Youth Worker Balancing Acts: Evangelism vs. Discipleship
At the Youth Specialties blog, Adam McClane discusses the tension between evangelism and discipleship in churches and youth ministry.
He writes that youth pastors are often caught between the stated and unstated goals of the church. The written vision of a church is often focused on evangelism. However, individual church members typically understand the vision to be one of discipleship.
While both excellent visions for a church, these two points of focus can create tension in everyday youth ministry. Youth workers need to stress both evangelism and discipleship equally, but sometimes the two appear to be mutually exclusive. As Adam puts it:
Maybe this is jaded, but it’s been my experience. As much as we’d like to be an equal, complimentary balance between evangelism and discipleship, it always plays out that one wins….
Think about the youth programs you’ve been involved with, either as student or worker. Have any of them handled that tension well?
What about in your personal life? How do you make sure you’re making enough time for both nurturing your personal faith and actively inviting others into God’s kingdom? Do you ever feel a tension between discipleship and evangelism?
