Wild Frontier is a mindset. It is a mindset that there is something more out there than what is normal. It is a mindset of following God's leading to more of what God has for you in ministry, particularly youth ministry.
This is the compilation from 30-years of youth ministry experience. These are the best practices we have found to shape the faith of teenagers so they can live a faith that moves them to something more than normal.
WF YM: Raise Youth in the Church Family
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Youth need community. That statement has been repeated often and used as a reason (or excuse) for the many things we do in youth ministry. The result is we have our youth programs, youth rooms, and most currently, some churches are even running their own youth worship services. Such youth ministry does provide community, but teens also know how two-faced teens are because they are. Teens need community larger than their peer group. You and your volunteer leaders (if you have any!) are not enough. The good news is there is a ready made community in the church family.
WF YM: Youth Services Are Designed as Outreach Opportunities for the Unchurched
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Youth services are designed as outreach opportunities for the unchurched. This title was originally “borrowed” from another youth ministry article like this was some new youth ministry idea that needed to be mentioned in an article. Isn’t this why we do youth ministry?
Teens are more open to God and church than at any other time in their lives. However, too many of the unchurched youth are completely lost by our customs and codes. You know those customs and codes like how we worship, hand motions to certain songs, etc. The unchurched have no idea why we do those things nor are they comfortable sitting through those things. Your worship band may be powerful but to be a visitor and sit through 30 minutes of singing to lyrics you don’t know, music that is too loud (a frequent mistake in youth worship bands), and body movements that are supernatural or just weird is very uncomfortable. Often visitors are invited to hear a guest speaker or the cool youth worker or to talk about a certain topic in a small group. They weren’t warned about the weird singing which is usually the first thing up at a youth service.
WF YM: Teach A Correct Biblical Worldview
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Dr. Christian Smith, backed up by the research from the National Study of Youth and Religion, defines the worldview of today’s youth as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Moralistic Therapeutic Deism defined is: there’s a God who created the world, but that God is not particularly involved in my way of life. I live my own life apart from God except when I have problems. Then I can call upon God to come solve those problems for me. Moral Therapeutic Deism asserts that people should be good which basically means not being a jerk.
God is something like a divine butler or cosmic therapist who is there to meet your needs but doesn’t get too personally involved with you and certainly is not demanding. Religion’s main benefit is that is applies therapeutic satisfaction, that it meets therapeutic needs. This is a faith that saves from. It saves them from their problems. This is a faith which can be left behind by a decision. This is a faith that if you adhere to this and this and this all the way through to number 999, you are set.
There is a lot wrong with this worldview as you can see. Since the youth are coming to church, take the opportunity to teach the correct Biblical worldview. This is imperative.
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About Wild Frontier
Wild Frontier is a mindset. It is a mindset that there is something more out there than what is normal or what is within human limitations. Only the brave dare to have this mindset. The brave dare to be vulnerable. The brave learn to recognize and expose numbing behaviors so that bravery can now be what defines our lives. And vulnerability is the beginning of hope.
Who is Brenda?
Brenda is a brave one. She stutters yet is a national speaker. She loves teaching so much she’s been a substitute teacher for over 20 years. She’s brave enough to enter any classroom at a middle school. She also simply loves teaching groups, whether they are teens or adults. You could say she was created for this, stuttering and all. She has been in youth ministry for 34 years and has no plans to “grow up” and be a real pastor. She bravely loves teenagers, especially that middle school age. She has served in her church, New Covenant Fellowship of Manassas, Virginia, since 1990 and they will probably bury her there.
Wild Frontier Videos
Wild Frontier Resources
The most popular resource from Wild Frontier is Moms & Pops Stuff. This is a monthly newsletter of ideas for parent to pass on their faith to their children. To see the newest issue, click HERE. To become a free subscriber, click HERE.