On Tuesday May 21, at Penrith Presbyterian Church, we held our second PY Encourage Express training in 2024. Karen Astles was our presenter and trainer for the evening on the topic of ‘Discipling youth well’.
Karen is the founder and convenor of the Lead for Life internship, as well as part of the PY Training Team, and has thirty years of volunteer youth ministry experience within the local church.
Well versed in all things youth, discipleship and training, Karen describes discipling as “the process of helping, teaching and encouraging others to grow in their love, knowledge and service of the Lord Jesus.”
At PY Encourage Express Karen helped attendees to think through three key things as they seek to disciple the youth in their care well.
Jesus the ultimate discipler
Karen first shared a model of discipleship through showing Jesus as the ultimate discipler.
- Jesus was inviting, welcoming and accepting, as seen in Luke 5:1-11. Jesus built trust with people and gave them a sense of belonging, showing them that they matter to God.
- Jesus taught the foundations of faith, and then built on them, as seen in Luke 6:20ff and Matthew 5-7. Jesus gave people a sense of who God designed them to be, of who God is, and also that his kingdom is certain and reliable.
- Jesus was practical, supportive and challenging in his teaching, as seen in Luke 9:1-10 and Luke 9:12-17. He gave people a sense of purpose, involvement in the bigger agenda of God’s kingdom and a sense that they can rely on him to do things that seem impossible.
- Jesus was always sensitive and responsive to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of people. He was particularly sensitive and responsive to the questions (Luke 9:46-48) , emotions (Luke 10:17-20) and failings of people (John 21:15-19), committing to continual prayer (John 17). with the goal of preparing them for the future. Jesus gave people an understanding of what God is really like — a model to follow of what living as his disciples looks like in practice.
Adolescent brain and environmental development
Karen then went on to identify some key reasons as to why discipling to youth can sometimes present a particular challenge as opposed to other stages of life.
Youth are in the adolescent stage of life. This is a period of very high ambiguity and change.
Parts and connections within the brain undergo protracted development and remodelling. This impacts their ability to self regulate, plan, make decisions and control impulses. This also means that youth have a higher sensitivity to threats and rewards.
There is a continuous interplay between biology and environment. The body and brain is changing, and the environments that youth find themselves in also increase in number and pressure.
We, as youth leaders and our youth groups, are part of this environment that influences how young people develop. For some young people our part in that environment could be highly significant for them. Therefore, we need to pay attention to the sort of environment we create through our leadership.