Below is an excerpt of an article I wrote for Youth Specialties. Click the link at the bottom to read the entire piece.
Youth ministry does not have a deep history. While some historians point to its mid-19th century roots, modern youth ministry really started in the 1940s. Over the years, we have seen many trends come and go, but some fixtures have overstayed their welcome.
As we look to the future of youth ministry, we must evaluate how we do ministry. What are the best practices? What needs to change? What needs to go away? What are we holding onto that really is not working? What do we need to do more? And what do we need to let die? These are all great questions to ask on a regular basis.
Some changes cannot happen right away, though. Not all of us have the ability to instantly kill an aspect of our ministry. Some of us have boards, committees, and more that must approve ideas like these. So, let’s look further down the timeline.
Here are five youth ministry fixtures that need to die by 2025…
Steve Cullum 