Our youth and children’s ministry team met yesterday to talk about our vision for 2026. I just have to praise our whole team here at ASBC. Other churches I have served usually wait until they are plateaued or dying to talk about the importance of youth and children’s ministries. When they finally talk about it, the conversation revolves around trying to get more young families into the church so the church doesn’t ultimately fail… How selfish it is to do ministry for personal gain or the gain of an organization or pastor. I was blessed during last night’s meeting when we stated emphatically that our ministry to children, youth, and families is not about us gaining anything; It’s about our children and youth gaining every blessing in Christ forever.
26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not [a]bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained [b]by the world (James 1:26-27).
As we looked at James 1:26-27 together, we saw something very important about our religion and the way we practice–especially in our ministry at ASBC. First, if anyone considers himself to be religious but doesn’t control his tongue, his religion is worthless. In context, controlling the tongue does not refer to the few four-letter words we have reduced its meaning down to in the modern era. It literally refers to all forms of speech. Say and publish less. Have some self control when it comes to how much you share. If we think we are more religious because of our teaching, how much we say, the depth of our prayers, or the profundity of our blog posts, we have deceived ourselves. Religion built on words is worthless. Applied to youth and children’s ministry, religion built merely in classrooms where there is teaching is worthless. According to a very plain reading of Scripture, youth and children’s ministries that seek to attract young people to a building or locale to entertain and teach a few words is worthless for them. We certainly need teaching, but that’s not all or even the most important thing we need. For a preacher like me, that’s a humbling realization. In a blue-collar community, we get it. People who sit in classrooms their entire lives are ill prepared for life. If church is a glorified classroom, our religion is worthless. More and bigger words does not a healthy religion make. We bridle our tongues.
Instead, pure and undefiled religion in God’s sight is to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world. Boiled down, this is service to others. Our care for one another far outweighs our words. It’s easy to talk a lot. It’s not so easy to put skin in the game, deny self, live simply, and serve others sincerely. But, this is what our children’s and youth ministries are about–not attracting people to a building or bragging about how successful we are but serving children and teenagers for their good; serving whole families in our community for their good.
As we serve our children and youth, we give them opportunities to serve in church and the community! This is worth so much more than a fun game and cute lesson on Wednesday night. Our gathering together serves a purpose beyond just saying many words.
In 2026, we are excited to start doing more for our children and youth in the community, from running vans on Sunday mornings to devoting some Wednesday nights to service projects in our amazing community! From Fifth Sunday youth-led worship on Sundays to continuing to involve children and youth in every service, we hope that ASBC will continue to be a blessing to families in our community this year and for years to come!
May God be glorified in our ministry labor. May people be lifted up in our church and community.
Alex Southern Baptist Chapel 
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