Four Views of Youth Ministry and the Church. By Mark H. Senter III, Wesley Black, Chap Clark, and Malan Nel. Kindle edition; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001, 192 pp., $17.99.

In his introductory chapter, Mark Senter sets the backdrop in an attempt to frame the debate covered in the rest of the book. He does this by addressing fundamental questions involving ecclesiology, missiology, and anthropology. Senter maintains that local churches have adopted a parachurch character. He holds that this is in large part due to the seeker-sensitive and purpose-driven ministry strategies that are designed to evangelize adolescents.  There can be no adequate discussion of youth ministry and its purpose without handling the issue of development, both physically and spiritually. Anthropologically, Senter discusses age appropriateness and spiritual awareness.

Inclusive-Congregational: Malan Nel, professor of youth ministry and Christian education in South Africa, sounds the timely call for churches to design a comprehensive approach that enmeshes youth in the larger congregation of believers. He accurately reports that historically the church and youth work have typically been autonomous. Nel is correct that the fragmentation of local congregations has weakened the overall discipleship process and has certainly affected adolescents in those congregations.  The church must see adolescents as a part of the church now. Yet what Nel misses is the need to address adolescents culturally, and more specifically missiologically. Ultimately, what Nel proposes has been most recently observed in the family-integrated church movement in the last decade.  This view seems to down-play adolescent developmental structures by swinging the discipleship pendulum to the opposite extreme, as noted in Wes Black’s response. In the end, can this model accurately be classified as youth ministry?

Preparatory: Wes Black of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary lays out a model that reclaims a more familiar understanding of local church youth ministry.  The strength of Black’s proposed preparatory
model is its focus on equipping adolescents for “the work of the ministry” both now and later. While the preparatory approach is intentionally separated from other segments of the congregation, it is intended to leverage the developmental strengths of adolescence. Black defines youth ministry as “everything a church does with, to, and for teenagers that builds them into becoming the church” (location 43). This approach demonstrates a firm commitment to the command of Ephesians 4:12. One additional strength of the preparatory approach is Black’s use of the laboratory metaphor that views local church youth ministry as the training ground for future church leadership.

Missional: The missional approach proposed by Chap Clark of Fuller Seminary does not seem to be appreciably dierent from the preparatory approach. It is most assuredly an inside-out strategy that is focused (like the preparatory approach) on equipping adolescents to be sent as missionaries to their peers and beyond.  This approach seems to downplay the teaching dimension but must be evaluated on the strength of sending out adolescents to carry the message of the Gospel.

Strategic: Mark Senter’s strategic approach goes o the beaten path to stretch youth ministry in areas not o␣en considered. In brief, he proposes youth ministry as church planting. What Senter describes is something supported by but disconnected from a local church. He calls youth ministers to leverage the leadership that they develop in their youth ministries to launch new churches. At present, North American church planting is replete with examples of youth ministers launching out to plant local church congregations and seeing many of their students join them, though this is not precisely what Senter proposes. Responses to Senter are consistent in cautioning youth ministers who might embrace such an approach. It undermines the family and is essentially unrealistic. It seems as though this approach may have been created solely for the sake of having a fourth view. ␣at being said, it is right and good for churches to involve adolescents and their families in church planting.

[Editor's Note: Troy W. Temple, Ph.D. is the Associate Dean for Master's Studies in the School of Church Ministries at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary]