Vision for Youth Ministry at CCNYC: A Letter | Clint Werezak

Vision for Youth Ministry at CCNYC: A Letter | Clint Werezak

Dear Members of Christ Church,

Laura and I would like to express our thanks to you for embracing us as we join the ministry team at Christ Church and develop this partnership with ACF to reach out to the NYU campus. We are excited about returning to our Christ Church family and looking forward to what God has in store for all of us.

I’d just like to provide you, especially the parents of youth among you, a little bit of my vision for the youth at CCNYC, and some of my convictions about ministering to youth. It is my hope to help grow a strong foundation for the youth we currently have and for the youth in years to come.

What is the purpose of a youth ministry? Often we’re tempted to skip past this question, but there is sometimes a lot of confusion when it comes to what we need to offer youth at church. Every group that we place our children into has a specific purpose: Music lessons are for learning to play an instrument, a soccer team meets to play soccer, and a driver’s ed class is about learning to drive a car. Why do we have youth meet together at church? The same reason the rest of us gather together—to grow as disciples of Jesus. We worship and pray, study the Scriptures, and love, serve and encourage each other. I ask this question because it shapes what we invest our time and efforts in. I think we all share the desire that our youth grow into mature Christians that are prepared for the world of college, work, and adult life.

So thinking specifically about the youth at Christ Church, I know that it can be tough to be a part of a church that has a “small youth group.” But I am a firm believer in starting with the people you have and investing in them through Bible teaching, small group studies, shared meals, doing life together, mentoring, and serving in the community. One of the most attractive things about a youth ministry is when youth have a safe place to wrestle with important questions of faith and be given direction in their walk with Jesus. I would love to see an environment of discipleship take root where older youth are given responsibility to disciple the younger youth.

Also, along the same lines, I am passionate about helping youth find a place to serve within the broader church community. It is often the inter-generational relationships that are formed by doing things alongside older people you are not related to that help youth stick with their faith. It is my hope that as the college ministry develops we can have college students invest in the lives of the youth, but it is also my hope that we can find places that the youth can meaningfully serve others in the church services and other events in the life of Christ Church. Youth are not the future Body of Christ but are already full members of the Body today. We need to help them identify their gifts and callings for service today and not just tomorrow.

So, with all of that, I look forward to meeting with those of you who are invested in the lives of CCNYC’s youth. I’m sure I have probably created more questions than answers here, but I truly think that with the children’s ministry and the families of teenagers and soon-to-be teenagers at Christ Church, there are a lot of good things in place to begin crafting a strong place for youth in the life of the church.

Peace,

Clint Werezak

clint