Is Modern Youth Ministry Biblical

Age segregation for youth can be beneficial or harmful Joy, depending on how it fits into the overall picture within the church.   It is absolutely necessary for youth and adults to worship together in order to discover the commonalities, to provide a point of communication of the gospel between generations, and to recognize that the faith of the child and the knowledge of the olders fit together to bring glory to God.   But there is also a need for a type of segregation of classes in order for various ages, knowledge levels, and people types to more fully explore the gospel within their own context.   For adults to go over and over the elementary milk of the gospel will not lead to their becoming more mature.   For children to be immersed in Calvin's institutes or the finer points of the geological or anthropology of the history of Israel may be simply too overwhelming.    So spiritual sense and common sense would indicate that there ought to be a place for both? 

Hi Joy,

I appreciate you bringing forward the movie, but I would challenge you to look stronger at current trends in youth ministry, or as you've grouped it, "Modern Youth Ministry." As a youth pastor in contact with many other youth pastors, we acknowledge the history of age segregation, and adamantly apologize for it, but we're also pressing forward in inclusive youth ministry. I appreciated what the film said, but it threw youth ministry as a whole under the bus. Youth ministry has moved beyond "event" and "show" and has morphed into a more inclusive, multifaceted ministry which is getting healthier.