Youth life style and church growth

YOUTH LIFE STYLE AND CHURCH GROWTH

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background of the study

Church Growth is a movement within evangelical Christianity that focuses on developing methods to grow churches based on business marketing strategies. It cannot be disputed that youths play a vital role in the life of a church, as they are the leaders of tomorrow and the church's future. The elderly stand out, but the youth’s contributions have been shining and have always been the flagbearers of every church. For any tangible growth to occur in any Christian community, the youth must be significant in that growth process. This is the main reason why nations, countries, groups, and organisations focus more on the development of youths so that the future of such investments will never be improvised or blinded. It is therefore of vital importance in the Catholic Church to prepare assiduously youths for the tasks they will naturally face in the coming future. It is only when we have nourished our youths that they, in turn, develop the church. The questions are, “What amount of attention do we give the youths, and what level of devotion do the youths give to the church?

The youths of today have very high ideals, and to deny this would be grossly unfair. But we must admit that very often these ideals can be sour, perverted, and exploited. Often, young people ultimately relinquish their ideals if they suspect that the situation is hopeless or if they conclude that nowhere can these ideals be fulfilled. Unfortunately, this is the usual progression of events today. Disappointments lead to abysmal falls, often to depths lower than those they condemned when their idealism was fresh. Where this does not happen, ideals are exploited by false prophets of good. The sectarians far from the fullness of truth can inspire youth to make such amazing sacrifices Yet at the same time, the Orthodox Church, possessing the fullness of Truth, has a real difficulty in keeping its youth (Abednego: 1989). It could be that in ignoring the high ideals and potential moral heroism of our youth, we have failed to familiarise ourselves with our examples of such heroism, displayed by our own young, even the very young, who loved Christ and His Church in past ages. The youths are important members in society. Can there be any society without youth? Obviously, no, That is why we must see to it that our youths find their rightful places in the church.

Church growth begins with church health, not the other way around. We see in nature that healthy things grow. This is by no means a new concept, but it's still true. From this research, we will discover what a healthy church is like and how youth lifestyle can boost church growth.

• Statement of the problem

One key problem is the inability to examine youth lifestyle and church growth. Another problem is how best to measure numerical growth. A variety of indicators for attendance and occasional offices are available, but all are affected to some degree by measurement errors and random fluctuations. Such variability poses particular problems with small churches, where the addition or subtraction of just a few people produces large proportional changes in the totals.

• Objectives of the study

1. To examine youth lifestyle and church growth.
2. To change the unhealthy culture of some church youth ministries.
3. To cast a fresh vision for the church.

1.4  Research questions

1. What amount of attention do we give the youths?
2. What level of devotion do the youths give to the church?

1.5  Research hypotheses

Ho: There is no significant relationship between youth lifestyle and church growth.

Hi: There is a significant relationship between youth lifestyle and church growth.

1.6  Significance of the Study

This research work will assist churches, ministries, pastors, etc in discovering the vital roles youths play in the life of a Church as they are the leaders of tomorrow and the future of every church. From this research, we will discover what a healthy church is like and how youth lifestyle can boost church growth.

1.7 Scope and Limitations of the study

This study is on youth lifestyle and church growth.

Limitations of study

1. Financial constraint: Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, and interview).
2. Time constraint: The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted to the research work.

1.8  Definition of terms

Church Growth is a movement within evangelical Christianity that focuses on developing methods to grow churches based on business marketing strategies.

Youth: Youth is the time of life when one is young, but often means the time between childhood and adulthood (maturity).

Lifestyle: Lifestyles define us; they are the way we live our lives, what we do, with whom, where, how, and what we use to do it.

References

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Craft, Charles. Christianity in Culture.Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1981.

Dempsey, Rodney W. „Small Group Ministries of the 2010 Summer D.Min. Class Lecture Note.

Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004.

Elliot, Ralph H. Church Growth That Counts. Valley Forge, PA: Judson, 1982.

George, Carl F., Prepare Your Church for the Future. Tarrytown, NY: Fleming H. Revell, 1991.

Getz, Gene A. The Measure of a Healthy Church: How God Defines Greatness in a Church.

Glendale, VA: Regal Books, 2002.Gets, Gene A, & Joe Wall: Effective Church Growth Strategies. Nashville: Word, 2000.

Gilbert, Larry. Team Evangelism: Giving New Meaning to Lay Evangelism. Lynchburg, VA: Church Growth Institute, 1991.

Ha, Yong Jo. We Dream of the Church of the Acts. Seoul: Duranno, 2007.

Hadaway, C. Kirk. Church Growth Principles: Separating Fact from Fiction. Nashville: Broadman, 1991.

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