Torch, Spring 1984

The Youth Program: j or a Purposeful Plan by Rev. Mel Walker I had just graduated from college and had been called by a fairly large church to be their youth pastor. I was getting settled in my new position - my first ministry - when a concerned parent approached me with a very serious question. "What Biblical basis do you have for being a Youth Pastor?" At the time, I became very defensive and apprehensive about answering his question, but I knew he needed an answer. So did I. This article is an outgrowth of that question. I trust God will use my input to challenge and motivate many to an effective, successful, and Biblical ministry with teenagers . WHY? Current statistics shout the facts . Over 70 percent of today's students will be sexually immoral by the time they graduate from high school . Over 50 percent of this country's young people are experimenting with drugs, and over a quarter of a million teenagers attempt suicide 16 each year. There are presently more teenagers in the United States than there are people in the entire country of Spain. In fact, there are more teenagers here than in 11 of Africa ' s countries combined . The teenagers of America are a large and needy mission field. They need all the love and commitment that parents, pastors, and youth workers can produce. THE NEXT GENERATION However, there must be a Biblical purpose for our youth ministries . There is a definite emphasis in Scripture upon reaching the next generation for Christ. This emphasis is illustrated in the lives of Moses and Joshua, Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Timothy, and with Christ and His disciples. All the above mentioned examples placed a priority upon the next generation. Robert E. Coleman, in his book The Master Plan Evangelism, has said, "One must decide where he wants his ministry to count - in the momentary applause of popular recognition or in the reproduction of his life in a few chosen men who will carry on his