Young people at Heart of God Church in Singapore lead every area of the weekend service

The alarm goes off and Goh (19) gets ready for Sunday morning at his church. In his head he runs through his mental checklist once more and checks his messages. All quiet so far. But who knows what will be going on when he arrives at church. He isn’t just an attendee. He leads the media team, made up of 50 young people. It seems like yesterday that he walked into the church for the first time at 13, invited by a friend from school. The energy, the young faces, the community: all of it thrilled him.

“Serving in the ministry gives me a sense of belonging. I feel empowered. I feel trusted to be given a chance to handle the very expensive equipment.” (Goh, 19) (1)
Even 12-year-olds hold key positions: This is Heart of God Church.

In a world where young people are constantly bombarded with digital distractions and shifting cultural norms, Heart of God Church has found a way to reach them. They don’t just invite them; they actively involve them in the work. Even 12-year-olds (and younger) are trusted with tasks ranging from designing slides and filming the livestream to operating the soundboard and coordinating Sunday services. The church works with generational leadership cohorts, and some leaders are as young as 13.

But it isn’t only about tasks and responsibility. It’s about offering them a safe space where they can ask questions, voice doubts and find answers. It’s about showing them what faith in action looks like. And above all, it’s about helping them understand the “why” of their faith.

Relationships as the core business: the multigenerational church model

Another church, All Saints Church, builds on intergenerational ministry and uses its strength as a multigenerational church. Every year it organizes a camp for students at Anglican High School, which is connected to the church, where the older members cook for the participants and pray for them while the young adults shape the program and build relationships with the teenagers in small groups. And that is what they focus on in everything they offer. Relationship building is their core business, whether at “Dinner with the Elders,” in the space where students can hang out during school breaks, or in the short sermon of about 20 minutes. Some young people find close relationships at church that they lack at home. They are encouraged to build relationships that go beyond the digital and offer real, tangible community.

Faith Methodist Church holds a monthly youth service on socially relevant topics, from social media and gaming to sexuality and apologetics, with the chance to talk and discuss over a meal afterward.

“We cannot assume they are convinced that the Bible is the truth. We have to provide the ‘why.’” (Ho, on explaining the principle behind God’s commands) (2)

These churches commit themselves to young people, foster exchange between the generations, build personal relationships and pursue the question of why the Bible and God can be trusted.

The result: a growing, vibrant youth ministry and a church that grows younger and stronger. Stronger in the sense that teenagers experience healthy relationships and are strengthened in their faith.

What can you take from this for your own youth ministry? (3)

1. Trust and responsibility: Believe in the teenagers from the start, because they are created in God’s image. Give them responsibility, guide them and allow mistakes, so they can take an active part in spiritual life.

2. Learning to pray: Lead them into situations where they have to pray, for example on mission trips or in spiritual challenges.

3. Spark discussion: Address culturally relevant questions and use the Bible to find answers and spark discussion.

“We suggested that this issue should be addressed over the pulpit and those who feel the same way could organize activities or, you know, maybe start some recycling initiatives in the church,” said Matthew about creation care. His pastor’s answer? “He said that the pulpit was meant to address spiritual stuff and most of the congregation probably wouldn’t be interested anyway.” (4)

4. Weekly challenges: Give them three tasks every week that put what they learned into practice. Ask them about their experiences the following week.

5. Growth formula: Combine biblical information with practical application and immediate activation for spiritual growth. Motivation + information + application + activation = accelerated spiritual growth.

6. Story time: Let the teenagers share stories to strengthen their faith and give thanks for answered prayers.

7. Dependence on the Holy Spirit: Help them lay down the legalistic checklist and replace it with real trust in the Holy Spirit.

8. Evangelize: Take them along to share the gospel with strangers, to strengthen their faith.

Bullivant argues that when a church doesn’t convey to its members that what they have is worth sharing, “then it sends the message that perhaps it’s not so essential for me either.” Conversely, “actively trying to evangelize others cements the value of it for oneself.” (5)

Why? The more actively I engage with my faith and think about it, the clearer it becomes to me whether it holds up. And the more intensively I get into conversation with people of other beliefs and engage with their life stories, the more my faith is put to the test. And that hopefully leads to me not losing my faith in the wave of deconstruction, but strengthening it and experiencing it as truth.

Sources

  1. Pearlyn Koh, “To Keep Gen Z in the Pews, One Singapore Church Lets Them Run the Service,” Christianity Today, February 2023.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Greg Stier, “7 simple and surprising ways to help accelerate your teenagers’ spiritual growth,” GregStier.org.
  4. Wei-Hao Ho and Soo-Inn Tan, “Gen X Dropouts Widen the Generational Divide among Singapore Christians,” Christianity Today, August 2023.
  5. Russell Moore, “Mormons Expect More of the Next Generation. Why Don’t We?” Christianity Today, September 2023.

English version: September 2026