Church Mentoring and Youth Ministry Participation at GMIH Eben-Haezer Soasangaji-Tuguis

Abstrak

Youth participation in church activities does not automatically produce sustained spiritual formation or leadership regeneration. This article examines church mentoring and youth ministry participation at GMIH Eben-Haezer Soasangaji-Tuguis, West Halmahera. Using a descriptive qualitative design, it draws on observation, documentation, and purposive interviews with congregational leaders, youth leaders, and youth members. The findings show active involvement in worship, committees, and social activities, but mentoring remains informal, event-based, and discontinuous. Limited training, weak coordination, educational and work demands, and the absence of trusted accompaniment contribute to fluctuating participation and uncertainty about ministry roles. The article proposes a contextual model comprising trained mentors, small relational groups, biblical reflection, supervised ministry practice, evaluation, and leadership multiplication. Kelompok Tumbuh Bersama (KTB) is presented as a potential platform, not as an intervention already tested at the site. Theologically, 1 Timothy 4:12 and Ephesians 4:11–16 frame youth as active members of Christ’s body who must be equipped. The contribution is to distinguish participation from formation and to construe mentoring as intergenerational infrastructure for sustainable youth ministry.