Who is a youth?

The UN, the Commonwealth, The AU and Nigeria’s National Youth Policy give different definitions of what is a youth.

According to the UN

“Youth” is best understood as a period of transition from the dependence of childhood to adulthood’s independence and awareness of our interdependence as members of a community. Youth is a more fluid category than a fixed age-group.”

The Commonwealth defines youth as 15-29 years of age.

The African Youth Charter defines youth as “any individual between 15-35 years of age and seeks to resolve longstanding debates about defining youth within the African context and based on Africa’s development realities.”

The Nigerian National Youth Policy defines youth as anyone between the age of 18 and 35.


But in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, a youth is any unmarried person.

Interesting to note that many young people who are married no longer attend YOuth programmes me and are also shy to attend programmes meant for Matured Men and women.

I keep asking why is RCCG bringing more division to young people than uniting them.

You see a young lady of 27, claiming not to be a youth because she is married, meanwhile in the same church, a lady of 33 will be encouraged to attend youth programmes?


Is getting married the new validation of whether a young person will be regarded as being youth or not in the Redeemed Christian Church of God?

It all depends on understanding and the standard of the church. To me getting married doesn't automatically remove one from the youth group fold and makes him an instant adult. It only prepares him to be a better adult.

You should make a distinction between the Youth Fellowship and the Singles' Fellowship.

A single youth once married automatically leaves the SF but remains a part and parcel of the YF until he/she crosses the age of 35.
So if you see a single sister or brother of 34, they remain in both fellowships until change in status quo.

The problem however is that most parishes combine both fellowships tagging it Singles and Youth Fellowship.

Based on my observations, no youth will ever want to be associated with Singles Fellowship but rather Youth Fellowship.

What I'm talking about seem to be peculiar to RCCG.

I've attended several RCCG parishes and I can say that their youth programmes are mainly organized and attended by singles ONLY except few married youths who are bold not to follow the trend