Youth Workers, Are You Teaching Doctrine to Your Students?

Friends, I am becoming increasingly convinced that we MUST be more intentional about teaching Bible doctrine to our students!

We've all read the statistics that shout the high number of students who depart from church once they are young adults. I'm forming the opinion that the number one reason for that departure is that we are producing a generation that doesn't have a clue what they really believe. Certainly, Christian parents and the church must each share some of the blame for this scenario. Our graduating students are hitting college campuses, the military, the work force, or other life situations as young adults and are falling away from the church. In many, many cases they are also falling away from their faith because they do not have the internal confidence that what they believe or what they have been taught in church is true.

It's during this stage of their lives (when they are first out from under their parent's direct influence and when they can choose whether or not to attend church on their own volition) that many of this age group is choosing to walk away. The more I talk with millennials, parents, and youth workers and the more research and reading I do, the more convinced I am that we must begin an intentional educational strategy to help this emerging generation learn Biblical doctrine and theology. We must move beyond quick devotionals and the ever-present, but highly random Bible stories to teach our students the "whole counsel of God" and to "rightly divide the word of truth."

Please take a few moments to read the newly research from LifeWay entitled LifeWay Research finds American "Millennials" are spiritually diverse at: http:www.lifeway.com/lwc/rd_article-content/0,2815,A%253D170233%2526X%253D1%2526M%253D200812,00.html. This article should help us face the facts about how our churches are actually doing at producing high school graduates who know Biblical truth and who can face the tough questions of life with the unshakable confidence that what they believe is the truth.

In an attempt to begin an honest and strategic conversation on how to address the important topic of how to teach doctrine and theology to students, I would like to invite vocational youth pastors to join me this summer on the campus of Baptist Bible College in Clarks Summit, PA during their annual Teen Leadership Conference to participate in a legitmate think-tank to discuss how to address this situation in our churches. I am asking youth pastors to bring their ideas and any materials they may have already developed with them to TLC. We'll meet for several hours each day addressing this problem, but we'll also attempt to identy solutions that can be shared in the near future with other youth workers.

If you are interested in joining us for this think-tank at BBC just send me a note at: mel@visionforyouth.com and I'll send you the details of how you can personally be involved. PLEASE consider participating in this important conversation.

A Generation That Wants to Learn Theology?

It is imperative for youth workers (and parents, of course) to make sure that doctrine and theology are an integral part of their comprehensive teaching plans. It is a shame that some youth workers look at theology as boring or irrelevant for today's high school students. I believe the opposite is true. It has been my experience that this generation wants to know what they believe. They don't want us to "spoon feed" them or cram our own particular viewpoints down their throats. Instead, I am absolutely convinced that many millennials have a desire to learn the meat of Scripture which includes Biblical and systematic theology. They can get "fluff" and entertainment elsewhere. This post is a call to youth workers everywhere to make Biblical theology a major emphasis in their teaching ministries.



The following are some starting points for incorporating doctrine and theology into today's youth ministry.



1. Implement a thorough scope-and-sequence.

Most youth ministries provide a six-year doctrinal window (7th through 12th grade) to teach God's Word to teenagers. What do you want those in-coming early adolescents to know by the time they graduate from high school? An intentional, comprehensive educational curriculum is essential to attaining these goals.



2. Utilize teaching resources that are characterized by doctrinal and Biblical integrity.

I am afraid that one of the most insidious dangers facing today's church educational ministries is the serious lack of doctrinal content in so many books and materials. Have you visited a Christian bookstore recently? Do that sometime and carefully look through that store's youth ministry section. You will probably find a wide range of creative and seemingly relevant teaching guides with colorful and creative covers that contain interesting and innovative teaching methods. Look a little closer. My guess is that you'll find many of these products contain very, very little Biblical or doctrinal content. The publishing trend these days is to sell materials to churches of all stripes with little regard for any particular doctrinal perspective. Please be careful in what you present to your students. Make sure that the materials you select have a Biblical integrity - and that the content matches what your church believes and teaches in other ministries. We must be discerning. If we want our students to grow up with a clear understanding of the Bible and doctrine, we must be consistent in what we teach and in what materials we use in our ministries.



3. Give your students practical opportunites to develop constructive critical thinking about what they are learning in church.

My emphasis here on theology is NOT a push for rote learning of sterile facts and boring lists of proof texts. The Bible is far from that. We must never forget that the Word of God is alive, powerful, and life-changing. The Holy Scriptures can stand up to the most difficult scrutiny. So my advice to youth workers is to provide practical learning opportunities for your students so that they can learn firsthand the truth of God's holy, inspired, imerrant, and everlasting word.



Readers: I'll continue this article in my next post. But, I'm very interested to learn how you are teaching theology to your youth group. Please send me your ideas.