The Doctrine Youth Ministries Keep Ignoring

Total depravity isn’t featured in any youth ministry books. It seems like a harsh message to preach to a generation who struggles with mental health. But here’s the problem: teenagers are sinners. They don’t always do what they should. They definitely don’t do what we want them to. They can’t even control their own desires and actions. And the crazy thing is, we can’t either. Why is that? You guessed it: total depravity. 

In this article, I’m assuming that I’m talking with fellow evangelicals. So I won’t be offering a biblical argument for total depravity, since Reformed Evangelicals and Evangelical Arminians both affirm it. Instead, I want to help us see what this doctrine teaches, what it doesn’t teach, and how it shapes the way we minister to youth. 

Christian Viewpoints on the Question

Total depravity is a difficult doctrine to teach, so it’s often avoided (not only in youth ministry, but in the church). This is probably the reason 66% of evangelicals agreewith the statement, “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.” Instead of rebutting well-known heresies like Pelagianism, I want to offer a generous representation of two common evangelical views.

Reformed View

Total depravity teaches that every person has inherited a sinful nature that has corrupted every aspect of their humanity (hence, “total”). Reformed theologians and pastors point to passages like Ephesians 2:3, referring to us as “children of wrath”, and Isaiah 64:6, saying “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” Total depravity has to do with the breadth of our depravity, not the extent of it. That means every aspect of our humanity has been depraved by sin, but it doesn’t mean that we are as sinful as we possibly could be. This is why even our good works are, in some way, marred by sinful motivations. We are not spiritually sick, but spiritually dead. Salvation is completely the work of God, which resurrects us to spiritual life in order that we would respond to the gospel. (read more here)

Arminian View

Evangelical Arminians also affirm total depravity, although there are key differences when it comes to salvation. They affirm our inherited sinful nature and that no one is saved by their own works. The work of the Holy Spirit is necessary for people to respond to the gospel. They highlight verses like John 3:16, saying “for God so loved the world,” and 1 Timothy 2:4, saying that God wants “all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” The key difference is their teaching about “prevenient grace,” which is God’s work in all people whenever the gospel is preached, which gives them the ability to respond with faith. Without it, no one can respond to the gospel, but it can be resisted and doesn’t guarantee salvation.  (read more here)

Total Depravity and the Image of God

Every human being is created in the image of God. We are crowned with glory and honor and dignity, so that in us and through us God’s glory and goodness would be displayed throughout creation. Our sinful nature has corrupted God’s image within us such that instead of displaying God’s glory and goodness, we claim that glory for ourselves and live according to our own versions of goodness. The reason sin is so horrific and evil and worthy of God’s wrath is because of the way it tries to unmake our humanity. And this is what makes the gospel so incredible, because it sets us free to be and do what we were always created to be and do. 

When we talk about our total depravity, we do so with an understanding that human nature is glorious and holy. The sin and evil and wretchedness that we preach against is unnatural to our created humanity, even though it’s a current reality that cannot and must not be minimized or overlooked. We are sinners by nature. None of us seek God apart from the Holy Spirit. If any of us will be saved, then it’s because of God’s action, not ours. 

When we talk about who teenagers are apart from Christ, we should start in creation. Highlight the dignity and honor God has given to humanity and invite students to grieve over what our sinful nature has done to us. And then we rejoice in the salvation of Jesus Christ, who clothes us in his perfect righteousness and sends the Holy Spirit to unite us with Christ and adopt us into the family of God. For more on the biblical and pastoral power of the image of God, read my book Iconic: Being God’s Image in Your World.

Why This is Important for Youth Ministry

Preaching the Gospel

I’m increasingly convinced that evangelism should begin in creation. This means we don’t start preaching the gospel by saying “you are a wretched sinner who needs to be saved”, but, “you were created to display the glory and goodness of God. That’s what and who you are. But sin has so twisted that within you and me that we claim the glory for ourselves and pursue our own vision of goodness.” And we don’t merely promise the gospel will “save us from sin and give eternal life”, but we tell students “the gospel sets us free from sin so we can glorify God by becoming who God always intended us to be, both now and forever.” 

Evangelism

How do unbelieving students come to saving faith? Both Arminian and Reformed youth pastors agree that salvation is the work of God, not the result of our persuasive gospel presentations. So, let’s pray that the Holy Spirit would call the lost to himself. But there is a very real difference between the two perspectives. 

For Reformed youth workers, the call of the Holy Spirit is effective and irresistible. This adds a measure of confidence that God will indeed use the preaching of the gospel to draw students to himself. Even if we stumble our way through the message or conversation, the Holy Spirit can and will use it to build his Church. Youth workers can evangelize patiently and persistently because even if God doesn’t draw students to himself the first time they hear the gospel, he may do so eventually, and we pray that he will. 

For Arminian youth workers, prevenient grace means every student in the room is capable of receiving Christ and growing in holiness. No student is beyond the reach in any given moment, so calling youth to repent of their sin and trust in Christ for new life is urgent. They work hard to remove every possible hindrance to the gospel and to pursue every student with hope, because today is the day of salvation. 

When Students Sin

Teenagers sin. They sin against their parents, siblings, peers, youth leaders, and even against themselves. Total depravity means we shouldn’t be surprised when teenagers sin. This doesn’t excuse it or mean it’s not a big deal. Instead, understanding the doctrine of total depravity enables youth leaders to take students’ sin seriously without being shocked that any kid in our youth group is capable of terrible sin. 

We should not be slow to name sin as “sin”, for only then can we invite students to experience the joy of repentance and the freedom that comes from Christ’s mercy. If students refuse to confess their sin, then that’s a sign that something in their relationship with the Lord needs attention. 

When Professing Students Reject the Gospel

Every youth leader has experienced the grief that comes after professing students fall away from the faith. Total depravity affects the whole person, which means their head, heart, and hands have been corrupted by the sinful nature. Apart from the Holy Spirit’s ministry, we are indeed “prone to wander”. Reformed and Arminian youth workers will both want to extend pastoral counsel to these students, even though they will make sense of the struggles differently. Arminians will likely see this as a rejection of God’s prevenient grace, while Reformed youth workers will seek to discern whether they are caring for a prodigal or whether the student is showing their unregenerate condition. In both circumstances, it’s important to recognize the deceitfulness of the sinful nature affects the whole person, not simply the surface-level reasons that are provided. 

Why this Matters

Total depravity offers clarity about the deceitfulness of sin and the new life of the gospel. If youth workers want to call unbelieving youth into lifelong faith, then we need to face the reality of total depravity. Preach the gospel. It really is good news of great joy! But don’t rush to it so quickly that students never need to face the depths of their need for the saving grace of Jesus Christ.