One Reason We Shouldn’t Get Rid of Youth Ministry

Reaching Lost Teens

There are lots of kids out there who are not interested in Christianity. And there are voices that say we need to eradicate youth ministry and do away with it as a whole. But one thing I would say in response is that there is a whole world of teenagers out there who do not have believing parents and who have never thought about going to church.

We need missionaries and evangelists out there reaching teenagers and sharing the gospel with them. And we need people who are training teenagers to be doing that in their schools, on their sports teams, and in all the different facets of their life.

Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry

Cameron Cole, Jon Nielson

This comprehensive handbook looks at every facet of youth ministry from a gospel-centered perspective, offering practical advice related to everything from planning short-term mission trips to interacting with parents to cultivating healthy relationships.

Youth ministry still has a very valuable, long term role in the church. With that said, we do need to have a broader definition and understanding of what role youth ministry plays in the life of the church.

Cameron Cole (MA, Wake Forest University) is the director of children, youth, and family at Cathedral Church of the Advent in Birmingham, Alabama, and the founder of Rooted, a ministry dedicated to fostering gospel-centered student ministry. He is the author of Therefore I Have Hope: 12 Truths That Comfort, Sustain, and Redeem in Tragedy, and the coeditor of Gospel-Centered Youth Ministry and The Jesus I Wish I Knew in High School.