Youth Ministry 2.0

In honor of being mentioned over on Marko’s blog today regarding his Youth Ministry 3.0 I thought that I would point out my growing frustration with YM 2.0.

Yesterday I found the following message, from a para-church ministry in my inbox:

What do these, and Viking meals, athletic team meeting, gutters filled with ice cream and bowling pins have in common?

The answer is that each of these items is a central ingredient to an outreach that we outlined on our website that you can use to impact all or part of the middle or high school near you.  I would love to encourage you to think in terms of how God has called His church to bear the light of the gospel into the darkness of the world.  Be reminded of Paul’s appeal to the Romans, in chapter ten, where he says everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved. He then poses three strategy questions to them:  How will they call on Him whom they have not believed?  How will they believe when they have not heard? And lastly, how will they hear without someone going to tell them?

Dear friends, the same is true today!  If you are ready to go, there are young guys and girls in that school just down the street from you who will hear and believe the message of hope offered by Christ!  They merely need to be called by God, hear from a thoughtful friend who presents the truth in a relevant manner, and be provided an opportunity to respond.

God has so abundantly blessed you.   He tells Abraham in his call to follow God that the reason He has blessed him was so he could be a blessing to others.  In a hurt, confused and dying world there is no better way to bless those around you than to present Jesus to them!

This email frustrated me SO much!  Before I share my frustration with it though, what are your thoughts?