A Historical Perspective on Age-Segregation -- Jonathan Edwards

Jonathan Edwards’ Ministry to Youth in Northampton

I would like to suggest that the method of youth ministry practiced in the church of Jonathan Edwards was more closely aligned with the Biblical commands and patterns than is our current age segregated model. The church in Northampton was age integrated and completely free of the programmatic, age-segregated model which is widely used today. Yet, Edwards had very specific counsel for the young people in the church and he worked to be a blessing to them in a many ways.

Disturbed about youth meeting together

Jonathan Edwards was disturbed by the prospect of too much age-specific interaction of the youth in his church. From time to time, he did gather groups together for special occasions although most of the time it was for some sort of special instruction. For example, after the death of one of young men in the congregation, he gathered five different groups together. One of them was a group of the young people in the church, and on this occasion he described to them how important the years of youth are, saying,

“Our youth is on several accounts the best part of our lives. Then nature is in its bloom, farthest from any decay; then the body is most lively, active, and beautiful, and the powers of the mind are in some respects more sprightly. And it is very pleasing to God when persons offer Him such a sacrifice as themselves in their youth, as it was most acceptable to Him when Abel brought the firstlings of his flock (Genesis 4:4 ).¹

He acknowledged the vigorous attacks of the devil on youth,

“The devil seems especially, as it were, to delight and glory to have that age of youth for his own, and hence he is commonly so very busy with young people.” ²

However, one of the most interesting aspects of Edwards ministry to youth was his exhortations against gathering youth together. In addressing the youth in his church he said,

“Be advised against going often into company. I leave it to everyone to consider whether this does not have a tendency to divert persons from their great concerns. I appeal to the experience of everyone who has tried it, whether or not it has not been the case. Has it not been the case that you have been somewhat moved and affected by something that you have heard in the preaching; and as soon as it is over you go into company, which diverts your minds and takes away the impressions that were left there? And if it has the tendency to take off impressions when made, for the same reason it will tend to prevent their being made at all, and will harden the heart against impressions.” ³

As a shepherd of his local congregation Edwards did meet from time to time with the young people in the church. However it stands in sharp contrast to the modern invention of youth ministry because it was not systematic or age segregated nor was it a regular, programmatic feature of church life. He brought various groups of youth together from time to time to communicate important matters to them and God blessed these gatherings. But, they were not anything like the modern youth ministry that is most popular today.

He exhorted the young people in his congregation not to meet together after the meetings of the church. He said,

“I would on this occasion renewedly exhort and press you not to make it your practice to go immediately from the public worship and hearing of the Word into company, nor to make Sabbath days and lecture days your times of company-keeping and merriment.

"Let me entreat you to continue in that reformation which I hope many of you have begun in this particular. I hope you are generally convinced of the reasonableness of it, and that experience has or will convince you that there is no great difficulty in it and that there is no danger of your sustaining any loss by it, or that your youth will be the less pleasant for it.” ⁴

He instructed the young people to only meet in a particular way. He said,

“Seek out company where profitable and religious discourses are used. Let those few who are willing associate together; if others mock and say that it is only pride and hypocrisy, don’t regard them. God will observe it. God will hearken and hear, and a book of remembrance will be written.

"See if you can find companions who will fall in with this advice, and then be much with them. And then Christ will be with you.

"Let those whom you choose for your special, intimate friends be those who are lively in religion and who delight in religious conversation. Make those your special friends who may converse freely, without fear or suspicion of one another, without suspecting one another of pride and hypocrisy. And it is more natural for intimate friends to unburden themselves one to another.” ⁵

Edwards was careful to direct the youth in the way they should conduct their conversations,

“When you meet together, contrive your conversation to often turn upon something that is in some respect profitable, tending to some instruction. Let it not be all vain, light, filthy, and empty, tending to nothing in the world but to amuse you, to waste away precious time, to establish more and more of a habit of levity and vanity, and to set you further and further in your disposition from anything that is serious, that tends to indispose you for all serious thoughts and concerns, and that will make you unfit for any religious and serious business. This will consequently make you unfit for death.

"Such an empty, vain way of spending time is not becoming such poor, frail, dying creatures as men are.” ⁶

Edwards also warned the youth in his congregation of what he called, “The Danger of Sinful Mirth”. In this sermon he clearly directs the youth to steer away from what modern youth pastors emphasize – fun and games. What a contrast this is from the church that purchases buildings for sports and video games and creates youth rooms filled with places to play games and watch movies and guffaw at one funny video clip after another. Edwards says,

“Mirth becomes sinful when too much time is spent in it. Mirth and diversion are only designed to fit us for the duties of our general and particular callings, and therefore should not crowd them out or interfere with them. When much time is spent in it, it becomes vain, carnal mirth; it shows that we set our hearts too much upon it, especially when it crowds out duties of religion such as meditation, reading, secret prayers, when it hinders us from attending family prayer, or when it takes the mind off from these duties. When mirth has the superiority over religion, then it becomes carnal mirth.

“I proceed now to show how this sort of pleasure is a worthless, vanishing, and pernicious pleasure.

“This kind of mirth is worthless, offensive, base, brutish, and unworthy of reasonable creatures. It cannot afford any satisfaction; it doesn’t answer the cravings of the soul; it doesn’t suit men’s spiritual, rational nature. Man was made for higher and more excellent delights. This kind of mirth won’t give contentment; rather it makes for more. It puts the soul into a tumultuous, uneasy frame.” ⁷

So while Edwards most certainly practiced ministry to youth, it was totally different than the segregated, programmatic youth ministry we observe in our mainstream American churches. However, in the end, our methodology cannot be based on historical precedent—what Jonathan Edwards practiced is not the ultimate end. Scripture speaks clearly to youth ministry and the patterns we see there are our basis. Jonathan Edwards aligned himself with those standards and therefore we point to him as a good example of what Biblical youth ministry should look like.

¹  Edwards, Jonathan, God's Call to Young People: A Call to the Rising Generation to Know and Serve God While They Are Still Young, edited by Don Kistler [Soli Deo Gloria, 2001], p.23

²  Ibid.

³  Ibid., 24.

⁴  Ibid., 52.

⁵  Ibid., 88.

⁶  Ibid., 102.

⁷  Ibid., 150-151.