Richard Ross, professor of youth ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, told Alabama Baptist church and denominational leaders they should step into a new era of shaping young people to be future leaders in the church.
He was addressing the closing session of the Healthy Leaders, Healthy Churches conference March 8–9 at First Baptist Church, Pelham.
Ross said an effective approach to growing future leaders is three pronged. One, parents should actively teach the Bible to their own youth. Two, churches should encourage, equip and enhance those efforts. Three, churches should organize missions trips for youth to experience missionaries doing their work.
He longs to see the day when youth participating in missions trips is the norm among Baptists everywhere. Once they become Sunday School teachers, deacons and/or choir members their missions backgrounds will permeate church life. This approach has the potential to create stronger, missions-minded churches engaged in evangelistic activity.
But parents must lay the foundation for this change in today’s youth, according to Ross.
He said parents “talking the things of God” to their teenagers is God’s “Plan A” for the spiritual health of the church and its future.
“Teaching the Bible at home will create more life changes in the life of a youth than anything the church can do,” he said.
If parents shoulder the responsibility of inspiring and equipping today’s generation of youth and churches grow exponentially from that, then these youth could be the next great revival generation and the next generation of leaders for tomorrow’s churches, he said.
It’s not enough for the church to just pat youth on the back and thank them for being there, he said. Too often pastors and youth ministers are happy if the youth of the church are occupied with worthwhile activities and staying out of trouble, he said. But this kind of approach neglects finding, nurturing and equipping the potential leaders of tomorrow’s churches.
“I want church leaders to have a vision for youth that goes beyond just not having problems with them,” Ross said.
Instead, Ross said, churches should implement practical ideas to invest in the lives of its younger members from the beginning of their lives.
He suggested churches consider incorporating into their baby dedication services the presentation of a check for $25 to the child’s parents for a missions savings account. The idea is that money could be added to the account by parents, family and friends so by the time the child becomes a teenager enough money would be there for them to participate in a short-term missions trip.
While parents are living out these principles at home, pastors should preach about God’s call from their pulpits and educate young people on what it means to be called, Ross said.
“Youth need to be taught how God’s call sounds so when sitting in the back of the church they don’t wonder if what they feel is God’s call or a bad pizza,” Ross said.
He explained that God’s call is holy and initiated by God’s Holy Spirit. It is a feeling, a communication from God. But Ross said that oftentimes youth are struggling with identifying the numerous feelings going on in their lives as they develop emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.
As youth work through their life decisions church leaders should do practical things to truly get to know their youth, and when their gifts are discovered they should be given ample opportunity to practice their gifts before the church.
Share with others: