Ministering to the Young Single Adult - Elmer Towns

. He may decide against your decision.c. He may follow your “cure” and next time a problem faces him, becomeincreasingly dependent on you.Realize that you do not know God’s will for everyone. Solve problems with theyoung adult. Respect the maturity he has, and you may develop more maturity. Yourmain ministry of relationship is to point out the strong and weak points of each solutionto a problem.7. The Bible in counseling. The Word of God is not a substitute for your spiritualministry, nor is it a supplement. The Word of God is the heart of spiritual ministry. First,the Bible is in your life. As stated before, the gospel is personal. Christ, the Word of God,lives in you. You communicate Christ to the young single adult through relationship. Youmust be to him “in the stead” of Christ. You must be all that Christ would be to the youngsingle adult. He is lonely; you must be to him a friend. He is searching; you must be tohim a guide. He is seeking self-identification; you must be an answer.But there is more. The Bible is propositional truth. The Word of God speaks tothe problems of all-including those of the young single adult. The Bible is a revelationthat needs a response. So, if you would help young single adults solve problems, youmust interject Scripture at points of insight.Just as the soil is prepared before the seed is planted, so the heart must be tilledbefore the Word of God is sown. The following principles may give some guidance:a. Communicate Scripture at the point of need.b. There must be understanding of the Word of God.c. Make sure the young adult can see the relationship between the passage and hisproblem.Remember, the Word of God is alive (See Heb. 4:12). Therefore, don’t treatScripture as a “dusty truth” to shelve among theology books. If the Bible is active in yourlife it will “agitate” you to communicate the gospel at the point of need.8. Making decisions. How does a person make a decision? Personally, likeswallowing a pill or taking a bath. No one else can do it for you. The same is true inhelping young single adults solve problems.Solving a problem is a personal adventure. A person must eliminate tension, seethe problem, examine possible solutions, determine the alternatives, make a decision andface the consequences personally. This is how a person grows.Do you have a spiritual ministry in solving problems? Yes! Even though theyoung single adult must “do it himself,” you can help. Your relationship will encourage