Students Need Expository Preaching
Let’s look at the past,
Student ministries in the late 90s and early 2000s were marked by more significant youth events, more prominent groups, bodacious games (even nasty games like drinking weird things), pizza, and just a little bit of Jesus sprinkled on top. The general thought was that if churches could get students in the door and grow the ministry physically, their groups would be successful and create disciples "in the long run."
The idea emerged from the church-growth movement with the mentality of 1989's Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will come." So churches built "it." They created more prominent buildings, events, and ideas, all hoping that the people from their communities would come. That mentality does work, but only temporarily. The problem began to arise when congregations found out the hard way that what you win people with is what you keep them with. Rather than winning people with Christ, and Christ alone, in preaching, teaching, and discipleship, they won people with shiny programs – and the same was true for student ministries.
Rather than harp too loudly on past errors, I propose that the best way to win and keep students is with Christ alone, via Expository Preaching. This kind of preaching, the opposite of topical preaching, is more than preaching verse by verse. Through careful examination of the text, teaching, explanation, application, and exhortation of the text upon the hearer, they believe and obey what has been written. The preacher is not a running commentary of fact but forcefully applies the text to the hearts and minds like an archer firing an arrow into the heart of his hearers.
Expository preaching is the proper method for preaching, not solely on Sunday morning worship gatherings, but also for the Student Ministry. I believe this because, firstly, it teaches students to read the Bible; secondly, because it covers uncomfortable topics; and thirdly, because it matures them.
First, students need expository preaching because it teaches them to read the Bible.
One of the most accurate things I have learned in trying to acquire new skills is this: you do not only learn by watching; you learn by doing. This is not to say that students must preach or teach on Wednesday nights. However, when a student pastor begins to preach expository sermons, it drives the students into the text. As the student pastor preaches expository sermons week after week, the students can cover texts correctly.
Student pastors teach students how to read the Bible correctly weekly. They explain the text, apply it, and do it in its immediate and biblical context. I have had many students repeatedly say how much they have learned because of the preaching they receive weekly. Parents have also reported that their students are reading the Bible confidently. This is one of the goals of student ministry, not to grow the ministry to hundreds of students but to equip students with the skills needed to be disciples of Jesus.
Second, Students need Expository Preaching because it covers uncomfortable topics.
A chief danger in topical preaching is for preachers to refrain from covering texts that make themselves or the people uneasy. I have repeatedly said that there is enough in the Bible to offend all, but that does not mean preachers get to avoid such passages. Currently, students at this age are enveloped by the idea that if something makes them uncomfortable, then "it" is wrong, and they should cut it off. This cultural movement of rejecting the painful applies to everything from people themselves to rejecting the truth they do not like.
Student pastors need to lead their students properly through difficult texts that the Bible puts forward. Not to make students squirm, but to proclaim the whole Counsel of God, as Paul says in Acts, "I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27). That means when uncomfortable or difficult passages do arrive in places like Romans 9, John 3, John 6, Luke 12, Exodus 12, and more, student pastors should not avoid these passages, but teach them appropriately. Why encounter difficult texts? Because if student pastors proclaim the whole counsel of God, as Paul tells Timothy, "…by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." (1 Tim. 4:16)
Third, and lastly, Students Need Expository Preaching because it matures them.
One of the gifts of Jesus Christ to the Church came in the form of preachers and teachers, as Paul explains in Ephesians, "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ…" (Eph. 4:12-13).
The purpose of all pastors, firstly, is not to entertain. It is not to attract with flat-screen TVs, door prizes, or money. The role of pastors, including student pastors, is to mature the believer. The mission of maturing believers is vital for the student pastor, because he is discipling some of the most immature and youngest believers in his local body. The young believers in our student ministries do not mature by osmosis but rather by teaching and training. Expository preaching in student ministry trains and matures young believers as the truth of God sanctifies them. Students engage the wisdom of God, the commands of God, and the hope of God in Jesus Christ, pointing them forward to an eternity in Christ.
To Conclude,
Expository preaching is considered to be one of the most effective ways to mature young believers, expose them to uncomfortable and complex topics, and gradually teach them to read and understand the Bible. This method involves preaching verse-by-verse through a book of the Bible, which helps students to fully grasp the context, meaning, and significance of each passage.
In his book "Famine in the Land," Steve Lawson emphasizes the importance of preaching and describes it as God's primary plan for impacting cities and changing lives. He encourages preachers to boldly proclaim God's Word and to be obedient to go wherever they are sent to share the message of salvation. Student pastors are uniquely positioned and equipped by God to impact students' lives through expository preaching. By preaching sermons that are rooted in Scripture and focused on teaching biblical truth, student pastors can leave a lasting mark on their students' lives and help them grow in their faith. This approach is not a one-time event but a continuous process of feeding students with God's Word and helping them to apply it to their lives. Therefore, every student pastor should adopt this approach as God's plan to impact their students' lives and help them grow in their faith.
