With the exception of seeing a youth group sold out for Christ on mission, nothing quite excites me more than seeing a passionate group of teenagers having a genuine experience with God in worship. A youth worship service should be a place where the teenagers hear from and respond to God. Worship leaders should work to root the youth group in God’s work in the past, move the teens to celebrate His work in the present, and equip them for the ministry in the future. The question after a youth worship service would not be “Did you like it?” but “How did God speak to you?”
1. Word-centered
Above all, a youth worship service should be centered on God’s Word. I am not referring only to the preaching part of the service. All the service should be grounded in the Word. This means that our choice of songs, our speech, our actions, and the sermon should be rich in teaching the Word. Hearing the Word preached, responding to God in prayer, giving our tithes and offerings, greeting one another, singing praise – all of these things constitute worship.
2. God as Transcendent and Immanent
Our worship services communicate to others what God is like. A worship service that is cold and impersonal will communicate to outsiders a god who is distant and irrelevant. One can think of some liturgical churches where the only thing that matters is ritual and tradition to the exclusion of any new form or method. The god presented by these services is far away and impersonal, never impinging on our way of life.
On the other hand, a worship service that concentrates solely on God’s nearness and his love for us can communicate a god who is our best buddy, a coach on life’s journey, a loving grandfather who would never hurt a fly. One can think of some contemporary churches where all that matters is innovation and sentimentality to the exclusion of any doctrine of biblical depth. The god presented by these services is close and personal, but he is so much like us that he doesn’t impinge on our way of life either.
Then, there’s the God of the Bible. He is not the distant, impersonal god shouting down commandments from afar. Neither is he the touchy-feely sentimental god who simply offers love and no justice. He is both transcendent and immanent – near and far, merciful and just, holy and righteous. Our worship services should reflect God as He is, not God as we would like Him to be. This means that a balanced worship service will present the God who is holy, just, and perfectly righteous as well as the God who is loving, caring, and forgiving.
Most evangelical services lean towards the immanent side of the spectrum. We emphasize God’s closeness, His love and care, probably as a corrective to the dry, ritualistic services that present God as distant and unapproachable. It would be better to steer a middle course through these.
We have almost lost the concept of awe in worship, and youth worship reflects this loss as well. When young people see God for who He is and are genuinely in awe of His majesty, they are transformed. I have seen this in the lives of young people in Louisville, since I have been in seminary. Furthermore, young people today hunger for this type of worship. Just think of some of the most popular worship songs right now: “Agnus Dei,” “Holy is the Lord,” and “How Great is Our God.”
I’ll have some more thoughts coming tomorrow…
written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog
