Skip to content
Building A Youth Ministry On The Foundation Of God And His Word
January 21, 2015 Andy Blanks

Building A Youth Ministry On The Foundation Of God And His Word

I love the way Scripture talks about the sufficiency of God's Word. There are many facets to our faith, many ways we experience God. But His Word is so very vital to our understanding of Him. And it must be for your students. A knowledge or understanding of God is the foundation of our faith. Psalm 119:130 says:
The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

This understanding is nothing more than a knowledge of God and His ways.

If asked to sum up our purpose in being a youth worker, many of us would say something like "it's to both lead students to a saving relationship with Christ, and to take them deeper in this faith (and all that implies)." This is impossible without God's Word!

Calvin once said, "Unless God's Word illumine the way, the whole life of men is wrapped in darkness and mist, so that they cannot but miserably stray." (Man, the English Lit major in me wishes people still talked like that.) It's important to remember how Scripture talks about the Word of God. Here are some awesome examples:
As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. - Isaiah 55:10-11

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12

The farmer sows the word . . . Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. - Mark 4:14-20

I want you to answer this question. Don't read it and keep going. Stop for a second and actually think about it:

Is teaching teenagers God's Word foundational in your ministry?


Stop! Don't just keep reading. Take a moment to consider this. Because it's easy for us to think we're doing it. Because hopefully, all of us have times in our ministries (hopefully many times) where there are "touch points" with Scripture. But take a second to reflect on your programs and initiatives and answer these questions . . .

  • Does God's Word really have a central place in your ministry programming and philosophy?

  • Do students leave their time in your youth ministry with an understanding of the Bible's big-picture narrative of God's plan of redemption (from Genesis to Revelation)?

  • It's not enough to talk about God's Word. Is your ministry focused on teaching the Word to your students? Most importantly, are you teaching teenagers to study the Bible for themselves? To answer this, you must ask the tough question, "What specific programs or initiatives am I doing to make sure students are LEARNING the Word?"

  • Knowledge without application is useless. Are your teenagers thinking about how the biblical principles they're learning are to impact their actions, thoughts, worldview, and so on?

  • Are you bridging the gap between Church and home? After all, you're responsible for a few hours a week. There is only so much you can do. Do you provide parents with the motivation and the tools necessary to make sure a commitment to Scripture is seen at home and at Church?


There is nothing more important in a person's life than knowing God. The Bible is the fullest way God has chosen to make Himself known to us. Therefore, we can't know Him without knowing the Bible. 

If we want our students to know God, we must make His Word a top priority in our ministries. And this might mean taking a long look at how your programming and philosophy actually serves this end.
Andy Blanks
Andy Blanks
Andy Blanks is the Publisher and Co-Founder of YM360 and Iron Hill Press. A former Marine, Andy has spent the last 17 years working in youth ministry, mostly in the field of publishing. During that time, Andy has led the development of some of the most-used Bible study curriculum and discipleship resources in the country. He has authored numerous books, Bible studies, and articles, and regularly speaks at events and conferences, both for adults and teenagers. Andy and his wife, Brendt, were married in 2000. They have four children: three girls and one boy.
Filed in: Bible Study, Bible Stuff, Discipleship, Encouragement
Previous article The Top Free Blogs of YM360

Comments

Ronald Kalimbuka - September 29, 2025
GRACE OF GOD ORPHAN MINISTRY Po Box 479 Balaka Malawi Mobile+265(0)888348997 Registered Charity no: 07/2008/23

Dear Sir/Madam
RE: CARE AND SUPPORT ORPHANS VULNERABLE CHILDREN AND ADULT BIBLE BASED LITERACY PROGRAM PREACHING THE WORD OF GOD
Grace of God Orphan Ministry is a non-profit faith gospel based organization, established in 2004 and registered in 2008 with the primary goal of caring and supporting the orphans, vulnerable children, elderly and disabled and less privileged people and preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, disciples and evangelism.
Grace of God Orphan Ministry, we do a program of prison ministry to preach inmates in different prisons. By the power of the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word, prison inmates are finding true freedom in Jesus Christ. Men and women behind bars, victims of crime, families torn apart by incarceration—all are loved by God and worthy of our attention. There is always hope. Together, we strive to make prisons safer and more rehabilitative, advance criminal justice reforms, and help all those affected by crime to heal and flourish. So we request for partnership to work together to spread the word of God in various places here in Malawi.
Scripture says therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely Iam with always, to the every end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).

Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world as few men and women cannot read and write. The illiteracy levels in Malawi is too high especially among women and girls. Therefore as Grace of God Orphan Ministry we started a program to open a school of literacy to ensure that people know how to read and write as well as ensuring that they are able to read and understand the bible after teaching them.
The National Policy on Adult Literacy and Education recognizes and facilitates the fulfillment of the rights of the citizenry to education, economic life and development, and all other rights as enshrined in the Malawian Constitution by offering an enabling environment to those who drop out of school at an early stage
Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life. Malawi literacy rate for 2022 was 68.08%, a 68.08% increase from 2021.What is the literacy rate of Malawi?
On the other hand, the National Statistical Office (NSO) indicates that the adult literacy rate in Malawi is at 68.6 percent. This means that almost 31 out of 100 adult men and women cannot read and write, close to 64 percent of the population in Malawi is literate. Among males, almost 76 percent are literate while half of females are literate. Considering place of residence, urban literacy is much higher at about 86 percent compared to 61 percent for rural.

In July 2024, Grace of God Orphan Ministry introduced Pastors targeting capacity building projects targeting those pastors who are ministering with no formal qualifications from any Bible school. So far we have established two free bible classes in Monkey-Bay and Mangochi District Southern part of Malawi 46 pastors in total undergoing free pastoral lessons.
Taking a holistic approach to women’s empowerment
Access to tools innovations and agricultural extension. Working in partnership for women’s economic empowerment. Improving women’s economic empowerment from micro-level to viable business. Gender equality focused aid to agriculture and rural communities. Invest women’s small and medium enterprises (SME) and women entrepreneurs through inclusive financing and comprehensive training. Two decades of nurturing self-reliance and alleviating hunger for over two decades, Grace of God Orphan Ministry has been unwavering in its commitment to transforming the lives of vulnerable children and their families. Improving the living conditions of vulnerable people who are already poor. Small Businesses, especially those that support local community members.

Balaka is a district in the southern region of Malawi with a population of around 350,000. Balaka is one of the districts with the highest HIV/AIDS burden in Malawi. The prevalence rate in the district is relatively high compared to that of the nation; currently, it stands at 14.8% as compared to the nation’s prevalence of 10.4 %. Consequently, the impact of HIV/AIDS in most communities is visibly devastating with a high number of orphans whose parents succumbed to AIDS. Growing up in Balaka and having first-hand experience of the devastating effect of HIV/AIDS in our community, Grace of God Orphan Ministry was established in 2002 to respond to the increasing problem of orphans with no family support and lacking basic necessities like food, shelter, school fees and uniforms etc. Grace of God is a community-based charitable organization with a vision of supporting and empowering orphans, vulnerable children and early childhood (nursery school and disabled people (especially those affected by HIV/AIDS) to ensure that they are equipped basic necessities and life skills to progress in life and have same opportunities like every child, ending hunger to empower communities to taking part farming activities. Promotion of access to Education for orphans and vulnerable children (including those living with HIV)

We still aim to continue our approach of identifying OPVC struggling to pay school fees and materials like school uniform, books. We plan to continue providing scholarships to deserving children.

Promotion of positive living /psychosocial support to children living with HIV
From experience most children living with HIV come from fragmented homes and lack family support. This might negatively impact adherence and result in treatment failure. We intend to provide essential positive living lessons by focusing on psychosocial issues that might affect the children and life skills and counseling to promote adherence and healthy living despite facing problems/discrimination from family members or community.

Stimulating community support to orphans and vulnerable children.
Mostly community stigma and discrimination towards orphans is the result of lack of knowledge. We will work with communities to create a platform where OPVC are supported and each member of the community will be empowered to act as eye to issues facing OPVC e.g. child labor, sexual abuse
Creating sustainable funding activities and promoting entrepreneurial skills among OPVC
Starting in-come generating activities would ensure sustainability of our activities. Once income generating activities are rolled out, OPVC will have a chance to learn how to run small businesses and will take part in running the income generating activities
Taking a holistic approach to women’s empowerment
Access to tools innovations and agricultural extension. Working in partnership for women’s economic empowerment. Improving women’s economic empowerment from micro-level to viable business. Gender equality focused aid to agriculture and rural communities. Invest women’s small and medium enterprises (SME) and women entrepreneurs through inclusive financing and comprehensive training. Two decades of nurturing self-reliance and alleviating hunger for over two decades, Grace of God Orphan Ministry has been unwavering in its commitment to transforming the lives of vulnerable children and their families. Improving the living conditions of vulnerable people who are already poor. Small Businesses, especially those that support local community members.

Mission statement
Grace of God Orphan Ministry (GoGOM) Mission statement is to provide a solid foundation for communities, health and well-being education to contribute towards socio and economic development in Malawi.
GOAL
The goal of Grace of God Orphan Ministry (GoGOM) is to contribute towards improving the quality of life of orphans. Vulnerable, and elderly and HIV/AIDS victims socially, spiritually and physically in Balaka society and actively take part in development activities in Malawi.
VISION
To fulfill the Grace of God Orphan Ministry through collaboration enables us to focus on the ministry work to which God has called them. It is a team effort working towards common charitable goals, advancement of the Christian faith, the furtherance of education, and the relief of poverty and farming programs to alleviate FAITH poverty and project based ministries.

Can help us to share the link who know you elsewhere to Christian organization in the following link https://gift.idonate.com/global-one80/ronald-kalimbuka
STATEMENT OF FAITH

The personal unity of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in the Godhead. The sovereignty of God in creation, providence, revelation, redemption and final judgment.
*The divine inspiration, inerrancy, sufficiency and finality of Holy Scripture and its supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice.
*Worshipping God through Jesus Christ.
*Ministering to one another’s physical, emotional and spiritual needs through fellowship to grow in faith, hope and love.
*Provide services of worship at which the word of God is preached and sacraments are administered.
*Proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ through preaching and other means consistent with biblical teaching.
*There is one true God ,eternally existing in God the father the son and holy spirit the three are one, equal in power and glory and he alone is to be worshipped .
*The word of God which is contained in the old and new testaments is the supreme rule of faith and conduct and thus, the final authority in our lives. We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.
*We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe: in one God and Father who is the maker and ruler of all things; in Jesus Christ, His Son, who is God manifest in flesh and Savior of the world; and in the Holy Spirit, God present with us, who renews our hearts and guides, comforts and empowers us for proclamation and ministry.

We believe: in the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead for our justification and our hope for eternity; in the forgiveness of sins through Christ’s atoning sacrifice for all mankind; in salvation by faith in Christ alone; in the Holy Bible, God’s inspired Word which is the only infallible rule of both faith and practice; in the Church, the body of Christ which is a worshiping community, and is God’s instrument to minister to the needs of its members, to make disciples of all the nations, to work for social justice, and to relieve human suffering.

We believe: in the bodily return of Jesus Christ who will raise the dead, judge all people according to deeds done in the body, and establish His glorious kingdom
We believe that for the salvation of a lost and sinful man, regeneration of the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
*We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
.We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ
Iam therefore virtually convinced that this project will create a landmark in the lives of targeted beneficiaries. I am hopeful that you shall consider the proposal document positively in order to improve and promote the lives of the orphans, vulnerable children, elderly and preaching gospel, children, youth and adults to know Jesus as their personal savior. (So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptized them in the name of the Father, and the Son and Holy Spirit Mathew 28:19)
We look forward to your most favorable response driven consideration to work together to preach God’s word to everywhere to transform the lives of people. (2 Corinthians 4:1 God with his mercy, gave us this work to do, so we don’t give up)
The worship that God wants is this caring for orphans or widows who need help and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence .This is the kind of worship that God accepts as pure and good .James 1:27)
With God’s love

Ronald Kalimbuka,
Director, BA in theology
Board of trustees: Pastor Stanford Katsabola, Mr. Ignatius Kameni, Pastor Smart Mapereka, Rev Patricia Mankhanamba
All communications should be addressed to the Director

Leave a comment

* Required fields

Shipping Details

Most orders $99 or more receive FREE Shipping!

Why Most? Some of our shipments are just too heavy or ship from Mars (not really). If you have a $99+ order in your cart and don't see a free shipping option, this is why.

FREE SHIPPING DETAILS

  • Order SUB-TOTAL (after discounts, before taxes) must be $99.
  • This promotional offer is only good for orders shipping to the contiguous 48 States.
  • Promotional value not valid for cash or cash equivalent toward purchases.
  • For free shipping orders, we may use UPS SurePost, UPS Ground, USPS Priority Mail, or USPS First Class Package service depending on your location and package weight. Orders may arrive in 1-8 business days. If you have a specific deadline for your order, please choose a paid shipping option to ensure it arrives on time.
  • Student Resource orders from Event Resources by YM360 are excluded from receiving free shipping. This includes student books, follow-up devotional journals, T-shirts, and bundles.

Questions about this promotion, or just need general shipping help? Use our Live Chat feature on our website, or email us: customercare@ym360.com. Either way, you're going to get world-class customer care.