1. The Role of Commitment Levels
In order to programme effectively, the youth pastor must assess the members of the youth group and discover where they are and then design a programming strategy to lead them further in their pilgrimage.
2. The Laws of Spiritual Commitment
The first law of spiritual commitment is: as commitment increases, attendance decreases. Judging an event by attendance is a deceptive criterion! A develop level training event may only draw ten young people, but it is just as important as a come level event with a hundred young people. The second law of spiritual commitment is: as commitment increases, participation increases. As people move through the process they become more involved in the group and should take on greater ministry involvement. This will only happen as they are given opportunity to be involved.
3. The Importance of the Unspiritual
In the right programme context, unspiritual activities may have legitimate spiritual goals. Duffy Robbins says: "we can't get youth to be multipliers if we can't get them in leadership development. And we can't get them involved at the disciple level if we don't get them discipled. And we can't get them discipled if we can't get them interested in growth. And we can't get them to grow if we can't get them to come. That might mean that with some youth the most spiritually strategic action I can take with them is to take them away with me for a day of white-water rafting, building relationships and breaking down defences" (Youth Ministry That Works, Page 82).
4. The Need for Different Events
Youth pastors who have been exposed to this model and begun to implement it, have realised that it is impossible to deal with all six levels during the same event. Inevitably, the come level youth will feel that the event is too spiritual, while the multiply level youth will feel that the event is not helping them grow. This model of ministry designs separate events for different commitment levels.
5. The Development of Youth
The process of moving from pool of humanity to multiply level may look smooth on paper, but in reality it is anything but smooth. Spiritual growth happens in spurts, at an individual's unique pace and is often accompanied by pain. However, despite the commitment involved in nurturing youth and the occasional "failures", the target of maturity must not be discarded. It must be remembered that adolescence is a period of great change, with many ups and downs, and the spiritual dimension of their lives is not exempt from these changes.
6. The Involvement of Participants
Youth today are so involved with school and other activities that they cannot be expected to attend everything that the group is offering - they will choose which events they are able to attend. Youth leaders will have to change their attitude toward youth who do not attend an event. Also, youth leaders may not be involved in the leadership of all events, but matched up with certain level events according to their spiritual gifting and released to minister in those areas.
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