When did the Youth Minister become a paid position?

For around 1900 years parents drove the show at home. When parents started letting kids drive, to reach the parents you reached to the children.

 

How did the church survive for 1900+ years without a ministry to divorced and widowed people? Just because those ministries didn't exist prior doesn't mean they're not valid now.

In this day and age, youth need specific direction that parents can't always provide. There's nothing wrong at all with a church having a youth or student ministry. All parents, imo, should allow their kids to take advantage of one.

 

Hardsheller,


Youth ministry is an imporatant of ministry of the church. If God leads I am going to follow. He has led me to work with youth. I earn every penny I make, but if I had to I would do it for free.

 

Not greater, just different.

 

Isn't the need the same- the need for good, sound Biblical teaching and application?

 

Hardsheller,

I thought TexasSky gave a great response which I'd agree with completely. Parents used to take much more responsibility for the spiritual trainging of their children. Now they are very often left to themselves. Youth groups help fill the gap left.
Also, today's teens have much more free time than any other teenagers did before. They also have many more options for worldly entertainment available. Why not have a youth group, instead?

If the thing you are wondering aboutis why pay the youth pastor, Id say why not? Doesn't each local church have the freedom to pay whichever ministers they choose to for their church?

Right now our church doesn't pay our youth pastor, but that's because we can't afford to. We would much rather be able to have him work full time for our church than have to have him pulled between the ministry and a secular job. But thats our prerogative as an independent, local body of believers.

 

The obvious answer is that back in the day, families were almost always intact. Wherever mom and dad were, that's where the kids were. You would have to be blind to not realize that society is totally different. In our church, other than my children, I don't have a teenager who lives with both parents.

Now that I think about it, the need really is greater because kids today are not getting the basic right and wrong training that our generation got. When I was growing up (60s&70s) the obvious difference between christians and non-christians was that Christians went to church on Sunday. We all had the same basic moral code we lived by. That is definately not the case today.

The 2nd problem is that kids today do not learn the same way we did. We can thank MTV primarily for this, but if you try to teach youth in a 45 minute to an hour long lecture type class, you'll lose them. Sit and watch MTV or VH1 and see how many times in a 4 minute song the image on the screen changes. The sad part is too many churches refuse to recognize this and we are losing a generation. If you look at the average Baptist church, especially the smaller ones, the 20 to 30 year olds are missing.

So in our generation, youth and children's minsitry and God called minsiters for those groups are vital if we are going to reach them.

 

I think it's a matter of the answers not satisfying you. The concensus is that times have changed, and that youth ministries (as well as other specific types of ministrues) have changed. Nothing wrong with that. However, that answer doesn't appear to satisfy you. Fair enough.

Not that the needs are greater now, but that needs are different because society is different. 1000 years from now, society will be different again, and the church will adapt accordingly.

 

Harsheller,

What's the deal with the question? Does it really matter in the broad view of life?

I am in youth ministry because that is where God wants me. I have been a youth minister for several years. If you don't see the need for youth ministry then you need to open your eyes.

Church life has evolved with culture. Society has changed. God's word is the same but some of the methods of reaching a lost soul has changed. We must always be willing to do what it takes to saves souls from an eterinity in the fires of hell.

 

Here are my thoughts -

It hasn't been too long since people were married at the age of 14 or 15. The course of their lives were pretty much plotted out.

In today's world, there is much less rhyme and reason. People wait to get married, instead opting for an education. Their paths are wide open. As society has moved forward, we as a church have identified new needs. Youth ministry is one of those.

 

There is a great emphasis on the youth in our church. In fact a few years ago, it seemed that the Sunday Night Service and sermons were so directed to the youth that I felt out of place and if I had not been the church organist, I might have stopped going to the Sunday night services.

However, it seems that even though there is still emphasis on the youth, the youth are growing into young adults and our services have grown to include youth as well as adults.

I think the reason for emphasis on the youth is that they have a lifetime ahead of them to serve our Lord. We as adults can try to keep them from making serious mistakes as they make their life decisions. They are the future of the church.

I have no idea when the first youth minister was paid. Even when I was young, there was emphasis on activities for youth, but the leaders were volunteers. The first paid positions were probably in the large churches.

 

So Hillary WAS right after all! It DOES take a village to raise a child!

 

For most of the life of the world it has been a agriculture based society. On the farm I grew up on women's lib was out. Everyone worked inside and outside.

 

I agree.

Why wasn't there more emphasis before? It would probably be because back in the day, kids were either home-schooled (and thus were taught Christian values through the home) or were classroom-schooled (which were often also Christian oriented back in the day).

Also, back in the day, not every church house had all that many rooms in it, and generally, all you had was a Pastor- and many times he would have to make his rounds to multiple congregations.

 

Perhaps the reason youth ministries are more prevalent today was because youth of the past, and their needs, were not taken seriously or as importantly as the needs of the adults in the household. Now, we treat youth with more respect and care. Hundreds of years ago, we fed them, clothed them, and housed them, and patted ourselves on the back for it.