Youth ministry is not an invention of American Christianity; God founded it back in Genesis 1, when He told the first couple to be fruitful and multiply and then to rule and subdue the earth. From that moment on, we may safely assume that those two universal commands worked out, first and foremost, in that natural place of human propagation and part of the earth every couple must rule and subdue; namely, the home. “You mean Adam and Eve trained Cain and Able in the ways of their God?” The two knew enough to bring sacrifices to God, didn’t they? Our assumption finds further support in various laws given to Israel upon her establishment. Some of them have to do specifically with child rearing. There is no question that the primary job of Israelite parents was to raise godly children. Consider these few facts: (1) Children were by no means excluded from Israel’s holy convocations (Deuteronomy 31:9-13; Ezra 10:1; Matthew 21:15—12 year-olds awaiting their Bar Mitzvah). There are examples of assemblies that excluded children, but they excluded women, too, and the fact that Moses had to specify men-only meetings proves that they were the exception. (2) God commanded Israel to instruct children in the way of worship. Israelites anticipated that their children would ask questions regarding worship (Exodus 12; Luke 2:46). (3) God commanded Israelite parents to catechize their children (Deuteronomy 31;12 and 13; Proverbs 22:6). (4) God held His people responsible to raise a future, godly generation by means of parenting, as the first five chapters of Proverbs would attest (see also Deuteronomy 4:9; Psalms 48; 78:4).

Israelites that engaged in such mindful, godly upbringing saw grand and praiseworthy fruit: God called their teenagers into cutting-edge ministry. Biblical examples are Isaac (Genesis 22:6-10), Joseph (Genesis 45:9; 46:29), Jephthah’s daughter (Judges 11:34, 36), Samson (Judges 13:24), Samuel (1 Samuel 3:19), Obadiah (1 Kings 18:12), Josiah (2 Chronicles 34:3), Esther (Esther 2:20), Job (Job 29:4), David (1 Samuel 17:20; Psalm 71:5), Daniel (Daniel 1:4-6), and John the Baptists (Luke 1:80). The Israelites that ignored it met with devastating consequences (Eli in 1 Samuel 2:22-34). We read in Deuteronomy 5:9 that God is a jealous God Who visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and the fourth generation of those who hate Him. This warning does not mean that God holds kids accountable for their parents’ sins; the Bible is quite clear that every person must answer for his and her own sins. Rather, it means that one godless generation will, as a rule, produce another godless generation. Those trained in sinful ways and who had sin modeled to them by the previous generation will sin in much the same way, in the same areas, and also reap divine judgment. Incidentally, it takes only one generation to drop the ball and break a long chain of godly generations (Judges 2:10-11; 21:25).

The New Testament preserves this Old Testament, high premium that God placed on youth in both form and principle. In form, we observe Mary the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:27), young John Mark (Acts 12:12), and we cannot overlook Timothy. He had an unsaved father, but was trained “from childhood” in the ways of Jesus Christ by his grandmother, Lois, and his mother, Eunice—undoubtedly an effective tag-team (1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 3:15). There is no question that children, those from infancy to age 12, were present in the worship services and heard Paul’s instruction to them read (Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20). In principle, the passages in Ephesians, Colossians, Timothy, and others (1 Corinthians 7:14), taken together, clearly show parenting as the primary vehicle of youth ministry. The fact that there is little substantial instruction to children tells us that their education and spiritual upbringing rested in the hands of godly parents. “But what about teens?” Do you mean those between the ages of 13 to 18? You probably know that the Jews considered a person an adult once he or she reached age thirteen. If individuals in this age range were not also under the direct care of parents, then it is more than likely that they were considered adults and part of that group of younger men and women that Paul addressed in Titus 2.

Are churches providing opportunities to shepherd youth? Just as the Israelite congregation was to create an atmosphere conducive for individual heads of families within it to raise a godly generation, each local church needs to create an atmosphere conducive for parents within its membership to do the same. Sadly, we find youth ministries replacing parenting as the primary means of shepherding children and younger men and women in modern, American churches, when they should be supplementing it. In fact, youth groups have become, for many Christian youth, the place to escape parental shepherding. To disassociate parenting from youth ministry, so that never the twain shall meet, is to create an artificial and unbiblical setting that will only undermine effective youth ministry and be counterproductive for both local church and parents. Pastors, youth pastors, and youth workers can only go so far in understanding their young audience, but godly parents are in a unique position to have better insight of their children (1 Corinthians 7:14). They are certainly more accountable to God for helping youth become godly adults. Parenting, therefore, must hold the primary place in an effective youth ministry. Here are some steps that may help local churches and parents lock arms and move in this direction.

1. Have biblical expectations of youth: Maybe our teens are not living spirit-filled lives because we don’t expect them to. Saul didn’t have great expectations for David right before he killed Goliath (1 Samuel 17:33). The world has sold parents a bill of goods when it tells them that once their children become teenagers, they should expect and accept rebellious (sinful!) behavior from them. After all, consider just the physiological changes occurring inside of them. But be encouraged, Christian parents, for the Bible never blames sin on hormones. Jesus says that sin is conceived and calculated in the heart! Let’s not slow down our teens’ spiritual development by preventing them from, excusing them from, or failing to challenge them in their God-given, spiritual responsibility. Never excuse teens that claim to be Christians from heeding any of God’s commands or principles. Solomon understood this well. One need only read Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14, the bottom line of his message, to see that he was writing to young people, urging them to take God seriously and be ready for His judgment. It is noteworthy that when twelve-year-old Jesus was found in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions, “all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers,” not at the fact that he was there (Luke 2:41-47). That is because it was quite normal and expected for children and young people to be found at the temple as well as in the midst of adults, listening and learning. Why else would Mary and Joseph have thought to look for their twelve year old in the temple as one of many likely places that he would be? We should not despise our youth, for that is a sin (1 Timothy 4:12). Rather, we should welcome them into our company as often as possible, so that they may see what they should strive to be like.

2. Pastoral care is responsible to equip parents to shepherd their children in life and godliness. It may do this in a variety of ways. Formal classes, small group discussions, accountability from those members before whom parents stand when they vow to God to raise their children in the training and admonition of Christ, and counseling youth in the presence of their parents are just a few examples for training parents.

3. A good youth ministry will shepherd parents as to how to work with their kids. We have made the point already that parenting is the primary means of youth ministry, supplemented by various local church youth ministries. It is a rare thing, indeed, to find even one of the various youth ministries of a local church that incorporates a “continuing ed” program for parents, and happy is the church that has it.

Ah the youth! Some will argue that they represent the greatest untapped resource in the church (1 Corinthians 7:32-34). Maybe so, but we can be certain of one thing: God put great stock in them, and so should we. They are today’s church. They are tomorrow’s church. If you invest time in them today, you will minister to tomorrow’s church long after you are gone. To borrow Neil Postman’s words (The Disappearance of Childhood, New York: Vintage Books, 1994, p. xi), “Children are living messages that we send to a time we will not see.” Consider how better to propagate the faith in those of the next generation (Psalm 78:1-8; Acts 13:36), that you might send them forth as living epistles.