Youth Group and the Gospel

Last night I went to the Johnson's and met the youth for the first time. Their questions were great - although that is one of the last times I will do "Ask whatever you want" with any group!!:)

I told them that my role as a pastor (and their parent's role) was not to get them to "be good." We are not after good behavior. We are after heart change. Yes, it is true that when a heart is changed action will occur. But it is possible to create rules for children that gives them the appearance of godliness, but in the end is nothing more than a moralistic religion. I have been to youth conferences that are little on the gospel and huge on action. This is not Christianity. An atheist can tell kids not to _________(fill in the blank). We are not first about reforming morals, we are first about admitting we are enemies of God and coming to the cross where God broke His relationship with the Son in order to heal our relationship with Him.

I read from a study that showed that kids with a biblical worldview (strong doctrine) were the ones who lived different from the world. I know there are many statistics out there about youth that would say that "evangelical Christian" kids act no different then anyone else. The reality is this - the message that is shared with kids is the message by which they are saved. If we give them a soft, non-doctrinal, culture centered message with little gospel and no Bible, I promise - there will be no change.

But if we give people a Bible saturated message that is centered on the gospel we will find kids transformed. They may still not follow all of our rules (and I am glad for this), but they will come back to the cross again and again - and that is better than any kid who listens to everything their parents say.