Page 3 - Youth Discipleship Student Textbook

Youth Discipleship

By Kris Bjorgen, Ed.D.
Gideon Mwale, M.A.C.E.

Section 1: Family and Youth Situation Today

1.1 Connect

Have you ever heard two old people sit around and talk about the good old days?
Sometimes those days were difficult, and the pain of the past has been forgotten. But for
the most part, the days of the past were better socially and spiritually than our days today.
In the US, we have watched over the last 20 years the disintegration of the God-designed
family so that a mother and father with kids are unique among families. While we live in
more luxury, the spiritual condition of most homes is a disaster, void of a relationship with God.

When considering becoming a pastor of youth, you will find that today’s culture will greatly affect the
type of ministry you may have. So as we start learning about youth ministry, probably the best place to
start is to consider the condition of the family and youth to whom you will be ministering. Let’s get
started…

1.2 Objectives

1. The student should be able to explain why so many youth are leaving their churches today.

2. The student should be able to explain why a call to youth ministry is so very important.

1.3 Condition of the Family Today

Years ago the family consisted of a husband and wife who were blessed with one or more
children. The father was the bread winner in the home and the wife spent most of her time
caring for the children and the home. Divorce was uncommon. Children were free to spend
time outside playing with the neighborhood children and were loosely supervised. They
learned how to obey and be respectful of their elders within the family structure. Various
skills were taught within the home, preparing youth to eventually leave the home, obtain further
education, and become a positive role model among society. But today, this model is almost extinct!

In most developing countries, the divorce rate reached over 50% in the 1980’s and has decreased
1
slightly since then. Facing the fact that almost half of marriages are fractured, the children of these
split homes suffer from unstable situations. Two decades ago, in most Westernized countries, 15% of

1 https://time.com/5434949/divorce-rate-children-marriage-benefits/

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