Youth ministry matters—it always has and always will! Many years of youth ministry have clearly shown me that young people are a number-one priority for the church.
This is not an idle claim, but one that I can personally attest to. As a teenager I attended a Seventh-day Adventist school. My parents were not particularly interested in the church, but they wanted to provide me with the best, so they sent me to the Adventist school. However, during those pivotal adolescent years my life changed dramatically.
Noting my growing interest in the Adventist faith, my father once said to me, “You’ll never become a Seventh-day Adventist, because if anyone offers you a game of sport on the Sabbath, you’ll play it.” He was both right and wrong. He was right that at the time sport was my number-one priority, but wrong in underestimating the power of the Holy Spirit’s influence working through a group of contagious Adventist school friends, together with a dedicated and very relational youth director.
This was youth ministry at its best, and it eventually led me to surrender my life to Christ and put Him first. That decision changed my life dramatically. I went on to study for the ministry, and have now spent 30 years working in youth ministries. In this capacity I have seen firsthand that although times may change, the relational needs of young people remain the same.
Into this mix comes the pivotal role of life-transforming youth events, in which young people have the unique opportunity to meet and mingle with other like-minded youth at events specifically tailored for them. These include local church youth days, conference-wide youth rallies and camps, national and international youth congresses, and Pathfinder camporees. The significance of these events is corroborated through a series of very important youth studies over the years.
The Valuegenesis Europe Youth Survey (2007) involved more than 6,000 young adults, ages 14-25, and revealed not only that youth ministry has a powerful impact but also that youth ministry events are very highly rated. “74.6 percent of those that actually experienced such activities say that the youth ministry of the union or conference is important because it fosters their faith development.”* Faith development is important at all stages of life, but most crucial during the teenage and young adult years, when so many life-defining decisions are made.
I remember my first international camporee, sitting around the evening campfire bowl, awed by the atmosphere. This was also true of my experiences with youth congresses. I vowed that as long as I am involved in youth ministry, I will ensure that other young people have the opportunity to enjoy similar experiences. To be part of a faith-affirming event involving hundreds and even thousands of other like-minded young people is inspiring.
Life is a cycle. This is what a parent who was very involved in helping my generation of young people once said to me. “In turn, you will help my children’s group,” he added. I’ve never forgotten those very wise words, and I pray for the current generation of youth leaders at all levels as they help our young people establish, keep, and share their faith.
*Stephan Sigg, “A Spiritual Home for Young People? The Adventist Youth and Their Church as Seen From the Valuegenesis Europe Data, Part 1,” Spes Christiana 24 (2013): 164.
