A strategy to mobilize young people for mission through the youth ministries department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Aba East Conference, Nigeria

Abstract

The Seventh-day Adventist Church in her structure organized the Youth Ministries Department in 1907. This department is primarily responsible for working for the salvation of our youth and training them as an army for service in varied missionary lines. This department is meant to cater for the development of the young people of all age groups for the purpose of doing mission. However, there is a growing apathy among the youth (17 – 35 or young adults) of the church in Aba East Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church towards the Youth Ministry Department of the church which is positioned to mobilize them for mission. With qualitative method of research using focus group interviews, it was discovered that the reasons for this phenomenon include lack of capable leadership for the Youth Ministries in the various churches; the discipline versus punishment misconception in the ministry; employment/unemployment challenges of this age group; a gross oversight by the church of this age group in the Youth Ministry program of activities; the uniform versus non-uniform confusion in the Youth Ministry among others. To address these factors responsible for the apathy of the youth towards the Youth Ministry Department of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Aba East Conference, an intervention program was developed putting all these factors into consideration to mobilize the young adults for mission through the Youth Ministry Department of the Church. A particular church was chosen to serve as a pilot church for the intervention. The intervention program was in two stages. The first stage included 1. Conducting orientation seminars for the church youth leaders; 2. Orientation seminar for the entire church; 3. Orientation seminars for the young adults of the church 17 – 35 years of age. At the end of these orientation seminars, thirty-five (35) young adults filled membership cards to be enrolled as active Youth Ministry members of the church. In the second stage, these youths were now invited for a brainstorming session. Those who attended selected a leader. The decision was made concerning weekly meetings and there was the enthusiasm to begin getting involved in youth programs. This project work has the significance of mobilizing the most viable of the Church membership to do mission through the Youth Ministry Department of the Church.