Hell: Approaches to Student Ministries

I really enjoy hearing Reggie Joiner talk about ministry and I believe that he has great thoughts and insights. The one thing that I really admire about him is that he really puts the focus on families. We as leaders need to be training families, so they are doing ministry, not them coming to the church for ministry.

Well, that is not going to be the focus of theis post. The focus of this post is going to be his thoughts on student ministry and how he believes most churches play out. Also, I kinda chuckled when I re-listened to his message because it has the terminology "hell" in it and that is a "hot topic" today (no pun intended, well okay; maybe a little)

Four Common Approaches to Youth Ministry

1. Stop Them From Going To Hell

Ministries focus 9main) is to keep people away from the hell. They place law and judgment out on the forefront and their main purpose is to keep people from going there.

2. Stop Them from Raising Hell

Keep them in line. Be the nice boys and girls club. Please, fill the calendars so they are soooo busy that they can not cause trouble. You know, alternative things would be great - a safe place for them to go and while we are at it, let's do this in a different part of the church building, so there is no disturbance.

3. Scare The Hell Out Of Them

Scare them soooo bad that they are afraid to do anything because that is the job.

4. Give Them Weapons To Storm Hell

We need to equip them. They are created in God's image. They have gifts and talents and we need to have them use them to build up the Kingdom of God.

Which One ?

Which one of the four have you experienced ? Is there another one ?