A complete discipleship system for leading intentional preteen and youth ministry
Happathy arises when efforts to engage students in church revolve around games, high-energy music, and flashy events. While this approach may generate short-lived happiness, it often results in long-term apathy.
Many students in youth ministry today experience happathy. They join for the fun but quickly turn into passive consumers, asking themselves, “What have you done for me lately?” They lack investment in the ministry, consuming only what they find entertaining, and learning that if they complain, adults will cater to their desires.
They express their preferences through their attitudes. Adults become frustrated when students aren’t happy, as unhappy students are less likely to attend youth groups. Consequently, they often give in, believing that happy students will show more interest in Jesus.
Happathy is creeping into mission trip programs and student conferences as well. When these events focus more on showcasing popular bands and energetic speakers than on meaningful discipleship and service, it’s clear that they’ve fallen into the happathy trap.
Emotionalism characterizes happathy events. The more students stand on their chairs and sing, the better the experience seems. The wilder the games, the more unforgettable the memories. The higher the emotional peaks, the more pride adults take in their youth ministry. However, the emotional high of these events often obscures the reality that their organizers lack an understanding of how students grow spiritually. Very few students can absorb significant and lasting lessons during these hyped-up events, which often come with little sleep.
But the most troubling aspect is that once students have experienced everything and heard it all, they become disinterested and apathetic. The bar is raised, and most of us lack the budgets to keep up with these expectations. Students genuinely seek meaning and connection. They want assurance that Jesus is real and can address their problems. They see through the bright, shiny façades that merely hide pain, often rejecting them as hypocritical.
If you haven’t been discipled yourself, how can you disciple others? Many adults in youth ministry struggle to distinguish between what’s essential and what’s not because no one has helped them understand God’s Word. They often mask their lack of a relationship with God by focusing on outward appearances. We need to get them engaged in the Bible and teach them what they should be imparting to our students.
The smaller the group, the more intentional adults can be with students. Remember, Jesus continually narrowed His circle to those who were fully committed and transformed. A small group of students who genuinely love Jesus can affect more change in the world than hundreds of apathetic students who will disengage from the church once they graduate high school.
Your church should have a ministry led by students, not just for them. You may think, “My students aren’t mature enough to lead.” However, if we don’t empower them to take on leadership roles in high school, can we expect them to be ready later on? Are we leaving behind a legacy of church-haters or church planters?
Students today are seeking authentic adults who can help address their spiritual hunger. They crave real connections and meaning in their lives. The superficial youth ministry activities of the past no longer resonate with them. In the aftermath of COVID-19, they have become acutely aware of how temporary life can be, realizing how quickly everything can change.
While students have evolved, have we? It’s become easy to engage students with games, prizes, and highly produced graphics, thanks to youth ministry companies providing thousands of resources at low costs. What is far more challenging is training and equipping mature believers to build meaningful relationships with messy teens.
Deep Discipleship Students is a complete curriculum and system with everything you need for ministry to junior high and high school students.
