Abstract:
Discipling youth may be one of the ‘missing links’ in developing missional thinking and
missional local churches. This is even more so where churches suffer from a very obvious
estrangement among generations. This article draws on the most recent literature on
developing missional churches. The departure point is the argument of a the New Testament
scholar, who refers to the description of Matthew 28:16–20 as the manifesto of the church – a
manifesto that lies on the same level of value as the Shema of Israel: ‘Listen, o Israel, the Lord
our God is the only One.‘ This manifesto wants to tell us how new and differently we have
to think on how people come into the body and how people will stay in the body. Picking
up on three of my theological premises this article will work with a research question: What
kind of church will make disciples in youth ministry? It will also work towards theological
suggestions on how to make disciples in youth ministry in such a way that young disciples
will make disciples.
