AN INTERGENERATIONAL APPROACH TO A SUSTAINABLE YOUTH MINISTRY (ACTS 16:1-3) IN AN AFRICAN CONTEXT

Oladotun Anthony Akinsulire

Abstract


There have been widespread apprehensions in contemporary society about the enduring faith of young people. The observation is that adolescents are more disposed to a nominal assent to faith rather than a strong heart conviction. Faith leaders and parents have responded with anxiety, assuming that the heritage of faith may become moribund, in the face of the emergent realities of postmodernism. Some have laid the blame for this declension in the faith commitments of young people on the faith community, described in this study as the amalgam of the family and the church. The home has not provided the healthy environment expedient to the faith maturation of youth. The church’s model of age-segregated rather than age-integrated youth ministry has not offered much. These issues provided the stimulus for the study of an intergenerational approach to a sustainable youth ministry in an African Context. Based on an exegetical analysis (Acts 16:1-3), the study explored the need for the faith community to respond with an intergenerational approach in transferring a sustainable legacy of faith to the next generation. Congregations must address the average level commitment of leadership to youth ministry, and an age-segregated youth ministry model that leaves room for significant improvement. The study recommends a more compelling leadership strategy for youth ministry and a culture shift to a contextual intergenerational paradigm for effective youth ministry. More adult modeling of the faith is also required both in the home and in the church.

Keywords


Faith, Faith Community, Intergenerational, Youth, Youth Ministry.

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