“What is Youth Ministry?” This has become something of a proverbial question. For many of us involved in day-to-day ministry, we can quickly answer this question with comments like, “Monday night programming for students” or “Sunday school designed for teens,” but these answers seem to miss out on the bigger picture of why youth ministries exist.

And even if we respond to the question with answers such as, “youth ministry is discipleship” or “youth group is all about relationships,” we risk missing out on elements that are also critical to a healthy and effective youth ministry.

It’s important to take the time to remember what the whole of youth ministry really all about.

Sometimes the urgency of the job can cause us to take our focus off the goal. Or the pressure to be liked by students can drive us to fill our programming space with fun and entertainment rather than time for relationship building and discipleship. Having clear goals and objectives with keep us on the right path.