Teddy James
AFA Journal staff writer
December 2014 – Man has always had a fascination with the future. What will we wear? What will we drive? Will we live on Earth or Mars? Will we finally have flying cars?
More practical and more beneficial questions concerning the future focus on tomorrow’s leaders. Who will they be? How are the events of today going to shape their decisions in the coming decades? What’s the best way to shape their worldview? Who is training them to be wise and discerning?
The answers are closer than you think. They are in your church every Sunday and Wednesday. To see those who will be leading in 20 years, enter the youth or children’s ministry. Talk to the ministers and youth workers there. Even better, talk to and invest in the children and teenagers.
Long-time youth pastor and speaker Gary Permenter said God’s desire for training young people is laid out plainly in Scripture. Permenter said, “Psalm 71 is one of my favorite passages. In it, the psalmist gives his spiritual autobiography saying God has been his hope from his earliest days. God watched over and protected him.
“The psalmist asks, in light of all God has done for him, that he be given the strength to declare the power, strength and faithfulness of God to those younger than him,” Permenter said.
However, adults are often reluctant to put themselves forward to serve children and young people. Permenter reflects on two common excuses that keep adults from ministering to children and youth in their churches:
1. Teenagers need their own space.
“The only problem with this thought,” Permenter said, “is that parents don’t do this in any other area. If their child plays sports, they don’t say, ‘We don’t want to go to his games because we don’t want to infringe on his territory.’ On the contrary, they are there to support their son or daughter and the entire team. If there is a need for fundraisers, stand workers, transportation or snacks, parents step up and help. Beyond that, many parents will get out and practice throwing, catching, jump shots or other skills. So they take what the coach teaches and reinforce it at home.”
2. It’s impossible to physically keep up.
Permenter said, “The work I do puts me in a variety of contexts and I have been blessed to see the beauty in the body of Christ expressed in just how different youth workers are. The diversity builds strength for unity. I know a youth worker who is in his 80s and is a great-grandfather. He teaches Sunday school every week. There are also young singles who volunteer, couples with no children and a couple with six kids. They all serve teenagers.”
Permenter reminds adults that the world and its ruler are investing everything at their disposal to corrupt and confuse the hearts of teenagers concerning spiritual matters. The body of Christ is made up of uniquely-gifted individuals without excuse not to invest everything at their disposal to disciple the future of the church. 
Gary Permenter is a former youth minister. He now speaks to youth groups across the country and trains adults to volunteer with teenagers. Permenter has seen firsthand the challenges unique to youth ministry. His encouragement to those who pastor children and youth:
1) Don’t give up. Don’t allow the lack of enthusiasm from potential volunteers to wear heavy on you. God cares more about your ministry than you do. God desires your ministry to be fruitful even more than you do.
2) Pray to the Lord of the harvest to bring in workers. Go one-on-one and ask people to help in specific ways.
3) Fellowship with other youth pastors. Encourage one another and compare notes on ministry and volunteer recruitment.
garypermenter.org
email: garyp@garypermenter.org
662-329-4858
