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Over the last 3 years there has been a growing burden among many leaders in youth ministry regarding extended missions experiences for students after high school and before they enter college. There is no doubt that if we are making disciples, we must send them out to “do the work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). The hard truth is felt when we ask to what extent do we expect them to go in doing this work as disciples of Jesus Christ.

While there is really no universal prescription, we can be confident that all followers of Christ have been commanded to go.God is a missionary God. The Bible is filled from cover to cover with missionary stories, from Jonah to Paul and his friends. Mission activity is not merely God’s method for cross-cultural Great Commission work. It is also His tool to draw His servants closer to Himself. Mission trips can be a mighty tool in your youth ministry to produce Great Commission, world Christians.

1. It will broaden their burden and give them a global perspective.
2. It will help them see their potential ministry possibilities.
3. It will build their faith like “crazy” (technical term).
4. It will confirm their consecration as God’s instrument for God’s purposes.

But the impact doesn’t stop there. The local church will be changed. This strategic initiative will expand the vision of each member and give them a world perspective on the Great Commission in new ways. Those who support through prayer and giving will see their faith grow. But more importantly, the local church will become the biblical sending body that she is commanded to be.

In the end, the deepest impact may be felt on the mission field itself. Evangelistic efforts will increase exponentially and career missionaries will be encouraged in their labors.

I challenge parents, church leaders, and students to radically consider what God would have them do. The recent dialogue around the “gap year” strategy has turned the wheels of my ministry imagination with the simple question, “what if?” There’s more than a dozen ways to address this. My challenge to parents, teens, and church leaders is that we become proactive. Stop dancing with the road blocks to obedience and map out a strategy for sending our children on mission. Richard Ross, Professor of Student Ministry at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has suggested that parents and/or grandparents open missions accounts for their children or grandchildren. Maybe you should plan a family mission trip and live out the Great Commission together.

Last week, I received an email from my friend Steve Wright telling me about a ministry that is designed to mobilize 18-25 year old students for global missions through a 2 year US/2 year abroad strategy while getting their degree. Check out Trek-X and start being intentional. The question really isn’t “To gap or not to gap?” The real question is “To go or not to go? The answer to that question is unmistakeable in view of Matthew 28:19-20 and Acts 1:8.

If you are in the Louisville area Wednesday, April 27, stop in for a morning with Walt Mueller. This is a FREE event from 10:00am-12:00pm in Heritage Hall on the campus of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Youth Pastors, Volunteers, Parents, College Students, Seminary Students are ALL invited to hear from nationally recognized youth culture expert, Walt Mueller.

Walt Mueller is the founder and President of the Center for Parent/Youth Understanding and has been working with young people and families for 31 years. As a result of his work with CPYU, Walt has become an internationally-recognized speaker and author on contemporary youth culture. He has written extensively on youth culture and family issues and is the author of the following books: The Space Between: A Parent’s Guide to Teenage Development (Zondervan, 2009); Opie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore: Where Faith, Family, and Culture Collide (Standard Publishing, August 2007); Youth Culture 101 (Zondervan, June 2007); I Want to Talk With my Teen About Movies, Music & More (Standard Publishing, September 2006); Engaging The Soul of Youth Culture: Bridging Teen Worldviews To Christian Truth (InterVarsity Press, February 2006); and the critically acclaimed Gold Medallion Award winner, Understanding Today’s Youth Culture (Tyndale House, 1994). He is also a regular contributor to numerous journals and magazines. A graduate of Geneva College (B.A.) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (M.Div.), Walt has recently completed his doctorate at Gordon-Conwell in “Ministry to Postmodern Generations.” Walt has served in ministry with the Coalition for Christian Outreach and as a youth pastor in churches in Johnstown, PA and Philadelphia.

Sponsored by The International Center for Youth & Family Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY

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What is your strategy for producing teenagers who live by a Christian worldview? Important is Southern Seminary’s 2011 Give Me An Answer Conference for high school students. Your students will encouraged and equipped to filter life’s most critical decisions through a Christian worldview built on biblical truths rather than cultural expectations. There’s still time to register here.

Life is full a crossroads. Critical decisions come at pace that often finds us unprepared. How do you make the hard decisions or even the urgent decisions that face you? No one makes a decision to intentionally hurt ourselves or those we care about. But we all make decisions based on a set of values. None of us make decisions in a worldview vacuum.

If our values influence our decisions, what do our teenage sons and daughter value? Relationships? Media? Acceptance? Approval? Faith? Gadgets? Freedom? Money? Popularity? Teenagers will make decisions based on whether or not they will have more Facebook friends.

To see what teenagers value, just take a look at what you value. Our children will establish a pattern of decision making will look like that of their parents. Everyday, Christian parents make decisions based on social status, financial benefit, and leadership positions. Can you see the pattern? All too often we make decisions based on what will be the best for US! Our teenagers are doing the same thing.

If it is our desire to shape a Christian worldview in the lives of our, then our life decisions must be based on one thing only–the truth of God’s Word. Jesus asked the question,  “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the things I say?” (Luke 6:46, HCSB). “Being a Christian means being a person who labors to establish his beliefs, his dreams, his choices, his very view of the world on the truth of who Jesus is and what he has accomplished” (Josh Harris, Dug Down Deep). The preeminent value for all decision-making in the Christian life is the Word of Truth.

With that in mind, here’s Rule #2 for Shaping a Christian Worldview in Your Teenager. Let your children see you looking for answers in God’s Word? That includes decisions to change jobs, make major purchases, vacationing, or choosing a school for your children, managing your finances, serving at your church, and wrestling with physical trials. Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path (Psalm 119:105, HCSB).

Parents should design a standard practice for decision-making that can be transferred to their teenagers. When you are faced with a life decision…

1. Begin with prayer and ask God for His wisdom.
2. Then study to find biblical principles to guide your decision.
3. Make the decision that follows the truth of God’s Word.

Remember, shaping a Christian worldview at home is neither easy nor fast. It requires intentional steps and a lifelong commitment. But the rewards are eternal.

Teenagers with a biblically grounded Christian worldview do not just happen, they must be built. “In the absence of biblical formative instruction, secular formative instructors take over. Our hearts are easily captivated by the hollow and deceptive philosophy of a godless culture.[1] The task of building a Christian worldview in the lives of our teenage children is a proactive one. It is not to be attempted passively. Before construction begins, parents and church leaders must have a blueprint. The powerful thing about a blueprint is that it allows the builder and the future residents to see how things should look from perspective of the architect.

If parents desire to build a Christian worldview in the lives of their teenagers, they must translate the dynamic truth of the Gospel into the daily trek of real life. Once again, we are faced with deciding to be intentional or reactive. One leads to building a Christian worldview the other leads to watching someone else build it.

But before construction begins, parents must take some time for a little personal reflection and lay out a strategy for shaping a christian worldview at home through what I call 8 Simple Rules for Shaping a Christian Worldview at Home.

In her recent book, Almost Christian: What the Faith of teenagers Is Telling the American Church, Kenda Dean states that “most teenagers are perfectly content with their religious worldviews; it is churches that are—rightly—concerned. So we must assume that the solution lies not in beefing up congregational youth programs or making worship more “cool” and attractive, but in modeling the kind of mature, passionate faith we say we want young people to have.”

The key to shaping a Christian worldview is this. You have to be a Christian worldview before you can teach a Christian worldview. Your kids will learn more from your life than your words.

With this in mind, here is Rule #1: In every situation ask, “Does this honor God?” Your teenager must see you evaluating every situation and decision with a concern for what will bring glory to God. That means that you have to ask (not just in your mind) if God will be glorified in this vacation to the Grand Canyon or how will God get the glory if you by a new car. The biblical foundation for this rule is centered on 1 Corinthians 10:31. Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.

Start today by seeking God’s glory in every day’s activities.

[1]Trip, Ted and Margy. Instructing a Child’s Heart (Wapwallopen, PA: Shepherd Press, 2008), 15.