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What kind of implications does the Good Soil approach to ministry have for student (teen) ministry within a church?

There's no reason to believe that the principles taught in the Good Soil seminar will not work for teens (students / youth) as well as they do with adults. With very few adaptations, we know that teens can be taught to think about and practice evangelism and discipleship in ways consistent with the Good Soil emphases of Jesus.

Unfortunately, many (if not most) student ministry models of evangelism and discipleship focus on quick and easy results—shallow “decisions”—if any evangelistic results at all.  But it would be inaccurate to blame this ill-guided approach on the immaturity of young people.  In most cases it’s the immaturity or ignorance of youth leaders that is the root cause.  Teens can be taught to practice evangelism and discipleship properly just as easily as they can be taught to practice them improperly. 

Perhaps the major challenge to implementing Good Soil E&D in a student ministry would be the radical changes that would be necessary in the teaching ministries of teen programs.  In order to understand, appreciate, and practice evangelism and discipleship based upon the Big Story of the Bible, Christian teens need to possess a working knowledge of that story—the story of hope that is interwoven through the Bible from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22.  And very few contemporary youth ministries offer the kind and quality of Biblical instruction that prepares teens to know the Bible—the overall structure and story of the Bible.  So, to seriously implement Good Soil E&D in a youth ministry, the leaders would need to make a radical paradigm shift in their Bible teaching approach—from a Bible-lite topical emphasis to a systematic diet of Bible teaching that truly equips teens to know God’s Word.

We believe that the Good Soil Scale could appropriately become the basis of a youth ministry philosophy and program.  Youth activities could be planned to target teens at various places on the scale.  For example, why not use the scale as a diagnostic tool to evaluate the balance of a youth ministry?  Are there activities that focus on teens at the tilling and planting stages of the scale?  Are there activities and strategies that focus on the follow-up discipleship stage of the scale?  What about the leadership development stage? Etc.  Then use the Good Soil Scale as a model for planning youth activities and programs to assure a balanced youth ministry.

Teens can be taught to recognize and deal with worldview noise issues as they interact with unbelievers in evangelistic relationships.  They can learn to “peel the worldview onions” of acquaintances in their context of social relationships.  They can learn to initiate conversations that may lead to redemptive relationships.  They can be trained to use The Story of Hope and The Way to Joy, assuming they have adequate Biblical and theological knowledge.

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