Yes our kids are not being disciples because their parents aren't disciplining their kids! This is key! Parents need to stop relying on the Pastors to disciple their children and act the way we expect them to act!

Very good point. Pastors too in the global church network I have just sadly left

You are absolutely correct. My husband and I were in our early twenties when we became youth leaders and we were not at all solid in our faith. We still had teenage friends that we hung out with and were doing a lot of things that we shouldn't have been doing even as Christians, let alone as leaders in the church. But our church needed people to lead the youth and they basically just handed them to us and said "do your best". Now, this is mind boggling to me. I cannot imagine asking a 22 year old with no real knowledge of God's Word to aid me in leading my tween/teen. But a lot of these seeker friendly churches just want young youth pastors because they can relate better to the teens. Um...that's because they WERE teens like 2 weeks ago! I think in a lot of cases, they are letting the lost lead the lost.

@@trista_sue_writes amen. You hit on a very good point in relation to maturity. Even if they are saved, in my opinion a 22 year old still needs to be learning and being discipled rather than bearing the responsibility of kids that are barely younger than they are.

Amen Tammy II

Amen!

Are you just gonna pass on chairs being filled?

What have you done for the gospel? What church do you serve at now?

This can’t work since youth groups are designed and meant for the benefit of the parents. Regardless if the ideals and justifications, this group/job/position is created for the parent’s convenience, to attract new members, and to calm worries about your kids not believing. Besides, what is the good way to raise your kid believing? How did you come to believe? Is it okay to just rely on force of habit so that adult children keep going to church because it’s their life long habit? There has to be something better than just saying stuff repeatedly until they believe it out of habit

Exactly! My foster dad use to say Sunday School was a negative thing because it separated everyone. Separating is negatively effecting all ages. We all need each other.

@@tam4givin yep!

I agree. And some of the youth pastors I see are just trying to fit in and be an older cool kid. Not really setting a good example

FAMILY WORSHIP Parents it’s your responsibility (given by God) to disciple/discipline your children. Our culture wants to treat people under 18 as children, however we need to remember that people become adults at different ages. I tell my daughter that she is an adult when she takes care of her responsibilities without being told and she has self control over her body and emotions. Think of the boys who’ve been saving to buy a car since they were 13 years old so they can get a better job. Stop babying our young folks and require them to act their maturity level.

@@SillyChickens222 Exactly! A lot of narcissists in ministry! Many have had unGodly relationships with youth! (Many wives have too.) If they are separated should they be led by people barely older than them? Couples who often do not have good grounded marriages, and are worn out from their young children?🤔

This!! ⬆️☝🏼💯💯

Yes!!!

They’re only separated for their small groups. I don’t know any church where the youth aren’t also sitting in the service.

@@Epic_Shotz I’ve been going to all variety of churches for over 40 years. They just about all separate the kids and send them to childrens church.

The saddest thing is being a young person so hungry for the word and being tossed into these pointless activities(I know because that was me all my youth). I agree with you.

Absolutely, this. 🙌

Yup schools aren’t fun especially end of year testing but some reason church buildings are too be looked at as a fun place to go on a Sunday like a Friday movie in a school.

I JUST finished up a week of local church camp with kids ages 5-18. I taught singing. We sang regular hymns (like the ones you find in the hymnals). There are few things more precious than hearing young people sing "Victory in Jesus" with enthusiasm. They could have and likely would have been fine with contemporary songs, but they were also fine with hymns that are designed for congregational singing.

Cmon sis you got this!🔥

Thanks for sharing!

Amen!

He is in the "Nickels and Noses" business. LOL

I think it's good to offer a nursery for babies and toddlers, but in some churches it's seen as bad if you decide to not use it. The church I grew up in had a nursery and children's church for the little ones, but plenty of families chose to use it only sometimes or not at all and there was no judgement for that.

😟😔

That’s why in my church ONLY the full-time pastor gets paid for ministry.

Collective Prayer Request Glory to our Lord Jesus the Christ! Dear fellow sisters and brothers in Christ. Islam has approximately 1.8 billion people in hold in the world. This can change. Scripture, Lord Jesus: ‘Must first Bind the strongman before can do anything else.’ (Mark 3) ‘If Believe in Me, you will do Greater things (Miracles) through My Name, so Father is Glorified.’ (John 14) ‘Woke, rebuked the wind, raging waters, & storm subsided, “where is the Faith?”’ (Luke 8) ‘Faith to move mountains.’ (Matthew 17) Please consider Praying on Islam related to this Prayer, regarding the Pillar of Islam, for our Lord Jesus Christ (The Lord will know what you mean, when you & others Pray on it). Everyone will know that this Prayer is successful, when we see-hear it happen in the world. So please consider the possibility of any combination of items below: of Praying everyday for the next 2 weeks (14 days, June 14-27), with maybe 44 minutes in Prayer & Joyful Hopeful Song Praise; & optionally doing at least 1 half-meal (or full meal) fasting per day if able to (not for: the pregnant, nor children & teenagers); while finding something of benefit/desirable to sacrifice (give-up) on; etc. The more devout the better. Now let us all be coordinated as 1 body together from across the world for God, and see this Miracle happen soon! If uncertain, please Pray to Verify. 🙏 In Christ, God Bless! ⛅💖😇✨💫

I hate to say it, but it starts at home! Unless you are the parent or have many many hours of access to them, YOU cannot cultivate it for them. You can lead by example and be available, but that's about it. They have to want it and that only comes from God himself! -The opinion of a 45 year old mother with 7 children ages 22-7

I agree, it starts at home. Unfortunately, many parents are suffering from the same shortened attention span and lack the desire to spend time in the Word. They need to be the change. We teach a Bible study for ages 12-18. Even though the norm may be to seek out instant gratification, these kids are starving for something of meaning and healthy adult engagement. I recommend giving the kids a verse to write on three 3x5 cards and place them where they will see them throughout the day. At the end of the week, ask them what stood out to them. Did it apply to anything they went through that week? Did they share the verse with anyone? When kids see that the Bible is truly living and active and relates to their daily life, they will want to purposefully spend more and more time in it. It takes time and dedication but this generation is powerful and definitely not beyond our reach. Don't believe the lie that they won't listen to those who care for them and they only believe influences on the internet. Sincerity is of the utmost importance to them. Good bless you!

Mum of three boys here and I also agree, it starts at home. It is a labour of love to teach my boys to live in the constrains of the narrow way. It is a daily commitment, unfortunately, you as a teacher, can’t teach them that in one hour or so a week. My kids participate in all of the church programs for their ages, but they do so with an existent foundation built at home, that their Sunday school and the teens program, is part of their participation in the body of Christ and that they are not there to be entertained, even though it can be an entertaining and fun experience. As a parent, it is my job to teach them to walk that way. Having said that, you give it your best, but you can’t carry burdens that are not yours. If that makes sense?

How did you read me, a total stranger, so well. 😐 We're in trouble.

@@melissamcintyre7661I agree my thoughts exactly

Always fun to see people try to pronounce Washington places. 😆 Some are nearly impossible to figure out by sight.

@@ellenbertran1493 lol totally! Even as a lifelong Seattle-ite I've fumbled over a few 😆

@Jessica Jones yep! I lived in the Arlington/Everett area for 28 years and I think I was already an adult before I pronounced Sequim correctly...

We’re from snohomish county! 🤩

@@ellenbertran1493 haha!

I haven't been in the YG arena for too long. But my limited experience has them wanting to be a part of a community, but rarely do anything about it. An analogy is that almost every American adult wants to be healthier, but few have the drive to start, and fewer who continue even after making mistakes. It seems like the Gen Z culture is that those who drift socially and psychologically find themselves depressed, self-conscious, alone and isolated. Either someone needs to go against the current to build community, or even bring one of them into existing community. I know multiple kids that really prefer face to face over texting, but when I invite them to do something, with their friends, they often are cold or slow to the idea.

I had that happen to me this morning. There's no skip or back button.

Teach them about Jesus and how to have a real relationship with God. That’s never old or cold! Help those girls become the catalyst that gets the whole church to wake up to Jesus!

There’s also the fact that it has a heavy Calvinist bent! That’s not what kids need to hear.

What truth is that?

Interesting comment with a lot of truth to it. Kids know a dead church or when the adults are only playing church and not living out their faith.

@@conservativemama3437 you should read what the youth say on the Christian reddit about why they left the Church. All it really takes is to practice what you preach to keep us, and to actually treat us like part of the Church - we can be young adults and have far greater understanding than a baby Christian - who in spiritual talk is a new convert.

@Prey R That is called a strawman fallacy. We don't believe sin isn't sin, nor that it's okay to have sex out of wedlock (the sheer majority). As for gay marriage, my generation is divided on the subject. Our solution to homosexuality is not the belief in choice or change, which are hallmarks of your generations failures, as evidenced by the mass suicide and psychological trauma this belief has caused, but rather we engage in the Side A vs. Side B debate in reference to scripture: lifelong celibacy that comes from faith (not fear of hell, because fear is antithetical to faith) *versus.* the virtue of chastity followed by gay marriage in a covenant, loving, monogomous relationship (which we view as an invitation to rejoice in the same standard set for straight couples). We are sincere in this debate, and my generation really doesn't like arguments based on cheap semantic word games like "calling yourself 'same sex attracted' instead of simply gay" (please open the dictionary, any dictionary: gay literally means same sex attraction, whereas calling yourself same sex attracted can often give the impression that someone who is attracted to the opposite sex has a gay problem - this is an affront to my generation's scientific understanding of sexual orientation). In our Side A vs. Side B debate, we all believe that *homosexuality is not a choice, and cannot be changed.* You (generally) tried. You (abjectly) failed. So this belief is a key difference between our two generations. Christians in my generation who believe that homosexuality is a sin, usually don't believe you can cure it with bigotry, imprisonment, brain surgery, ostracision, abandonment, conversion, aversion, electro-shock, or psychological therapies, nor pray the gay away in some "ex-gay" bible camp or ministry. As such, it all comes down to two main stances: "Pick up your cross, repent daily for an adultery of the heart, deny yourself, lay your pains at the altar, and follow Chist in obedience, for the heart is desperately wicked, who can understand it? Cruicify the flesh with all it's passions, the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak, and then work out your own salvation as a lifelong celibate." *versus* "Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? He who began a good work in you will see it to completion, so just focus on being the salt of the earth and the light of the world, by glorifying the Father in all you do - scripture says look at the ant, look at the bird, look at the animals and learn from their wisdom, the species point towards adoption, because God cares for the orphan; yours is not the life for reproduction, but rather one that can even help alleviate the issue of abortion. It is not good for man to be alone; it is better to marry than to burn with passion; let every man drink from his own cistern; you can't all have the gift of singleness like Paul. Listen to God's law written in your mind and heart. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself for what he approves. The Lord is able to make us stand. For in light of judgment: A good tree that remains in the power of Christ to bear fruit of the Spirit is not wood for the fire, according to Jesus." (cf. Matthew 7 + Galatians 5 + John 15). Personally, just like with second marriages being adultery... some things I leave for God to judge. My generation does not like self-righteous hypocirsy.

Umm, Jesus IS love! Those OT citations do not reference Jesus at all; GOD is love as well, but his perspective is much greater than our or your limited view.

@@5781nashmiller Do you not believe in the Trinity ?? Yahweh = Jesus = Holy Spirit. Yaheweh/Jesus commanded babies be drowned in the flood, the Amalekites babies be killed, the Canaanite babies be killed, the Midianites boy babies be killed, the Egyptian firstborn babies be killed and the babies in Sodom and Gomorrah be killed.

Or you can learn history and understand what was involved in all that. Those cases were similar to the Allies knocking out the Axis powers.

@@5781nashmiller True, but he does have a point in that these are hard questions that need addressing. I believe there is a good explanation, too (it was judgment, not genocide; God gave those societies time to repent and they didn't), but not enough pastors and youth pastors address this stuff head on.

@@rebeccabrown8908 yes exactly. Children and teens are going to have questions about things like this and it’s important we take the time to talk to them about it. God’s wrath is just and that is why He asks us to repent and turn away from sin so that we may be saved bc what He wants for us is good, and doesn’t want us to perish. That’s why we have no excuse now after He sent His Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to die on the cross and His blood cleanse us of our sins. So that we may be healed and forgiven by the power of Jesus Christ and live eternally with our Father in heaven. I’m glad others are taking the time to have these hard discussions with the youth today and it should definitely be brought up more in youth ministries 💗