ministry Grace Community Church

History of Youth Ministry

The ability and practice of ministering to youth in the general sense has been around for thousands of youth; for as long as there has been youth. What is a recent historical development (relatively speaking) is the vocation of a youth pastor. History records the first paid youth pastor in 1937 at Third Baptist Church in St. Louis, Missouri. Before this time and up to only 20 years prior, youth ministry vocations were found only at the denominational level as they gave oversight to multiple churches’ ministry to teenagers.

With the local churches being slow to respond to the ministry opportunities to students, the 1940’s and 1950’s saw the birth of the parachurch ministry. In 1941, Jim Rayburn launched Young Life with an evangelism-focused, youth approach. In 1946, Jack Hamilton started Youth for Christ which later changed its name to Campus Life. In 1960, Youth with A Mission (YWAM) was started.

It was not until the late seventies and early eighties that the role of a youth pastor took on the importance that it does today. The Southern Baptists led the charge with over 1,000 full-time youth pastors by 1980.

Today, youth ministry is a major industry. Colleges and seminaries offer courses in youth ministry. More books have been published in the last fifteen years on youth ministry than all the other years combined. Conferences such as Youth Specialties and Purpose Driven Youth Ministry have attracted thousands and thousands of attendees every year.

Problems in Youth Ministry

Through years of growth and changes, youth ministry has not been without its problems. Youth ministry has contributed a lot in honoring the name of Christ. It has also contributed much to dishonor His name. The following are some examples of the problems associated with youth ministry in America today:

  • Pragmatism

    “Whatever works, do it!” The end justifies the means.

    There is a temptation to get caught up in numbers. For example, you’ve heard it asked, “How many attend your youth ministry activities?”

    Games or programs become the focus rather than the tools.

  • Para-Church

    Ministry to youth begins with good intentions, but eventually pulls students away from the local church. This is clearly seen in the ministry service, fellowship, resources, and giftedness.

  • Professionalization

    The “I’ve arrived” conference speakers; the “10 sticks and 10 tricks” pastors.

    Read the biography of the recent youth ministry book or a conference brochure featuring the speaker line-up, and you will discover their convictions regarding regular involvement in pastoral ministry in the local church.

  • Program-Focused

    An overemphasis on methodology: This is seen practically by the questions that pastors ask of each other when they are meeting. For example, “What are you doing in your youth ministry?”

    A plethora of youth ministry publications speak more to this than anything else.

    In an article titled “It’s Time to Rethink Youth Programs,” Peter Benson (a non-Christian) writes, “America has too many youth programs. We have after school programs, prevention programs, skill-building programs and character education programs. And we have built substantial industries to support the programs. America is populated with program developers, program evaluators and program funders…. Programs are not the strategy for improving young people’s lives.”

    We would do well to learn this point ourselves in the church.

  • Postmodernism

    Postmodernism has brought mysticism to the forefront and pushed the objective proclamation of the authoritative Word of God to the back.

    When Bible studies are being conducted and questions such as, “What does this passage mean to you?” and “How does this make you feel?” are common, you have a problem. We need to stop asking what the passage means to me, and start asking, what does the passage mean to God.

    Phrases such as, “We want to dive deeper into ministry,” and “You need to find where God is and go there,” have become normal discourse and expected conversation in youth ministry.

    Author Tony Jones who writes in his book, Postmodern Youth Ministry, on the subject of evangelism: “In the postmodern context, it could be said that we ought to first evangelize experientially and teach the content of the faith later! After all, Jesus says to his disciples, ‘Follow me!’—not ‘Do you accept me as your personal Lord and Savior?’”

    Later he writes, “We must stop looking for some objective Truth that is available when we delve into the text of the Bible—remember, ‘the Word of God is living and active.’”

    The new trend in youth ministry programming is to use of candles, ancient prayer practices, and meditational exercises. These could be confused by an observer as a yoga class found out your local YMCA than a worship service. The result is, we worship the experience itself, instead of God.

What is the solution to these problems and more? We must return to a biblical foundation.

Basis for Youth Ministry

We must remember that as pastors (whether your responsibility is to minister to young adults such as teenagers or older adults) the Bible is our number one book because it is God’s book on how He wants His church administrated. Scripture teaches us theology (i.e., biblical) from which we articulate its practice, with philosophy (i.e., biblical) so that we can then think creatively about its implementation which is methodology (i.e., preferential).

Take for example, soul-winning: Gospel (Theology) -> Evangelism (Philosophy) -> Neighborhood Street Witnessing (Methodology)

A philosophy of ministry refers to a formulated system or belief regarding the ministry of the local church.

This is the foundation and assessment of youth ministry.

The Balance in Youth Ministry

The following are three important areas of ministry, if you intend to accomplish what this seminar is subtitled: Striving for Excellence in Student Ministries.

  • The Pastor

    • Your Life

      Problem: What started as a desire has become a duty and your life is not what you thought it would be or look like. What is your motive for what you do? What is your love? For example: Living under grace verses living under law.

    • Your Family

      Problem: You feel like you are married to your ministry, not your family.

      You take care of the ministry while your wife takes care of the kids and nobody takes care of the marriage. Disaster is on its way. C.J. Mahaney in Sex, Romance, and The Glory of God asks husbands with children to ask their wives, “Do you feel more like a mother or a wife?”

      One of the questions to consider is what does your family think of your love for Christ apart from your ministerial duties?

      Tedd Tripp writes in his chapter, “Love Your Family,” in his book Dear Timothy, “your family must see the richness of your spiritual walk quite apart from your ministerial duties.”

    • Your Responsibilities

      Problem: You never seem to get to do what you need to do or know you should do. Instead, you are driven by the “tyranny of the urgent.”

      Principle #1: Run your life by priority, not by pressure
      Principle #2: Plan neglect (Be known for saying “no,” not just “yes”)

  • The Staff

    • Your Selecting

      Recruit Volunteers

      • Graduated Students (caution after time removed)
      • College Students (if available)
      • Young Marrieds
      • Parents

      Qualifications

      • Character
      • Desire
      • Giftedness
      • Availability

    • Your Expectations

      Staff Resolutions

    • Your Training

      Staff Development: 2 Timothy 2:2

      • Relationship to Christ
      • Relationship to Students
        • Purpose
        • Philosophy
        • Practice
      • Relationship to Each Other

  • The Students

    • Your Passion: They have to know that you love them.
    • Your Purpose: Ephesians 4:12, “Equip the saints for the work of the ministry”
    • Your Practice: Youth ministry must contain strong, biblical preaching.
      • Engaging Bible Studies
      • Personal Small Groups
      • Dynamic Discipleship
      • Truth + Relationship = Effective Discipleship
      • Developing Student Leaders

Final Exhortation

Youth ministry is critically important to the present and future of the church. The years from 12 to 25 mark the most influential times in a person’s life. The church must be strategic in taking advantage of this window of opportunity. Young minds need the best teaching and theology, since the rest of their lives will be built on these early thoughts about the things of God. Anyone who wishes to involve themselves in ministry to students assumes serious and life-changing responsibilities. As you pay close attention to your life and your doctrine (cf. 1 Timothy 4:16), may you, your staff, and your students minister to you in such a way that you honor God completely, and builds His kingdom, not yours.

Amusing Ourselves to Death - Neal Postman

The challenge I would issue to the reader is to make it out of the foreword without being compelled to read more. To me it was a spellbinding read as the author seemed to describe the fate of our world so realistically. Our nation, which has moved from the written word to the TV screen, is in a perilous position. To quote the author, "This book is about the possibility that Huxley, not Orwell, was right."

This book will rattle the cage. Enjoy.

The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager - Thomas Hine

A thought provoking look at the mystery that is adolescence. The author pulls history into the picture to help us properly view this modern phenomenon and sometimes enigmatic issue of the teenager. One of my favorite moments is actually in the introduction where he points out that while our culture is screaming "diversity, diversity," in reality we are becoming more and more "uniform."

He consistently reminds us of our tendency to think that things have always been as they are and always will continue in the same way. This author rather boldly challenges such an accepted belief. The title of the final chapter speaks to this point, "Life After Teenagers." If you want to stir the pot and get a conversation going then this is your book.