"The Malaysian Church is one generation from extinction if it lacks the conviction and concrete plan to reach the next generation disciples and then empower them to be disciplers for Christ!" warned Pastor Timothy Loh, Senior Pastor of Eagle Covenant Fellowship.
Pastor Timothy was addressing some 65 youth workers and pastors attending the Youth Workers’ Consultation on September 24-26 at Heritage Hotel, Ipoh organized by NECF YouthNet. The participants, who hailed from 34 para-church organizations and churches and 8 states, gathered to brainstorm issues facing Malaysian youths and youth ministries.
The long-term effectiveness of youth ministry was called into question and substantial concerns were raised about the future of the Malaysian Church. The Consultation resolved to take 3 broad steps to move youth ministries forward.
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Discipling and helping youths transit in life
The issue of youths dropping out of church has been a hot topic for several years. However, to date, there is hardly any quantitative study on this issue in Malaysia. Hence, we have to rely on facts and figures from abroad.
This year (2007), LifeWay Research completed an extensive study on this issue in USA and discovered that 70% of young adults (ages 23-30) dropped out of church for at least a year between the ages of 18-22.
“Although such studies have yet to be carried out in Malaysia, we do observe similar trends in Malaysia. For example, churches with huge Sunday Schools should eventually see corresponding growth in their youth fellowships. But often this is not the case,” commented Scripture Union’s General Secretary, Jason Fong.
He then cited a study in England that discovered that about 1,000 children and youths below age 15 left churches each week throughout the 1990s. He also emphasized that whilst these youths left church at about age 12-14, the decision to leave was made around age 7-10.
Since these researches were carried out in the context of a society familiar with Christianity it could be adapted to raise a more significant question for Malaysian Christians today: How do we as Christians today go about discipling our next generation of Christians?
Many agreed that one of the major causes of youths drifting away from God is identity crisis. As they grow older, their mind starts to question their heart resulting in them struggling to find faith/purpose and God’s call in their lives. The following were proposed to handle such physiological changes adequately so that we could help youths grow in their faith as they grow older:
Besides transitioning in age, youths might also transit geographically. For example, they may leave their hometown after SPM to attend college in a bigger city in the Klang Valley. Hence, the Consultation agreed that there has to be more dialogues and partnerships between churches of small-big towns to establish bridging programmes or initiatives that will facilitate/help youths with their transitions geographically.
Pastor Lindy Ong shared several bridging examples from her experience and church context (SIB KL). She emphasized that before bridging programmes can be developed, relationships among the leaders of different age groups/ zones must first be bridged so that the transition of youths can be moreintentional and synchronized. SIB KL adopts a model that seeks to empower the older generation to sow into the next generation.
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P artner with parents to develop a more holistic youth ministry
The Consultation agreed that there is a great need to “tie” the youth ministry to the family. Family remains the main context where children or youths grow up. After all, they spend more time at home and only a few hours in church each week. Hence, the church needs to educate parents to shift mindsets on the following:
- From “dumping” their troubled teens on the youth workers to working synergistically and strategically with the church
- youth ministry starts at home!
- From emphasizing academic excellence to including spiritual excellence i.e. don’t just set priorities for tuitions but more importantly encourage youths to attend and serve in a youth group
- From trying to make their children better to becoming better parents/ leaders first e.g. reading and attending workshops on parenting, plan family devotional/altar, etc.
- From being the complainer/nagger to their children to being a positive role-model e.g. by providing a safe/ healthy environment for children to make mistakes
- From being mere bread winner or needs provider to God’s transforming agent/steward in the children’s lives
It was proposed that there should be multi-layered dialogues among parents, youth workers (church) and youths as follows:
- Parents–youth workers dialogue to examine relevant issues faced by youths and plan ways to reach them
- Parents and youth workers partner to organize activities for the youths
- Youths can also organize activities to educate their parents and the youth workers
- All 3 parties can co-organize activities for all – termed as “Inter-Generational” activities. These activities can be in the form of workshops, carnivals, mission trips, fun events, forums (see below), etc. on relevant topics and problems such as peer pressure, exams, sex, music, Internet, media, financial stewardship, career planning, bridging generation gap, relating to parents (for children) and parenting/mentoring skills (for parents).
As part of the Consultation, an Inter-Generational forum was held at the Canning Garden Baptist Church, Ipoh to facilitate and enhance better understanding between parents and youths. This public forum was opened to both parents and youths and was moderated by Dr. Herbert Tan, a FamilyLife consultant and trainer with Malaysian Campus Crusade for Christ. This unique forum provided parents with windows into the Youth World to help bridge both the Generation and Cultural Gaps. It also provided a spring-board for youths to develop in a holistic and godly way either in youth ministry or at home.
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Develop personal leadership competencies to stay relevant in youth ministry
Rev. Clement Wong highlighted that the youths today face the same bombardment as the previous generation. It is a myth to think that youths drop out simply due to negative externalities or influences from media, music or fashion. It is more important to look internally i.e. church structure and personal leadership competencies to see if we have the knowledge, skills and abilities to stay relevant to the next generation without diluting the truth or message of the Gospel.
Dr. Herbert Tan stressed that leadership development is important because it affirms our mission as a Church to present the Gospel to a lost world, build and multiply disciples for His Kingdom and nurture succeeding generations with excellent leadership to increase the Church’s capacity to pursuing our mission with excellence. He proposed a 5E process in training and developing leaders:
- Equipping – what do they need to learn?
- Exposure – who can help them grow?
- Experience – what do they need to do?
- Environment – organizational culture conducive to growth
- Evaluation – self-awareness
Finally, the following were also proposed during the Consultation:
- Leaders need to be more intentional in raising/discipling/mentoring the next generation of leaders
- Youth ministry needs to emphasize more on heart and relationship – not only skills, activities, programmes, etc.
- Concrete plans and processes need to be systemized so that there is consistency in leadership development
- Leaders need to see a bigger picture of how God is working in Malaysia through a variety matrix of ministry, each different and unique yet working together in unity
- Leaders need to encourage the youths to dream big and engage/ transform the world through the media, arts, entertainment, science and technology, education, etc.
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