Youth ministry in the Christ Church Lahore

[摘要] English:This research is concerned with the complex situation in which the youth of the Christ Church Lahore find themselves. One of the key problems is that the youth do not have a sound knowledge of the Bible, which makes them less effective in witnessing in a Muslim country like Pakistan. After a brief introduction of Pakistan and the province Punjab, the research examined the country's famous cites Lahore with reference to aspects such as the historical and modern Lahore, people and population, history and culture, language and education. The history of the Christ Church Lahore and its youth, as well as the history of the youth ministry laid a firm foundation for the study. It has been observed that the adolescents of the Christ Church have been neglected, and this causes serious problems in their spiritual growth. The youth do face challenges and issues. They are also trying to find their true identity in Christ. Recognizing the basic needs of the young people will make the church in general and the Christ Church Lahore in particular aware how to care for their teens and to value this ministry. Five functions of the youth ministry, namely worship, prayer, fellowship, discipleship and evangelism or mission are highlighted to bring the adolescents into a relationship with God. It was necessary to develop a contextual youth ministry model for the youth of the Christ Church while studying different models. The emphasis was on creating a model which was Biblically based and culturally appropriate. In this regard, the key factors / principles were pointed out. For the youth of the Christ Church to operate in an effective way, the following points were provided, namely the importance of the election and responsibilities of the youth leadership team, an intergenerational youth ministry concept and the value of a vision, goals and programmes. The research also shows that family support (parents) is important for the spiritual growth of teens. A lack of family support hinders them in attending youth meetings regularly and in being available for the work of the Lord. The researcher's interviews with the youth group, the leading pastor and members of the congregation helped to examine the real situation of the youth with their challenges and issues. The study confirms that the youth of the Christ Church need proper attention. Besides help to face their challenges and obstacles, they need youth ministry training and a discipleship process to equip them for an effective and fruitful ministry. The research also reveals that equipped youth leaders are needed to mentor and lead the young people. Without a supportive team or leadership team, the youth of the Christ Church will not survive. Throughout the research, it is emphasized that the youth are not the church of tomorrow but indeed the church of today. We cannot ignore them in the church. The topics and subtopics in this study are obviously areas that need independent and extensive research. However, the researcher has incorporated them in order to draw the true picture and examine the issues that the youth are facing.

[发布机构] University of the Free State