Archive for January, 2010

The thing that makes youth ministry different than other ministries in the church is . . . well, that we work with youth. Challenges exist in ministry with kindergarteners, ministry with college students, or ministry with senior adults, but teenagers face some unique challenges. Contextualizing biblical ministry into the lives of teenagers means addressing those issues that make adolescents unique. Robert Havighurst suggested a series of developmental tasks that adolescents need to accomplish if they are to be productive adults. While Havighurst was not particularly interested in the spiritual maturity of teenagers, His developmental tasks definitely are issues we need to think about as we disciple teenagers.

One of the tasks Havighurst said adolescents must accomplish is to accept their physique.

People come in lots of shapes and sizes. Some of us are tall, some are short. Some of us have big noses, some of us funny little turned-up noses. Some of us have big feet. Some of us even have an extra toe. I know, that’s over-kill. You all know that we don’t look alike. The problem for teenagers is that they are just getting good at introspection and most of them are starting to think about how they compare to others for the first time in their lives. Add to that the fact that some teenagers grow a lot faster or a lot slower than their peers, and you have the makings for a teenage crisis.

Teenagers have to learn to be comfortable in their own skin. A teenager may not be excited about being short, but height seldom determines how productive and effective a person is in life . . . unless he or she happens to be a professional basketball player. The shape of a person’s nose may not be to their liking, but most of us discover that people love us regardless of how well our noses fit our faces. In fact, we are likely to discover that some people like a “Roman nose.”

How do we help teenagers with this developmental task? First, be accepting of teenagers. Whether a teenager is a candidate for the next teen model or has trouble finding a spot on their face that doesn’t have a pimple, show her by your words and actions that she is very valuable to you . . . and to the Father. Second, teach students that the Bible claims they are greatly loved by God and are created to be useful to him. Third, encourage teenagers to focus on things they like about themselves instead of focusing on what they dislike.

When Samuel went to Jesse’s house to anoint the next king of Israel, he was draw to the tall and well-built sons. He was sure that one of those would be the man of God’s choosing. It was strange that God chose the little brother who no one even bothered to call into the house. God’s instruction to Samuel is good for us to hear as well: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).