We were recently at a conference where we were exhibiting and talking to churches about how we could partner with them in their ministry. Something that came up several times in conversation was ‘why reinvent the wheel?’ when there is an existing ministry model, framework or way of working that already works.
While we weren’t specifically talking about Spaces at this conference, it did get us thinking. From the start, in our introducing Spaces webinars, we have said that we are not trying to reinvent the wheel. The Spaces model is effectively the model that Jesus used with his disciples and a model that the church has been using for 2,000 years. Spaces seeks to equip churches as they seek to intentionally disciple their young people, by coming together in a small group of not more than 12-15, by opening scripture, exploring it, and by doing life together. This is what we see Jesus do in the Gospels with his disciples, before sending them out to make disciples of all nations.
While Jesus himself is seen as a revolutionary, he in fact didn’t reinvent the wheel. Some people try to compare the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament as if they are different people. Jesus in fact is the God of the Old Testament in human form. Jesus reveals the Father’s heart for his people. Jesus didn’t come to replace the law but to fulfil it. So many of the promises of the Old Testament are made true through Jesus. There are so many parallels between the Old Testament and the New. The New Testament wasn’t about God doing something different, going down a different path, but finishing what he had started.
Youth ministry can a lot of the time feel like it is about finding the new thing, that flashy resource, that way of working that will attract young people or keep them in the building, because for some reason we have got into our heads that what we have done previously won’t do and that is has to be something new. But young people don’t necessarily want new, attractive or flashy or free pizza (OK, maybe they do want free pizza).
What young people are seeking is the truth. Young people are curious and searching, and a lot of the time their searching in places where they’re not going to find the truth. There are countless stories of young people searching and being LED down the wrong path particularly in this age of social media. If we the church aren’t offering an opportunity for young people to come to seek the truth, they are going to seek it in the wrong places. Jesus talked about a narrow path, not a new path.
When it comes to youth ministry, we shouldn’t seek to reinvent the wheel. We should seek to follow Jesus’ example. We should seek to bring young people together, to provide them belonging and community, provide them a space to explore and ask questions, and provide them a space where they can encounter Jesus. We should then send them out to expand his Kingdom as disciples who are themselves making disciples. We’re only going to do that when we don’t reinvent the wheel but instead provide them an opportunity to come to know the truth for themselves. That gospel truth is the same yesterday, today and forever. God didn’t reinvent the wheel, so why should we?