Student ministers to be challenged to ‘Raise the Bar’ in April regional seminars

Student ministers across Texas will be challenged to raise the bar of expectations for teenagers during regional youth leader training events in April featuring author and youth ministry specialist Alvin Reid.

Reid, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary evangelism professor, teams up with Brad Bunting, SBTC student evangelism associate, and Ken Lasater, Church Ministry Support associate, to offer one-day presentations based on Reid’s book, “Raising the Bar: Ministry to Youth in the New Millennium.”

For $12, participants get lunch and a copy of Reid’s book. Sessions are scheduled for:

4April 4?SBTC Building, Grapevine, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

4April 5?Houston’s First Baptist Church, a.m. to 2 p.m.

4April 6?Castle Hills First Baptist Church, San Antonio, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

4April 7?Crescent Park Baptist Church, Odessa, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Reid contends that teenagers should be treated as young adults, preparing them to minister as opposed to offering a fun-and-games scenario. He offers three proposals to raise the bar in youth ministry:

4recovering the biblical place of parents by strengthening Christian families in the church and evangelizing lost families of youth who attend;

4building a ministry to youth around biblical truth, intentional evangelism, worship and prayer; and

4addressing the issue of rites of passage.

“In terms of strengthening Christian families, I am not advocating the position that a 23-year-old youth pastor should teach parents how to raise their teens,” Reid stated. “That youth pastor has no clue! But he can show youth how to walk with God, he can teach the word, and he can provide resources, such as strong Christian families as examples, to aid other families.”

Prior to his arrival at Southeastern Reid was the founding John R. Bisagno Chair of Evangelism and assistant professor of Christianity at Houston Baptist University. He also served as director of evangelism-stewardship for the State Convention of Baptists in Indiana.

Reid holds the Ph.D with a major in evangelism from Southwestern Seminary, where he also received the M.Div. He graduated from Samford University with the B.A. in 1981. He has served previously as a pastor or staff member of churches in Texas and Alabama, and has spoken at a variety of conferences in over 40 states and several nations, and in hundreds of churches across the United States.

In an interview with Baptist Press last year, Reid said those who study today’s generations have observed a shift among teens and pre-teens toward “real, honest biblical substance.”

“Millennials,” or people born since 1982, have many distinct, positive characteristics, Reid told BP.

Call 817-552-2500 to make a reservation with the student evangelism office.