My wife told me about the FamilyLife Today radio program that was on this morning. A Houston pastor, Voddie Baucham, suggests that churches not have youth groups, or other age-specific ministry. Instead, worship should be done together as a family and discipleship should happen at home, especially through the headship of the father. He says to them, "I double-dog dare you to go home and be the pastor of your home." A transcript of the show can be found here. Pastor Baucham will be on the program again tomorrow.
This is a big gripe of mine – splitting churches across age lines. We want our children to grow up knowing how to be mature adults and yet we take them out of the company of adults, shuffling them to rooms where they will learn how to grow up from other kids and from youth ministers, many of whom are hired based on their ability to act as immature as the kids.
Youth programs can be good and necessary, I wouldn’t say to get rid of them. But diminish their work, and diminish the age segregation that takes place in our churches. Don’t take kids out of the worship service. Don’t split up the Sunday Schools. Children’s Sunday School, sure. By Junior High or High School, though, I think kids and adults should be learning and growing together – if for no other reason that kids will then be able to learn from the direct example of the adults. Maybe that’s what we’re afraid of.
Desiring God ministries just re-posted something Noel Piper wrote a few years ago about having her children in church:
https://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1995/1560_The_Family_Together_in_Gods_Presence/
Sorry to link to my own blog, bad taste I know, but there are some good links to some video with Voddie. I am in total agreement with Voddie on this issue and I want more men to hear what he has to say. Start at the bottom and work your way up.
http://poststop.wordpress.com/?s=Voddie
It should be remembered that this can happen the other way around too. Why not have the sixty somethings and the twelve-plus somethings do things together? Weren’t the old women supposed to instruct the young women? How do they do that if they’re in two separate rooms?