Youth Resources

Embrace Disruption - Jesus did.

A few years ago, the Church of Scotland’s Mission and Discipleship Council created a document entitled, “Aspirations for Ministry with Children and Young People in the Church of Scotland”.  Here’s the introductory paragraph to this document:

“One of the comments heard most often from local churches is “How can we get more children and young people in our church?”  The answer is simple (and yet terrifying) - the whole church needs to change.  The truth is that few churches are prepared to put this into practice.  We do not want to change.  Despite expressing a concern for children and young people, our actions are communicating that we see the needs of those who currently attend as more important than the needs of those who are not engaged (particularly children and young people) ... However, the responsibility for passing on the faith to our children and young people is not an [added] option.  It is not simply a nice aspiration; it is biblical, and critical.  A church that does not pass on the faith has no future.”

So what can we do about this?  How can we follow up on the statement in this document?  I’d like to expand on some of these points and echo the importance and value of being willing to embrace change as a church in order to see more children and young people engaging with Jesus.

The first thing to say is that creating a welcoming culture is hugely important.  Jesus cared about it too.  When the disciples turned children away from Jesus, Jesus rebuked the disciples and told them that the Kingdom of God belongs to children such as the ones in the passage (Matthew 19: 13-14).  As far as Jesus is concerned, the Kingdom of God is a place children and young people can call home, and so church should be too.

I preached in church a few months ago on Luke 5: 17-26, where the paralysed man is lowered through the roof to Jesus.  One thing’s for sure as we set the scene here: News about Jesus is spreading fast.  People have travelled a long way to come and hear Jesus.  The house is crowded, no space inside, no room to squeeze in at the door and join the crowd.  There are Pharisees and religious teachers gathered listening too – doing their calm, respectable, grown-up duties with their calm, respectable authority.  And it’s all about to be disrupted.

Verse 18 tells us, “Some men came carrying a paralysed man on a mat, and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus.”

We don’t know where they’ve come from, or how far they’ve travelled, but we do know their intended destination.  Jesus.  They’ve come to see Jesus.  Sadly, the house is full because of all the people there to listen to Jesus, so they can’t find a way in to bring their friend to Jesus.

So what do they do?  Go home with sad looks on their faces deciding to come back another day?  Lay their friend on his mat outside the door and wait patiently for Jesus to finish?  No.  They go up onto the roof, remove the tiles, make a hole in the roof(!) and lower their friend down into the middle of the room in front of Jesus.

What follows is a contentious conversation between Jesus and the Pharisees as Jesus tells the man his sins are forgiven.  The Pharisees become indignant that Jesus claims to be able to forgive sins – something only God can do.  And to prove that He has the authority to forgive sins, Jesus miraculously heals the paralysed man.  The man gets up, picks up his mat and goes home praising God, and everyone is amazed at what has just happened!

But every time I read that passage, it kind of annoys me that no-one ever mentions the roof!  Not Jesus, not even the Pharisees.  Jesus forgives the man’s sins, and that’s what the Pharisees react to.

Here’s my point:  There are 2 types of disruption experienced in this passage.  There’s practical disruption caused by the whole thing with the roof; and then a kind of spiritual disruption: Jesus intentionally disrupts and provokes the Pharisees’ way of thinking.  And nowhere in the passage does anyone, apart from Luke in his narrative, mention the roof.  The physical disruption that’s caused when people come to Jesus is, in this passage, just accepted - because the focus is on what Jesus is teaching and doing.

That leads to a really challenging question, “Are we willing to embrace the disruption that’s caused by people coming to Jesus?”  And what does that look like in our local church contexts? It might be toddlers running up and down the aisle, chased by a despairing parent who’s trying their best; it might be children or young people not really paying much attention and talking through a church service.  It might mean changing things about our church services, to be more accessible to all ages.

But my point is, there will be disruption when people are coming to Jesus, and we need to embrace that, even facilitate it.  So here’s the challenge:  Would we rather have a peaceful undisrupted church service, or would we rather see people coming to Jesus, with the inevitable disruption that may bring?  We need to foster a truly welcoming culture and be willing to embrace the disruption.

Matt Sinar, Youth Development Officer  (msinar@churchofscotland.org.uk)

Useful links to external organisations/resources:

Youthscape Essentials is an innovative youth ministry training course for volunteers and paid youth leaders that increases your skills and understanding about working alongside young people today.

Whether you're running a community project, a church youth group, or occasionally helping out on a Sunday morning, the course is designed with you in mind! It’s not about the numbers of young people attending, it’s about putting God at the centre of your youth ministry.

Youthscape Essentials is a ten session course covering 30 topics.

The topics are divided into Insights into Young People, Skills for Youth Work and Developing Character.

You'll listen to young people, learn from professionals, participate in practical exercises and take time to deepen your own faith. It makes no assumptions about your experience, age or background. It’s accessible to those starting out as volunteers, but deep enough to stretch those who have been working alongside young people for longer.

Matt had a successful run of this training in Aberdeen in the autumn of 2025.

Feel free to contact Matt if you are interested in this training.

The Skills Lab is a series of sessions Matt runs together with Sue Thomson (Scottish Bible Society).

They aim to explore creative and interactive ways to share Christian stories with children and young people.

The next session is on February 14 and it's on Easter.

You’ll explore some useful resources, reflect on the Easter story for yourself, and have some time to think through how you might be able to share the Easter story with children and young people in your local church or school this year.

Click on the link to register: https://NENIskillslab.eventbrite.co.uk