Are today’s kids ministries actually helping—or unintentionally hurting—the faith of the next generation?
Today I’m joined by family ministry veteran Dr. Josh Mulvihill for a candid, biblically grounded conversation about seven key problems in modern kids and youth ministry and why Christians can no longer afford to ignore them.
Drawing from Scripture, church history, and current research, Josh challenges some of the most unquestioned assumptions in evangelical churches today, such as age-segregated worship, attractional entertainment models, and the growing confusion between the church’s role and parents’ God-given responsibility to disciple their children.
This conversation is not a hit piece on kids ministry. Both of us love and support children’s and youth ministry when they’re aligned with Scripture. Instead, we hope this episode will be a wake-up call for parents, pastors, grandparents, and church leaders to evaluate how their churches can better reach the next generation.
SHOW NOTES:
Go to summit.org/natasha to learn about Summit Ministries’ conferences for kids ages 13-22 and use code NATASHA26 to get $500 off an in-person conference when you register by March 31.
Josh’s website and podcast: https://gospelshapedfamily.com/
Josh is the Executive Director of Church and Family Ministry at Renewanation: https://www.renewanation.org/
Josh is a board member of Awana: https://www.awana.org/
Get Josh’s book, “Family Ministry: How Your Church Can Shepherd Parents and Grandparents to Make Disciples”: https://www.amazon.com/Family-Ministry-Shepherd-Grandparents-Disciples/dp/1951042093
For more on how Dr. George Barna assesses the worldview of survey respondents, see: https://natashacrain.com/what-is-a-biblical-worldview-with-george-barna/.
Learn more about my three apologetics books for parents and teachers: https://natashacrain.com/books/
Curricula recommended by Josh:
Bright https://britecurriculum.com/
Gospel Story https://martymachowski.com/book/gospel-story-curriculum/