These questions are based on a concern that if the young people only serve under the leadership of older saints, they will never get opportunities to learn to be leaders. They need to be given freedom to do something on their own. That way, even though they may make some mistakes, they will learn and eventually they will be able to take proper leadership. This concern came out of an observation that many saints came into the church life as young people in the 70s. Since the churches were just being established, they had no one else to rely on; some of them had to rise up to be the leaders. Thirty years later, the churches are relatively stagnant and the ones who were taking the lead are still here. Let the young people go and let them try to bring some freshness into the churches free from the shackles of the religious traditions that have developed among us.
In principle, it does not seem healthy to us for the long run that there would be a young people's work in the church separate from the church itself. The work carried out by the apostles in the New Testament established churches and ministered to them but was not within them. When speaking universally it is correct to say that the local churches are local expressions of the Body of Christ and that there is no other Head but Christ. However, in 1 Corinthians 12:27 Paul tells the church in Corinth, "Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually." The body here is the local church and the members are the individual believers in the church. In this context, the "head" in verse 21 is not referring to Christ but to a member in the local church who functions as the head there. Each member has his portion and none should be overly exalted or despised. Yet, all function in coordination under the leading of the head. If there are separate works within the church we will never arrive at the body life depicted in 1 Corinthians.
Not only here, quite a number of churches in this area have given the young serving ones the freedom to try to care for the young people apart from the oversight of and coordination with the elders. To our observation, the results have been mixed. Some of the young serving ones have been learning to plan activities, events and meetings for the young people and to take responsibility for them. However, some of the things, especially some of the music, have become worldly. Overall, this has not brought in the flow of the Spirit and blessing of the Lord that we all expect.
Thus, according to both teaching and experience, we do not believe that giving young serving ones a field of labor separate from the rest of the church is the best way to help them develop into healthy, functioning members of the body of Christ. We are currently burdened to bring the saints in the church life into a living of bearing fruit and building up churches for the Lord's testimony. Some of the young people have been learning to bring others into dynamic experiences of receiving the Lord and of helping others to love the Lord and consecrate their lives to Him. We value learning to take the lead in arranging meetings and activities for the care of the young people. We value even more, learning to seek the Lord for a living word for their spiritual supply. But most of all, we value lives that are fruitful in begetting, nourishing and building up others to also be fruitful in the same way for the increase and spread of the body of Christ. This is what we are beginning to see the Lord doing among us. This is how we hope to see all the saints, including the young serving ones, grow and develop.