I’ve always thought that college was the time when students ask more questions about theology and “is this true”.

I want to go deeper with kids that I know, and I try to do that in smaller settings.

When I think back to my teenage years I remember very few lessons that were taught to a group, but lots of relationships with leaders that showed me how to live my faith.

This may be like the shifts through the church over the last 2000 years where it has swayed back and form from experiential movements (monasticism for example) to scholastic ones (fundamentalism for example).

Just some ideas…

Thanks for this post.

I am in agreement with your direction.

I was challenged by one of our seniors earlier this year – she stated that we weren’t treading in deep enough water…

As the conversation progressed I began to see how we need to grow deep before we grow wide. I thank the Lord for 17 year old’s who listen to the Holy Spirit.

Since then we have really honed in on bible study and passionate worship. The other thing we have been challenged to do is to provide “open space” for students to respond to the Lord through worship and meditation.

I realize that it is my tendency to control response, but am learning to give God space and time to connect with our students.

Thanks for the blog and constant encouragement.

Isaac

Please keep posting as this trend continues in your program, Tim.

I’m not saying that fun and games should be eliminated, but that maybe the focus should shift, that’s all. Personally, I LOVE fun and games and think there is still great value in it for ministry.

If you’re taking about the Deep and Wide thing, it’s not really a “philosophy” as much as it is a biblical approach to ministry. But to answer the question, no, I haven’t blogged about it yet. I’m still working through it myself. I’ll write a response to it when I’ve thought it through some more.

Lets be and do what God has called us to do. Help kids to fall in Love with God and His word and then allow Him to do the transforming. I think your future Bible studies are great. Good work Tim

This is the kind of ministry that I’m all about though on my blog I share all different ideas.

I’m really not a flashy come on let’s show up because we going to have all these fun games kind of guy and in my last full-time experience in Wisconsin, the rest of my team didn’t get that, but I would rather take a handful of students are pour something meaningful into them then have a huge crowd and never talk about the richness and deepness of God’s word.

It’s great that you are also seeing growth doing it that way. We over-look many times that students want value – God’s word gives us that. Have you read Simple Church? I think that you would jive with the content – absolutely love the book and can’t wait until Jeff Borton puts a youth ministry spin to it.

I would be interested to stay updated on “how big” youth group can become doing it this way or if eventually it starts deflating until just the ones who really want to follow Jesus.

Have you shared about your philosophy of ministry on your site yet?

The flip side is that the jr. high also had bible studies at my house every week during the summer and, without any prompting at all, that group almost tripled by the end of the summer because they were inviting friends without even being asked.

Challenging thoughts on what young people really want from their youth group and youth pastor. Spot on, in my view!…