5 ways to disciple your youth group during a pandemic
With uncertainty and anxiety in abundance, help your youth look to their sovereign and faithful God during COVID-19.
Young people are often far more anxious than they appear. For now, life is still relatively normal for many youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. There is school, either in person or online, friends to message, bikes to ride, social media to scroll through, Netflix to binge and chores to be avoided. But beneath the surface, their brains and emotions are in overdrive as they try to deal with the constant noise, fear and change. Every young person is trying to cope with fear, but without the maturity or experience of adults.
One of the wonderful gifts God has provided to help young people during this time is your youth ministry. Whilst your weekly gathering, camps or socials may get cancelled, there are still wonderful opportunities to disciple young people to help them live well as God’s people in God’s world. Pandemics don’t stop God working in our world through his church.
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Below are five ideas to help you consider ways to disciple young people during this time.
1. Pray with them
Our world is addicted to talking and guessing about information that does not exist. This is not the Christian life. In times of fear and worry, Christians cast their anxieties on God because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). Now is the time to help young people pray, to help them cast their worries on the Lord and put their trust on him instead of humanity. If you can gather in person, then prioritise prayer, giving time for listening to the worries of young people and bringing it to the Lord. Use Scripture to teach them to pray. If you are unable to gather in person then use online forums like social media to appropriately bring people together to pray. Embed praying together as a regular part of their week whilst this pandemic continues.
2. Point them to our sovereign God
Our world swings between doomsday news and false hope. This is not the Christian life. The Lord God is sovereign and “our ever-present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1-7). Even though the “waters roar and foam” and “mountains fall into the heart of the sea,” the Lord our God will never leave us or abandon us. He is our hiding place, our refuge, our strength. Now is the time to help young people know their God so they can walk humbly with him. If you can gather in person, then spend time in God’s word helping young people to know God deeply. Help them see that knowing Jesus is the best way to know God. Choose a memory verse to memorise together. Prepare some quiet times to help youth get to know their God at home. If you are unable to gather in person then prepare weekly video devotionals with your leaders to point young people toward their God.
3. Teach them how to have faith
Our world is struggling to know who we should put our faith in, as leaders falter and experts disagree. This is not the Christian life. Christians put their trust in the Lord Jesus. We place our faith in a God who entered a world infected with sin. He loved sick people. He died alone, separated from God, so that he might provide a sick world with a real solution to sin. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” (John 11:25–26). As we thank God and follow the advice of medical experts, we place our faith ultimately in the person and work of Christ. Now is the time to help young people see that faith is more than a ticket out of hell or religious affiliation, it is the way to live life in this world. If you can gather in person, then facilitate opportunities for leaders and older youth to share what faith looks like during this time. Identify the lies of false hope that young people might be drawn towards. Constantly communicate that our strength as Christians is not the strength of our faith but who we have faith in. If you are unable to gather in person then resource your young people with Biblical and Christian stories of faith. Communicate regularly that Christian faith is refined and strengthened in difficult times.
4. Open their eyes to church history
Five minutes on any news site reveals that our world is unable to cope with the uncertainty of the pandemic. This is partly due to humanity’s inability to learn from history. This is not the Christian life. We have a great cloud of witnesses who have gone before us modelling resilient faith (Hebrew 12:1). Christians have experienced and responded in pandemics across the last 2000 years. Our brothers and sisters in Africa regularly deal with outbreaks of Ebola, Malaria and other infectious diseases. Whether you gather in person or online, engage young people with church history. Celebrate the stories of resilient faith. Discover how the third world has dealt with disease every day. Reduce the novelty of COVID-19 by learning how Christians lived in the past. A great resource to use with youth is the Christianity Today website.
5. Empower them to care for others
Our world is scared and scared people often resort to selfishness to cope with life. This is not the Christian life. Fear is an appropriate emotion in this current time, but fear is not our master. The perfect love of Christ drives out fear (1 John 4:18). Fear of judgment and fear of the future is disempowered by the victory of Christ at the cross. The decrease in fear enables Christians of all ages to turn our focus to loving our neighbour. Whatever happens, let’s us not lead youth ministries of huddled, frightened sheep talking about viruses and toilet paper. Let’s lead young people to courageously love their friends and family with words and action (1 John 3:18). If you can gather in person, practice practical love with your young people. If you are unable to gather in person then facilitate young people to work together to practically love the people around them. For example, some churches are joining the #viralkindness campaign, to offer help and assistance to vulnerable people in their communities.
One of wonderful gifts God has provided to help young people during this time is your youth ministry. How can you lead God’s people to grow in faith and love during this uncertain time?
