Youth Evangelism is Broken.
Ask yourself a question?
Are your efforts to reach the youth of your community working? Are they showing up? Are they responding? The honest answer for most churches is - no.
Many churches have a deep burden for helping the young people around them, and are working diligently, but are seeing little results.
Why?
The model no longer works.
Most efforts at evangelism are based on an old model that is no longer effective at meeting students where they are at today. The model is basically:
Gather
Entertain
Preach
We attempt to gather as many young people as we can in one place at one time. Often we use our church kids to invite their unsaved friends. We then entertain them with an event, concert, or activity. And we finish by preaching a salvation message and asking for a response. But its not working. They aren’t responding. And the few that do rarely integrate into the youth ministry afterwards.
Youth culture has changed.
Youth culture has changed dramatically over the last 50 years. Young people today are more confused, hurting, and lawless than perhaps at any time in our nations history.
Many young people come from broken families. Their primary relationships are missing, and until these needs are met, they will not respond.
They do not need professionals, preachers, or programs - they need parents. They need mothers and fathers.
To reach the young people of this generation we must understand them as they are, and reach them where they are.
The moment is urgent.
Our young people are hurting.
The devastation that has crushed our young people has grown exponentially. In just a ten years span suicide rates went up nearly 60%. Two of the three leading causes of death for teenagers are homicide (2,857 in 2020) and suicide (2,797 in 2020). During the pandemic rates of anxiety and depression doubled, and suicide attempts among teenage girls grew by 50%. These are only a few of the many problems.
There is an urgent need among our young people and we must be prepared to step up and meet the need.
Pandemic Impact
Suicide Rate
Leading Causes of Death
[1] Racine N, McArthur BA, Cooke JE, Eirich R, Zhu J, Madigan S. Global Prevalence of Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms in Children and Adolescents During COVID-19: A Meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatr. 2021;175(11):1142–1150. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2482
[2] Ellen Yard, PhD; Lakshmi Radhakrishnan, MPH; Michael F. Ballesteros, PhD; et al. Emergency Department Visits for Suspected Suicide Attempts Among Persons Aged 12–25 Years Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January 2019–May 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021; 70:888–894.
[3] Curtin SC. State suicide rates among adolescents and young adults aged 10–24: United States, 2000–2018. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 69 no 11. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2020.
[4] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2020 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2021. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2020, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html on Feb 14, 2022 2:02:29 PM
We can help.
For over 30 years we have been using a model that has seen hundreds of young people and their families transformed, and disciples raised up.
Why do teen centers work?
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Deep meaningful relationships.
Teen centers provide a casual context for building deep meaningful relationships. Kids who have been deeply hurt by adults may not integrate well into a traditional youth ministry setting, but the casual atmosphere of the teen center gives leaders space and time to break down the walls of distrust and build lasting relationships.
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One on one mentoring.
The plan for evangelizing and discipling young people at the centers is through our one-on-one mentoring. Rather than meeting in a group, a mentor meets individually with a student. This gives the mentor the opportunity to build trust and address the deep questions and hurt in the student’s life.
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Family.
The number one word kids use to describe these centers is FAMILY. The greatest need for most of these young people is family. These centers are more than just a program and the relationships that are developed here go far beyond the professional, detached relationship of many programs.
How we can help…
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We will guide you through every step of the process of planting your own teen center. We will provide you with the resources, training, and consulting necessary, using our 30 years of experience to help you successfully plant your own teen center.
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We will walk beside you as you launch your center including recruiting and training volunteers, training a site director, planning and executing a launch event, and more. We will help you get started in reaching out to the young people in your area and building mentoring relationships.
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We will provide you with on-going support after your center is launched through on-going consulting, mentoring for leaders, curriculum development, and other excellent resources.
We have worked with churches all across the country.
Hear what they have to say.
“Jeremy was a tremendous help in getting our youth center started. We looked everywhere for resources to get us from concept to creation. We found Jeremy and he agreed to drive through four states to check out our site, provide one-on-one counseling and hand us a plethora of resources to get our center started. We are in our third year and making a tremendous impact on our community. There is no more valuable or comprehensive resource online than what Jeremy has provided through Visit Ministries.”
— Brody Olson, Common Grounds
Meet a few of the centers we’ve helped launch.
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Common Grounds.
Colorado City, Arizona
Grace Reigns ministers in the largely FLDS community of Colorado City, Arizona. They launched Common Grounds to provide a safe place for young people to find the love of Christ. Click the link below to see their website and learn more.
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Sharehouse.
Prosser, Washington
Sharehouse Youth Cafe and Community is operated by Bethel Church in Prosser, Washington. Young people from all over their community are finding hope in its walls. Check out their website by clicking below.
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Thrive.
Leesburg, Florida
Thrive Teen Center is operated by Church of the Lakes. Through a strong connection with the local schools and the community, they are making a big difference in the lives of young people. Click below to check out their Facebook page.
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The Vine.
Colorado Springs, Colorado
The Vine focuses on building community and family with young people through shared meals and discussion, and are staffed by a faithful team of volunteers. Check out their website in the link below.
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Alpine Youth Center.
Alpine, CA
Alpine Youth Center is operated by Behold Ministries and has been ministering to the youth of Alpine for many years now. Click on the link to check out their website.
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The Refuge.
El Cajon, CA
The Refuge is a part of East County Transitional Living Center, a ministry which helps homeless individuals and families get off the streets and transition into permanent housing. They have over 100 young people living on their campus full-time. Click on the link to learn more about this ministry.
Take the next step.
Are you interested in exploring how we might be able to help you reach the young people of your community? There are several ways you can move forward.
Set a one-on-one conversation to learn more and explore how we might work together.
Take a personal tour of one of our centers.
Get an informational packet with details and resources.
Fill out the contact form and we’ll get back to you right away.
We look forward to talking to you and thank you for your heart for the young people of our nation.