Gospel Driven Youth Ministry – An Interview with David Plant
Back in October, I had the opportunity of attending the Rooted Ministry Conference, a youth ministry conference focused especially on gospel-driven student ministry. It was a wonderful time with like-minded youth pastors who had a desire to build their ministries upon the sufficiency of scripture and the transforming good news of Jesus Christ.
While I was there, I had the wonderful privledge of meeting David Plant. David was one of three plenary speakers at the conference. Currently, David is the youth director at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, NY. He holds an M.Div from Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia and a MFA from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.
_______________________________________
Christ Talbot (“CT”): David, thank for taking some time to talk to us about youth ministry. For those that don’t know you, could you give us a short summary of your spiritual journey up to this point, and where you’re currently ministering?
David Plant (“DP”): I’d love to… Like many I grew up in a Christian home. However, I did not have a transformative experience with Christ until my late-twenties and eventually Redeemer Presbyterian Church of NYC played a significant role in that process. Through Bible reading I felt compelled to discuss Christianity and experience it (in an Acts 2 kind of way) with others. This led to hosting a “community group” in my apartment where we were able to process what we were reading and what that meant for us on a day to day basis. Eventually, I ended up overseeing some small groups as a “leader-coach” for Redeemer. Around this time, I applied to Westminster Theological Seminary. Upon graduation, an official Youth Pastor role was being created at Redeemer and I was encouraged (by faithful friends who knew me well) to apply. Currently, I’m in my fourth year as the Director of Youth Ministries. Don’t tell anyone but I’ve the best job at my church.
_______________________________________
CT: In your opinion, what are the top three myths about youth ministry?
DP:
- That God isn’t doing transformative work in the lives of students bringing about actual conversion. Knowing that he is should be encouragement and therefore we should affirm youth ministry as a priority for the family and the church.
- That student’s won’t find sound Biblical teaching interesting and relevant to their lives.
- That youth communities aren’t personally enriching for pastors and adult lay-leaders. Christians long to be where Christ is and being around the students is personally edifying in that way.
_______________________________________
CT: Furthermore, what are the top three myths people believe about youth ministers?
DP: Hmmm. I can only choose three? In all seriousness, we should consider that those “myths” about youth pastors probably have some merit to them and playing into a particular stereotypes (a maverick disposition, adolescent interests, lacking in theological substance or even trendy dress) bring varying degrees of problems. As pastors, youth or otherwise, we all should seek to grow in areas in which we need to. And do so in such a way that by our character and lifestyle we actually defy stereotypes. Because we look like Jesus Christ, who is the one who cannot be pigeonholed.
_______________________________________
CT: What is the biggest challenge you face ministering to youth in NYC?
DP: I could list several that would be unique to NYC, but I think the greatest challenge is more universal and that is the attrition we experience of kids once they hit 6th grade. Too many of our regular Children’s ministry attendees do not continue on into the Youth program. There are several factors as to why, however, I don’t think its because our parents don’t love Jesus or want their kids to love him, either.
That we know how to pass this gospel news on to our kids in the face of a very demanding culture is the question.
Deuteronomy 6:4, gives us an understanding of not only the importance but the difficulty of raising a child to “love the Lord with all your soul and with all your strength.” The text seems to be saying that passing this wisdom on to the next generation is the all-day, every occasion, duty of the parent. Recognizing this we must also recognize that every culture gives an alternative set of priorities to pass down. Unfortunately, because we are more atuned to the priorities of our own culture the spiritual development of the child often takes a backseat to the many extra-curricular activities our kids are involved in. The litmus test of course, is “Are we at least putting the same amount of time and energy into the spiritual development of the child as we do with soccer, piano, chess, etc.? If we don’t, not only will our students not learn and mature in their faith but we will be modeling for them a lifetime of what we truly believe is most important. Ultimately, knowing the Lord and his desire for our lives is the only thing that matters. Further, it is also the most interesting thing we will ever be or know.
Recently my good friend, Bijan Mirtolooi was ordained in our church. What is interesting is that Bijan became a Christian between 5th and 6th grade because a young adult took the time and explained to him the gospel. Having found Jesus beautiful and the faith reasonable he never looked back and Bijan grew into a very mature, knowledgeable Christian leader and teacher. That Redeemer is now receiving the benefits of his 5th grade conversion and subsequent spiritual development should not be lost on us. The point I’m trying to make is that we need to prioritize Christian ministry and community for youth now, if we want the next generation to continue this present gospel movement.
_______________________________________
CT: David, can you give us an idea of what it means to have a grace-driven, gospel-centered youth ministry? How does this contrast with contemporary views of youth ministry?
DP: On the surface, a grace-driven youth ministry might not look that different from any other. We still have events, fundraisers, large and small group meetings, movie nights, etc. The difference is one of motivation. If your mission is to present the gospel, than the task is to convey the grace, hope and purpose found in Christ through your schedule. Another way to think about it; Christs’ work on the cross informs why we do what we do.
As a youth group we gather three times a month for community and hear God’s word preached, discussed in small groups, and prayed over. It is these times that propel everything else we do. For instance, our annual pie-bake/pie sale fundraiser is an event that is born out of gospel motivation. After baking 550 pies in 12 hours we donate 150 to a local mission for their Thanksgiving Day meal, then “sell” the remaining pies to the congregation. All the proceeds go to the Youth Scholarship Fund. In this one event, we are touching on several gospel themes; loving and serving our neighbors through sacrifice, honoring the Lord through work, deepening our own sense of community, financial stewardship, and because our students tend to encourage non-believing friends to take part, evangelism is also occurring.
Each event or gathering is a precious teaching moment, and we simply try not to waste any opportunity to share what God has done for us in Christ.
_______________________________________
CT: This idea of grace-driven, gospel-centered youth ministry is starting to gain more and more adherents. Why now? What do you think is contributing to this paradigm shift?
DP: We can’t ignore the cultural climate that we are in, and that it is urging us to address and understand the Bible and how Christ speaks into the world. Churches are finally dealing with those questions that modern people are asking and providing very satisfying, robust, and ultimately more hopeful responses than they’ve heard., Technology makes sound biblical resources accessible and the formation of an online resource community easier. Clearly, God is doing something right now in Northern America (and in the world), and is behind any paradigm shifting. It’s an exciting time…
_______________________________________
CT: You’re part of the Board of Advisors for Rooted Ministry, which hosts both a blog and a conference concerning youth ministry. Can you tell us a little more about Rooted?
DP: Sure. Rooted is a group men and women from various church backgrounds committed to sharing the gospel with youth communities (parents, leaders, and students). The Rooted blog (www.rooted.com) is dedicated to providing resources that both equip and encourage those who think about theology and youth culture. Our annual conference is a time where blog contributors and readers get together to cultivate community amongst one another and learn together.
_______________________________________
CT: Moving into the future, what do you see to be the big challenges for youth ministers?
DP: The big challenge for everyone, whether you’re in ministry or not, is to appreciate where you are and faithfully make the most out of it. Youth pastors tend to have the challenge of always having the next ministry position before them. Yet, God has us in place to tend a flock presently and they are precious. Only in being faithful to your current tasks can you truly prepare for another that may (or may not), come.
_______________________________________
The HSF would like to thank David for graciously offering us this interview. For more information about topics discussed here, be sure to read article’s David has written for Redeemer, Rooted, and The Gospel Coalition.
Recent Comments