Viewing Urban Youth with Value
Our perspective of young people is very important. Proverbs teaches us to “start children off on the way they should go and even when they are old they will not turn from it” (Proverbs 22:6). Training young people helps to secure where they wind up. We are not responsible for babysitting teenagers or facilitating social gatherings for the youth, but training up youth to contribute to God’s work in the kingdom. This happens when we can see youth as tools in God’s hands rather than babies who need something to do while the adults worship. It will be helpful in gathering more people to work with youth when we look at youth as the young future leaders of the church and can see them as God’s vessels.
There is tremendous power in a look. How we see often determines how we think, feel, and behave. If we look at young people as hoodlums and challenges, then we will begin to fear them and create a distance between them and ourselves, treating them as a problem to be rid of rather than potential to be realized. It is important to see our youth as God sees them and not how society sees them. King David was seen by his father, his brothers, his king, and the assembly of God’s people as a youth with little to offer. When youth are seen that way, who would be willing to waste time working with them? God shows no partiality. He does not choose who to use based on their age but on their availability. Valuing young people is about finding youth who are present, available, and hungry to learn and help. Investing in our youth and teaching them how to read and understand the Bible is powerful for the entire church.
The Bible is filled with examples of young people making impactful inputs into the work of the Lord. If Daniel and his three young friends were able to serve in the royal courts of Israel and Babylon, surely there are young people able to serve in leadership roles in our congregations. If young Jeremiah can be called to the prophetic ministry as a youth, then surely there are youth whom God can send out to preach and teach his Word today. If Samuel was called to the priesthood as a young man, then young people can be called to serve as worship leaders and ministers in our churches today. Even as a part of preparation for their bar/bat mitzvah, many Jewish youth memorize the Torah (the first five books of the Bible). This ought to change our view of what youth are capable of if only we are willing to put the time in with them (The bar/bat mitzvah is a centuries-old ceremony for the rite of passage that marks the transition of Jewish boys and girls into adulthood).
Many of the challenges faced by youth in urban centers can be addressed by recognizing the principle over the particulars. The young person who is always ready to fight, the one constantly talking, the one who does anything to garner attention are all showing youth workers their particular issues. But what if we focused not on the particular issues but identified the principle behind their actions? For instance, the principle behind the fighter may reveal them as a defender or a protector in principle rather than the problem of a combatant.
The teen who constantly has to talk in principle may just be a communicator rather than an interrupter. It may be helpful for this person who likes to talk to be given opportunities to speak during the programs for the ministry. For youth who seem to need attention or want to be the center of focus, the principle behind it can be one who wants to participate rather than spectate. Praying for God to change the way we see the youth we serve may yield helpful revelations. Gaining the support of the entire church around the youth ministry sometimes requires a willingness to exalt their capabilities and defend their honor.
Adapted from Don’t Despise Our Youth by David A. Washington. ©2025 David A. Washington. Used by permission of InterVarsity Press. www.ivpress.com.
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