CHAPTER ONE

  INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background to the study

within evangelical Christianity, there is a movement called "church development and administration" that focuses on creating church growth tactics based on commercial marketing techniques. There is no denying those youth ministries are essential to a church's existence since they will be its leaders of the future. While the elderly are conspicuous, young people have always been the future leaders of every church and their contributions have been shining. The youths must play a major role in the process of growth for any Christian society to see any real progress. For this reason, as well as others, sensible nations, groups, and organizations place a greater emphasis on the youth's Ministry in order to ensure that such investments never become improvised or made blindly. Thus, it is crucial in today's church to diligently train young people for the responsibilities they will inevitably confront in the future. The Church can only be developed by our youth once we have nurtured them. "How much attention do we give the youth, and how much devotion do the youth give to the church?" is the issue that needs to be answered.

To deny that today's young people have very high standards would be egregiously unfair. However, we have to acknowledge that these ideas can be abused, twisted, and misused rather frequently. Young people frequently give up on their dreams in the end if they believe there is little chance of success and that their dreams can never be realised. Regretfully, things usually work out like this these days. "Don't let anyone treat you like a child; instead, set a good example for the believers in speech, deeds, love, purity, and faith." (1 Timothy 4:12). This is a warning to Timothy, a young man, about the necessity of leading a holy and blameless life. However, among the common vices typically observed among Christian youngsters nowadays are premarital sex, haughty speech, materialism, ruthlessness, thievery, and violence..

Disappointments lead to abysmal falls, often to depths lower than those they condemned when their idealism was fresh. Where this does not happen, ideals are exploited by false prophets of good. The sectarians far from the fullness of truth are able to inspire youth to make such amazing sacrifices Yet at the same time, the Orthodox Church, possessing the fullness of Truth, has a real difficulty in keeping her youth. It could be that in ignoring the high ideals and potential moral heroism of our youth we have failed to familiarize them with our examples of such heroism, displayed by our own young, even the very young, who loved Christ and His Church in past ages. The youth ministry are important fabrics in the church.  declared that although [1]salvation is a gift from God, it also comes with a responsibility to live and act in a way that pleases God going forward. This entails consciously letting go of the old (selfish) way of living, breaking free from old routines, and allowing the new life to alter our perspectives and behaviour patterns. Furthermore our salvation carries with it a responsibility for a new lifestyle; we are expected to change our thinking, remold our lifestyle, and to live a life of obedience to the word of God. Our Lord Jesus explained that: therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who builds his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house, yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. However, anyone who hears these words from me and does not act upon them is a fool who constructed his home on the sand. There was a loud bang as the house collapsed due to the rain, rising streams, and strong winds (Matthew 7:24 – 27). Therefore for youth ministry to effectively contribute to church administration and development the youths must born again and be ready to work for the vineyard of God.

A local church that does not have youth or children is in danger of dying. You have to accomplish the following in order to become a hero in your religion. Youth Pastors need to practise addressing their youngsters by name, placing their hands on them during prayer, and letting them know that you are praying specifically for them. Pastors should also play games with them, joke with them, show them love, and include young people in altar services with particular prayers for them. They could also use examples in their teachings to relate to the kids. Among the other things to do to maintain the youth in the church are to invest in leadership resources, collaborate on monthly leadership training, and develop plans with church leadership to assist in structuring a youth budget Allow the young to participate in ushering, serving, running the sound and video booths, maintaining the church website, leading music ministry, and teaching Sunday school. Last but not least, long-term strategies for keeping young people involved should include them in missions work, outside ministries, and ensure that youth events are locations where friends are wanted and accepted. Additionally, it's critical to pay attention to the youth, express interest in them, and exercise patience with them as well as the programme designed with the future in mind. As a result of the negative perception that many adults hold of them, young people occasionally neglect to engage in church programmes. Specifically, young people are viewed as impetuous, immature, and untrustworthy, which creates psychological barriers between the younger and older generations a phenomenon known as the "generation gap." Again there are few or no literatures on the study, the study is aimed at filling the  research gap  on the duties of youth ministry in churches and further extending to bringing about how these duties translates into consistency in church administration and growth. The study will critically analyze and asses the impact of youth ministry in todays church especially in our case study (Redeemed Christian Church Of God Rivers 14). It is to this backdrop the study is on impact of youth ministry bringing about consistency in church administration and development.

1.2 Statement of the problem.

Nigerian society is undoubtedly in a condition of deterioration and plagued by many problems. These glaring declines affect almost every aspect of our life, including religion (morality), the economy, society, politics, health, and education. It is evident that young people are the most negatively impacted segment of our society since, as they say, "youth is madness." Young people go through a period of transition during which they are either heavily pampered by their families or exposed to a lot of risky experimental situations. Sometimes people are just duped into taking unbelievable risks by their peers.. These difficult times are occasionally brought on by government policies that, for the most part, do not take young people into account. Due to a few of the previously described factors, the young people participate in certain "nocturnal" behaviours that could ultimately cause ear tingling and strained nerves. Exam malpractice, theft, cultism, naked culture, sexual abuse with associated diseases like HIV/AIDS, disregard for elders, vandalism of public property, kidnapping, etc. are a few of the areas in which young people participate in such behaviour.. Cultism in  schools is a rapidly growing problem, with young people making up the majority of its adherents. They ultimately transform into terrorists both within and outside of polytechnics and universities. They kill, maim, and frighten faculty and staff. "These cultists ultimately cause people to die young, tarnishing the reputation of our universities, which are the bastions of morality and learning" ( [2])

In light of the global degradation system, it is imperative that religious organizations, like the church, make significant investments in the Youth arm of the church. Since the mission of Christian youth ministry is to evangelise the world, the ministry plays a significant role in church development and management. Many churches today have neglected their youth ministries, keeping them out of the church's efficient management, this has negatively impacted the development of the church. It is to this the study centers on impact of youth ministry bringing about consistency in church administration and development (a case study of Redeemed Christian Church Of God Rivers 14)

1.3 Purpose of the study

The main aim of the study is impact of youth ministry bringing about consistency in church administration and development. Other specific objectives of the study includes:

1) To examine the significant Impact of Youth Ministry on Church Development in The Redeemed Christian Church of God in Rivers 14

2) To examine young people as key players in scripture for church growth in Redeemed Christian Church of God in Rivers 14

3) To examine if there is any correlation between youth ministry and contemporary church system in the redeemed Christian of God Rivers 14

4) To recommend ways in which Christian youth ministry can contribute to the effective administration of Redeemed Christian Church of God in Rivers 14 towards bringing about church growth

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The geographical scope of the study is Rivers state. Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta  region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include Imo and Anambra to the north, Abia and Akwa Ibom to the east, and Bayelsa and Delta to the west. The State capital, Port Harcourt, is a metropolis that is considered to be the commercial center of the Nigerian oil industry.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1) What is the significant Impact of Youth Ministry on Church Development in The Redeemed Christian Church of God in Rivers 14?

2) What are the roles of young people as key players in scripture for church growth in Redeemed Christian Church of God in Rivers 14?

3) Is  there is any correlation between youth ministry and contemporary church system in the redeemed Christian of God Rivers 14?

4) What are ways in which Christian youth ministry can contribute to the effective administration of Redeemed Christian Church of God in Rivers 14 towards bringing about church growth?

1.6  Significance of the study

This research work will assist churches, ministries, pastors, etc in discovering the vital roles youths play in the life of a Church as they are the leaders of tomorrow and future of every church. From this research, we will discover what a healthy church is like and how youth life style can boost church growth.

1.7 Limitations of the study

This study is delimited to impact of youth ministry bringing about consistency in church administration and development in Redeemed Christian Church of God 14  Rivers state. The geographical location of the church is  Rivers state . other Limitations of study include:

 Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8   Definition of terms

Church Development: is a movement within evangelical Christianity which focuses on developing methods to grow churches based on business marketing strategies.

Youth: Youth is the time of life when one is young, but often means the time between childhood and adulthood (maturity)

1.9 Organization Of The Study

The present report is divided into five chapters. First chapter gives the introduction, back ground to the study, statement of the research problem research questions, objectives of the study, research propositions, significance of the study, scope of the study, definition of terms and organization of the study

Second chapter deals with relevant studies found in the literature and that are related to the study .Third chapter deals with the Research methodology of the study .Fourth chapter deals with the analysis and data presentation and Finally Fifth chapter deals with Summary, conclusions and recommendations which are derived from this study.

1.10  TEST OF HYPOTHESIS

H01: There is a no significant correlation between youth ministry and contemporary church system in the redeemed Christian of God Rivers 14

[1] Gray Robert  Managing the Church: Business Administration Vol. 1. Austin, Tex.: National Institute on Church Management. 2013

2 Cole Allen From midterms to ministry: Practical theologians on pastoral beginnings. Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (2013).

2 Arno, C. Gaebelein. Gaebelein’s Concise Commentary of the Whole Bible. Neptune: Loizeaux Brothers, 2016.