An American Youth Pastor’s Vision and Challenges
Luke Chow
My Call to Student Ministry
When I was twelve, my parents received a call from the Lord to leave the United States and become missionaries in Taiwan. I lived in Taiwan from the age of twelve to eighteen and then returned to the United States for college. Over summer breaks, since I usually couldn’t afford to go home to see my family, I worked as a camp counselor at a church camp for kids in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. From 2000 to 2009, I had the privilege of counseling hundreds of children.
A particularly special moment came in the summer of 2009. I was reunited with a group of high school students at summer camp whom I had counseled years earlier when they were in second grade. They were now juniors and seniors in high school. Although I only saw them once a year during summer, the connections I formed with them over the years through Bible studies, chapel times, campfire conversations, and games were profoundly impactful. It was clear to me that I was fulfilling God’s calling on my life: I was gifted in working with students, and I also found myself loving them as if they were my own. To this day, I still connect with them. In fact, in about two months, I will be officiating one of their weddings!
That experience, among many others, solidified my sense of purpose. That year, I began my seminary studies, and four years later, I became a youth pastor.
My Vision of Raising up Future Leaders
Over the past decade of youth ministry, I have come to believe that this generation of young people is the most gifted, talented, and called generation of believers in the history of the world. They seem to already have an intuitive, supernatural understanding of the things of God. For example, I recall teaching a baptism class a couple of years ago, during which we encountered a challenging passage in the book of 1 John. It was a difficult text, and I never really understood it until one of my professors explained it to me in seminary. However, before I even began explaining it to my students, one kid raised his hand and said, “I think this passage means this…” He then began to explain the passage better than what I had written in my notes. I was stunned! What he said was entirely accurate, even though he had never read the book of 1 John before.
This is not an isolated incident; I have witnessed many students displaying a supernatural understanding of God’s Word and his nature. It may sound unbelievable, but I have come to the conclusion that God has called this generation of children to lead the church in unprecedented ways. As the future leaders of the church, they will break down barriers and approach ministry differently, and I believe much better than we have.
This perspective has profoundly shaped my vision for student ministry: student ministry isn’t just glorified babysitting, where we teach kids Bible stories. Student ministry is the training and raising up of a generation of leaders whom the Lord has called to break the back of darkness. I am genuinely excited about passing the torch to these kids and cannot wait to see them become the future leaders, ministers, missionaries and pastors who will accomplish incredible things for the Kingdom in ways the world has never seen.
Discipleship: An Essential Way to Raise up Future Leaders
The goal of raising up future leaders has shaped the way I do youth ministry. In light of 1 Corinthians 11:1— "imitate me as I imitate Christ," where Paul emphasizes the importance of following Jesus through the example of others, I am convinced that discipleship is the essential way to help young people develop the character and skills they need for Christian leadership. With this conviction, in 2021, I left a megachurch in Southern California where I had served as a high school minister for several years. The church focused on creating spectacular events featuring incredible worship, great music, exciting speakers, and impressive laser lights and fog machines. While I enjoyed serving students in this vibrant environment, I began to notice a concerning trend: due to our eagerness to entertain rather than to disciple, approximately 70-75% of students walked away from their faith after graduating from high school.
I left the megachurch to become the student minister at Park Church in Denver, Colorado. I was the church’s first youth pastor. When I first started in 2021, we had only about a dozen students; today, in 2025, there are about 50 students. However, I came here because I was granted the authority to implement a discipleship program that cultivates a culture of genuine discipleship and mentorship. While we still value and enjoy big, flashy events, the core of our ministry is much more relational than event-driven. Our discipleship program emphasizes the development of authentic, sustainable faith rather than merely creating an entertaining youth group experience. While we still host exciting events such as summer camps, winter camps, and mission trips, one-on-one and small-group discipleship are at the core of everything we do.
Our adult leaders begin discipling students when they are still quite young—in sixth and seventh grade. The goal is to establish discipleship as a normative experience. Many kids today, once they reach high school, tend to think: “My parents are out of touch; the only people who understand me are my peers.” As a result, they often seek counsel from their friends, who don’t always provide the best wisdom or advice. Our goal is to instill the habit of seeking guidance from trusted adults early on.
In those early years, particularly in sixth and seventh grade, discipleship often looks like sharing ice cream, hanging out at coffee shops, and simply enjoying each other’s company. The first couple of years are primarily about building relationships and establishing rapport, trust, and friendship. This foundation is crucial as it sets the stage for deeper conversations later on. At this early stage, it is essential to have 100% support from the parents, as they still have complete control over their children’s schedules. From the very beginning, I communicate to parents that as their children transition from fifth to sixth grade—leaving Park Kids and entering Park Students—they are entering a new phase of their spiritual journey. Therefore, parental support is critical for this to be effective. I emphasize to them that our leaders will be connecting with the kids for one-on-one discipleship, which we believe will help foster a lasting faith—one that goes beyond simply enjoying youth group because it is fun. At the same time, I encourage parents to discuss our discipleship program with their children in a way that empowers them. We want students to feel like they are deciding to get discipled. We want our students to take ownership of their faith and commit to the program voluntarily, not because their parents require them to do so.
By the time they reach eighth or nineth grade, discipleship meetings tend to get a little more serious. At this point, we start suggesting more structured studies, such as exploring a specific book of the Bible. Based on our previous interactions over the last couple of years, we generally have a good sense of what they might be struggling with and how they can grow. Often, we collaborate to develop a tailored curriculum that meets the individual needs of each student.
While we have standardized curricula for small-group and large-group gatherings, discipleship is highly personalized. For example, if a student is having difficulty relating to their parents, we might choose a book that addresses that issue. Throughout our studies, we also encourage direct engagement with scripture. We might say, “Let’s dive into the Gospel of Mark together,” reading and discussing a chapter at a time.
By the time these students reach their junior and senior years—around 16 to 18 years old—one-on-one discipleship has become a regular part of their lives. They are not only engaging with Scripture but also exploring theological concepts together. At this age, they are in the midst of what sociologists call the “second individuation process,” in which they are owning their beliefs and values independent of their childhood influences. At this stage, discipleship conversations often revolve around larger questions, such as where they should attend college, what they should study, who they should date and marry, and the like.
Discipleship is not merely about participating in Wednesday youth group gatherings or Sunday church services once a week. My inspiration comes from Jesus' approach to discipleship with his twelve disciples. Indeed, Jesus had classroom-like teaching moments, such as the feeding of the 5,000 and the Sermon on the Mount, among many others recorded throughout the Gospels. These moments were all significant and impactful. But Jesus’s focus was never on the crowd: he would always disperse them after he was done! Instead, his focus was on the twelve: they lived in constant connection and communication with him. They followed him everywhere, sharing life with him in a way that was intimate and ongoing. I often wonder about the hundreds of campfire and dinnertime conversations they had together that weren’t recorded in the Scripture. I would argue that this is the true heart of discipleship: being incarnational. It is walking together in faith, learning by example, and growing through shared life together. It resonates with my summer camp experiences years ago when we were constantly in community together.
This is what we aim to model: discipleship as a way of life, not just occasional events. We hope that the students not only see me and my team walking with Jesus while at youth group on Wednesdays but also witness how we walk with Him outside of that context. We enter our students’ lives by attending their extracurricular events like sporting events, recitals, and plays. But we also welcome them into our everyday lives as well. For example, one of my leaders recently had a baby, and she has been inviting kids over regularly to meet the baby, help babysit, and simply hang out with her and her four-month-old. It is a huge time commitment, but it reflects the model Jesus set: discipleship through close, consistent proximity. It is about apprenticeship: walking together for the long haul and being present in each other’s lives.
We strive to embody the example set by Jesus, embracing an incarnational model of ministry. In a sense, we are called to be the presence of Jesus among those we serve. This commitment can be challenging. For instance, I might receive a phone call at midnight from a parent in distress, asking for help because their child is in the hospital. In those moments, I respond without hesitation, recognizing that true discipleship often disrupts our lives. If I were to compartmentalize my life, these disruptions would feel overwhelming. Yet, I believe that this is the model Jesus set forth for us: one of incarnational ministry, where we are fully present in the lives of others.
Challenges to Raise up Future Leaders
I would argue that several challenges face the youth ministry today.
Competitive Force of Idols
The first is the competitive force of idols. Many of my students here in America sacrifice the things of God on the altar of athletics. My students frequently say: “Sorry, I can’t come to church because I have club volleyball,” or, “I won’t be able to attend youth group on Wednesdays because I have basketball practice.” Busy schedules leave little room for discipleship, with extracurricular activities filling their every waking moment. Today's kids are often overwhelmed with numerous commitments, leaving them too busy for God.
Battling against the idols of this world requires the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. When students are constantly tempted to believe that worldly things are superior, my prayer is that these idols ultimately let them down. I pray that they experience what the Prodigal Son experienced in Luke 15, that they encounter the brokenness within these worldly structures. If basketball becomes a student’s idol, I ask the Lord to intervene and show them that he is greater than basketball. Just as the Prodigal Son wished he could eat the pods he was feeding to the pigs, I hope that my students also remember that their Father's house was better, which would cause them to come to their senses and turn to Jesus.
This is the positive side of our mission: to create opportunities for students to recognize that what we offer is not only valuable but also more enjoyable and enriching. While playing basketball is great, it pales in comparison to walking with Jesus. I also aim to show them that the friendships they cultivate in the youth group are deeper, healthier, and more fulfilling than those with their secular friends at school. However, the reality is that their everyday lives are often spent in public schools and environments that are not very healthy. The world they live in is filled with distractions that pull them away from God. My constant prayer is: “Lord, please protect them and help them see that Jesus is better than everything else.”
Influence of Parents
The second challenge is the influence of parents. Children tend to mirror their parents’ enthusiasm; they will be about 50% as excited about something as their parents are. For example, if parents are passionate fans of the Philadelphia Eagles, their children are likely to share that enthusiasm. If parents prioritize academics, their children will feel compelled to do the same. The same applies to athletics and other pursuits. I have observed that when it comes to church attendance, if parents attend church 50% of the time, their children may only attend 25% of the time or less. Parents often believe that attending church two or three times a month is commendable, thinking: “I’m at church 50% to 75% of the time! That’s a lot!” However, what they may not realize is that their children are observing their actions. When kids see their parents being only somewhat serious about church, they may conclude that attending church once a month—or even once every six to eight weeks—is sufficient.
Parents sometimes unintentionally set precedents for their children through their own behaviors and values. It’s interesting to note that young people from non-Christian homes can often be more serious about their faith than those from Christian families who attend church sporadically. This dynamic highlights how parental attitudes can significantly impact a child's spiritual development.
Faced with this challenge, my approach begins with building good relationships with parents. For children from non-believing homes, I strive to come alongside their parents and be friendly. I ask about their children, share how impressive they are, and express what a blessing they’ve been. I often ask, “Have you noticed any changes in your child’s life?” Parents might respond with observations like: “Yes, our child is different now. He’s washing the dishes without being asked and doing his chores. He gets upset but then apologizes afterwards.” Interestingly, it’s often the child who brings their parents to church, leading them to faith through their own transformation. I’ve witnessed this happen multiple times.
However, I have observed that the hardest group to minister to are prideful Christian parents who think they are setting a good example for their kids but actually are not. These are the parents who go to church most of the time and assume that they are doing great with their faith, so undoubtedly their kids will do great too. Nevertheless, many parents are unaware of the gaps in their own daily walk of faith. Ministering to these families is a delicate process because you can’t openly criticize them, even if their approach to faith is flawed. You have to handle it with grace, love, and patience. Of course, if there’s direct sin or abuse involved, that’s a completely different situation requiring intervention. However, in such situations, we can only pray for the parents and maintain positive relationships with them so that we can continue to engage with their children. We must trust that the Holy Spirit will work in the hearts of both parents and students. However, the good news is that in these situations, something interesting usually happens around the student’s junior or senior year of high school. The students start to notice an incongruence between how their parents practice their faith and what Scripture teaches. This realization forces them to wrestle with an important question: “Am I going to simply copy my parents’ faith, or will I take ownership of my own faith and walk with Jesus in a way that’s authentic to me?”
Numbers and Attendance
The third challenge is that the American church often makes numbers and attendance its metrics of success while neglecting long-term discipleship. We often celebrate numbers—“Look, there are 700 kids in the youth group! We must be doing a great job.” But for me, the numbers don’t matter. The bigger question is: how many of those kids will continue walking with Jesus after they graduate? I would argue that the lack of effective discipleship in student ministry is a primary reason why 70% of millennials and Gen Z leave the church after graduation. The responsibility for this trend lies more with us, the church, than with the youth themselves. We have built our foundations on sand, and when challenges arise (like COVID-19), everything collapses because we haven’t built our ministries on the rock of Jesus’ life and ministry.
***Church Organizational Structure ***
The fourth challenge is the organizational structure of the American church, specifically regarding the place of the youth pastor. Although I’ve been a full-time youth pastor for 12 years, my role is still viewed as an entry-level, junior position. The youth pastor is not considered a “real” pastor. The reality is that most youth pastors don’t actually want to be youth pastors; they see the job as a stepping stone. Most seminary graduates want to be lead pastors or teaching pastors, but since the youth pastor is the church’s entry-level position, they take the job for just a few years while they wait for their opportunity to “level up.” The average tenure of a youth pastor is just 18 months. That means that, on average, a student will have five youth pastors from the ages of 12 to 18. What are we communicating to kids when their spiritual role models abandon them every 18 months? This is a systemic problem that has become the norm. When discussing youth who walk away from the faith, we must consider the possibility that the reason they are leaving is that they haven't had consistent Christian mentors during the most formative years of their lives. To many youth group students in America, their youth pastors seem more concerned with career advancement than with their well-being.
Conclusion
Adolescence is the most pivotal time in a person’s life. Studies show that 80% of a person's values are formed and solidified by the time they reach eighth grade. I recognize that changing our current ecclesiological systems will be incredibly difficult, especially since they have been ingrained in our church culture for decades. However, if we truly want to invest in the Church of tomorrow, we will need to begin making systemic changes today. My prayer is that the Church will not only recognize the need for effective student ministry but also have the courage to revolutionize its current ecclesiological systems. I believe that if church leaders are willing to change, innovate, and effectively contextualize their ministries for the sake of their students, the next generation of youth will not just be a “remnant” but will instead revolutionize the Church and do things the world has never seen.