RETHINKING YOUTH MINISTRY

ADVENT CONSPIRACY

2009-11-24T12:48:00.001-06:00

A whole different way to approach Advent this year. Why not give it a try together as a youth ministry challenge?

WOMEN IN YOUTH MINISTRY: Guest Post

2009-11-23T21:51:00.001-06:00

Youth worker Christina recently guest-posted at the Musings of Foreign Hearts blog and graciously agreed to let us share her post entitled "Days I Hate Being a Girl (Youth Worker)" as part of our Women in Youth Ministry Series:

An annoyance of today turned into a little bit of a rant, but it's a glimpse into my life, so enjoy! Feel free to comment about what bugs you about being a girl today!

-Days when you're in a business conversation with someone and they can't keep their eyes off your chest. Even though you're very modestly dressed. And your guy coworkers notice this exchange. Awkward and disgusting.

-Days when I can't walk as fast as my (guy) coworkers because I like to wear heels and not tennis shoes every.single.day.

-Days when I have to worry about why the sophomore boys want to hug me.

-Days when I have to hear about pooping more than I'd like (aka any.)

-Days when we are going swimming and I have to spend lots of time finding a modest-enough swimsuit to be around high school boys. AKA usually a tank top and shorts. While my co-workers run around shirtless.

-Days when I start making lists in my head because the topic of conversation turns to MMA. Again. :)

There are also MANY days I absolutely love being a girl (youth worker.) But today is not necessarily one of those days.

ADVENT '09 IDEAS for YOUTH MINISTRY #1

2009-11-23T15:47:00.002-06:00

Does your youth ministry observe the liturgical season of Advent? If not, your youth may be missing out on the whole reason for the season.

With Christmas music and decorations appearing in stores in the middle of October, it's a sure sign that our culture needs to slow down and cultivate the spiritual practice of waiting. Though many churches ignore the liturgical calendar, the way our culture runs headlong into the Christmas season (before we've even tasted Thanksgiving turkey) reminds us why our youth need the Advent season of waiting and contemplation.

In the coming days, we'll be sharing a number of new ideas for helping your youth ministry find meaning in the season of Advent, as well as highlighting some of our favorite ideas and links from past years.

Idea #1: Advent Themes

My youth ministry is a cooperative effort with another local church and last Friday night our lock-in centered on a great creative project. We set the youth loose to create works of art centered on the themes of advent. After getting a quick lesson on collage from an artist, the youth proceeded to gather together scrap materials, magazines, odds and ends, glue, paint, brushes and anything else they could find to spur the creative imagination. They then worked together on large sheets of cardboard to create art pieces, each focused on a different theme of advent: Peace, Hope, Love, and Joy.

The teens were encouraged to think abstractly, working without too much planning and just striving to express the feeling of each theme word. Some youth spent their whole time on one art piece. Others rotated around and added something to every piece. The image above was created as a collage of faces cut out of magazines. The favorite creation was the "peace" image below. Think about trying this with your group and then displaying each themed painting outside your sanctuary or worship space on the corresponding Sunday. Perhaps include some scripture texts or a written devotion for reflection.

-- Brian

Women in Youth Ministry Profile

2009-11-19T12:05:00.016-06:00

As part of a new series of profiles of women serving in youth ministry, we visit with Devoree Crist. Devoree is a spiritual director, M.T.S. graduate of Eden Theological Seminary, and holds a Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Direction from the Aquinas Institute of Theology. She has been involved in lay youth ministry for 21+ years.

What do you find most enjoyable about ministry with youth in the Church?

I enjoy being around persons who are starting to think for themselves and are just beginning to develop their own understanding of God, of religion and of faith. Up until this time of life they are open to what they learn but as they enter into adolescence they begin to question things for themselves and make their own conclusions. There is still an innocence but with the world intruding upon it. It is a real pleasure to be there to witness those moments when they catch a glimpse of the Kingdom. It is also a great joy to help them see the options open to them that may not be so obvious when "in the world".

What do you find most challenging about ministry with youth in the Church

The greatest challenge for me is the number of persons doing youth ministry that have no experience with youth other than their own personal experience of being a youth, and/or no real desire to do youth ministry yet are placed in that position for a number of reasons. These are the people who are writing curriculum, running the youth programs in congregations and on the larger church level. I really cringe at what passes for youth ministry sometimes. " Keep them busy and out of our way" is the theme. Working against this type of thinking is the greatest challenge.

What shifts or changes would you like to see in youth ministry in the next decade?

I would like to see the youth (and younger children for that matter) better integrated into the life of the church on their terms. By this I mean making it easier for youth to participate in all facets of the church experience without just being a "mini-adult on a committee." For example, serving as liturgist (trained of course) and deacon. It is good to welcome their ideas and incorporate those ideas into planning. This is true whether the youth are able to go to committee meetings or not. It would be great to see youth feeling safe to offer their gifts in worship or other aspects of church life. I would like to see classes on youth ministry taught in the seminary. When someone is called into youth ministry they should have the proper skills to do so. In other words, recognizing that youth ministry is a specialized ministry.

What would you say to other lay women who are considering a call to ministry with youth? Are there particular challenges or advantages to being a women in this area of ministry?

I think anyone who wishes to work with youth must truly love youth. It is challenging work and not for everyone. If noise bothers you or you can't stand short attention spans, this is not for you. On the other hand, if you are someone who can be patient and love through mood swings and lots of drama, and if you can be flexible with your plans, then you will find this the most rewarding work. I am not sure that being female has any real advantage or disadvantage unless the whole church environment is chauvinistic. Sexism is alive and well in our churches and youth ministry is not immune. "You're a woman, you know how to take care of kids." This is not helpful in selecting a person to work in youth ministry. I suppose if you are a younger woman you might have some boundary issues, but that is true of younger men. I find that being an older woman gives me a little more authority - probably as mother figure which kids respond to well.

Additional thoughts?

It is really important to understand that not all youth are alike. There is really no such thing as "THE YOUTH". Youth groups vary in dynamic from year to year, from congregation to congregation. Some youth are quite mature at 13 while others are terribly immature at 18. Some groups as a whole are more introspective, some more superficial, some more energetic, some more laid back. Individuals may be musical, artistic, interested primarily in mission, or some have more secular inclinations. The key is to be open to whoever is in your group and to be with them where they are so that when God is working on them you don't miss it or get in the way. In addition, when you accept each as they are, a child of God, you help them to accept each other and that is the way safe space is created.

CULTURE WATCH: What's so great about "Glee?"

2009-11-17T14:19:00.010-06:00

Is your youth ministry full of jocks, cheerleaders, and future valedictorians or is it a rabble of drama geeks, choir kids and the "losers" no one wants to sit with at lunch? Either way, you should be watching "Glee," a new series on the FOX network and one of the best reasons to watch TV. "Glee" focuses on a passionate young teacher who is trying to make a success of the high school's glee club. Known for being a depository of losers and geeks, the teacher's real goal for the glee club is to help these teens discover their worth and realize their potential, despite what others think. Along the way, his efforts attract more students to join the glee club (including members of the football team and cheer leading squad) and the wrath of the coach of the cheerleaders.

Last week's episode, entitled "Wheels," firmly established "Glee," in my opinion, as great TV. This single episode dealt with issues of justice related to teens who are differently-abled and mentally challenged, the realities of teen pregnancy and casual drug use, and took an honest look at the loving relationship between a gay teen and his father while acknowledging the homophobia of high school culture. On top of that, the humor and music remind you that life can be an uplifting and exciting adventure.

If you are a junior member of the morality police, you might have a problem with the mostly adult content of a tv show focused on teen characters, and personally I'm not certain younger teens should be watching the program. But for those of us working with teens, it's a vision of world where all young people have someone who loves and cares for them and challenges them to be the persons they were created to be. Hmmm...remind you of anything?

--Brian

CREATIVE WORSHIP for YOUTH MINISTRY: Mini-Altars

2009-11-10T21:26:00.013-06:00

Tap into your teens' creativity with this project that encourages worship of God wherever they go.

In the exile, the Israelites came to understand that God didn't dwell in just one particular place but that God's presence could be experienced anywhere. Yet, how many of our youth believe that worship of God mostly happens in the confines of a church sanctuary one hour a week? To encourage teens to develop a practice of tuning into God's presence the whole week long, invite them to create mini-altars or worship centers like the example below. These can be carried in pocket or backpack and used as visual inspiration for moments of prayer throughout the day.

The process for making these pocket altars is simple and allows for each person's individual expression. Encourage teens to consider what focus they want for their mini-altar. They might want it to remind them of things for which they are thankful, images from nature, words of scripture, and so on. You'll need one empty Altoid tin for each person (can be purchased at a craft store) and a variety of art supplies. It helps to use sand paper or steel wool to take off some of the outside paint on the tin first. Youth can then decorate the tins with acrylic paint, or decoupaged images and words cut out of magazines. Small objects like buttons and shells can be easily attached on the inside or outside of the box using a hot glue gun or Diamond Glaze. Encourage teens to consider placing helpful items inside the tin such as a written prayer, a passage of scripture, mini icon images, a cross, photographs, a small votive candle, and so on. When finished decorating, consider spraying the inside and outside of the tins with clear spray glaze to protect the decoration.

See below a pocket altar I made myself or check out these other examples.

--Brian

Rethinking Church Camp 2010

2009-11-05T11:18:00.004-06:00

It's that time of year again. Right? Seriously, now may be a good time to start planning for next summer's church camp. I just finished Fred Craddock's new book: Reflections on My Call to Preach: Connecting the Dots. Fred is one of the most influential preaching voices in North America and a member of the denomination in which I belong--Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

I expected the book to be a reflection of his days spent in the pulpit and teaching in seminary. Instead, Fred reflects on his early years and how his experiences as a teenager, particularly at church camp, formed his understanding of being called by God to preach.

At one point, while recalling his camping days, Fred says, "My most significant, and frequent conversation partners...were ministers. Older ministers." Then he says, "Apparently I am reporting on a time before the churches decided to turn their young people over to young ministers, some of them but a few years older than their charges."

To be fair, Fred notes that perhaps such changes were necessary. But I think his points, and experiences, are genuine. All too often we look for younger adults and college youth to help be counselors. But what if next summer we intentionally focused on having older adults present at camp. You could even have several "Camp Chaplains." Maybe we need to be more intentional about briding the gap between generations?

I tend to agree with Fred when referring to these "older" ministers who helped develop his sense of call he says, "They were present, available, nonintrusive, [and] good listeners..." Isn't this what we look for in our camp staff?

--Jacob

Remembering the Saints

2009-11-04T11:25:00.002-06:00

The other day we posted this discussion starter. In addition to reflecting on our own lives, November is a time to celebrate the lives of the Saints who have gone before us. Consider closing with the following worship activity: As an "offering" for worship have youth write on small slips of paper, or even text, the names of those "Saints" who have played a significant role in their life. As an alternative, you could also have youth light a candle for the saints in their lives, saying a quiet prayer as each candle is lit.

Youth Ministry Rules Worth Breaking

2009-10-30T11:01:00.003-05:00

Are there youth ministry rules that are meant to be broken?

The great site Soul Pancake recently posed the question "Are Rules Meant to Be Broken?" The writer of the essay particularly focused on "personal rules." It made we wonder what rules in youth ministry it might be worth breaking once in awhile -- either those rules that have been imposed on us by the "Youth Ministry Community" that says "this is the way it is always done" or those rules we impose on ourselves. Which youth ministry rules do you think it would be worth breaking? Here a a few of mine:

Bigger is better. (How about being overjoyed some Sunday night when you walk in the room and only find two teens?)
Don't play favorites. (I know we're supposed to love all our teens equally, but let's be honest -- some teens we just have better chemistry with than others. Why not make them your focus and allow your other adult leaders to focus on other youth?)
Games are a must. (Does every youth gathering really need some crazy game as a way to kick things off or as a reward for sitting through Bible study?)
There has to be a program. (How about walking in to a meeting and when the youth say "What are we doing tonight?" you respond "Nothing." and see what happens?)
If I just do things right, we'll have tons of teens in our ministry. (Really? So it's all about you, huh?)
I teach. The youth learn. (Or we could try: I shut up. The youth talk. I learn more about how they see the world, their faith, the Church...)

Any others?

--Brian

Just in time for Halloween: "Hell House"

2009-10-23T13:36:00.008-05:00

If you're still looking for a Halloween-themed program to get your youth thinking, I strongly recommend the documentary "Hell House" about a church (Trinity Church -Assemblies of God in Cedar Hill, Texas) that hosts a yearly alternative to the local haunted house events. Instead of ghosts and goblins, their "hell house" includes scenes like a girl getting an abortion, a gay man dying of AIDS, or a girl at a rave being slipped a roofie and raped, and of course all with the implication that these people are going to hell for their misdeeds.

To be clear: I find this portrayal of the Christian faith so far from anything I believe that these folks might as well be practicing a completely different religion from the one I call Christianity. But -- the documentary is excellent and lets the subjects speak for themselves. Particularly powerful is the scene where a couple of local young people confront one of the organizers about the whole project. The film could certainly stimulate some great conversation about faith, fear, grace, sin, evangelism, and culture vs. Christ.

On a side note, I just watched Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal" last night for the umpteenth time. Funny how all the scare tactics the Church was using back in the middle ages during the plague still seem to be in vogue today.

Update: Check out this episode of the radio program "This American Life" which features an interview with the director of "Hell House."

--Brian

Urban Mission Trip Opportunity for Youth

2009-10-22T18:14:00.003-05:00

Looking for an affordable mission opportunity for your church, youth or campus ministry? Want to go on a mission trip but don't have the time to find a place to stay or line up all the volunteer projects?

My church, Union Avenue Christian in St. Louis, might be able to help. Last year we started a new ministry called The Urban Mission Inn. The Inn is housed on third floor of our inner-city St. Louis church and has sleeping space for about 30, plus 3 brand-new showers, meeting space, and kitchen facilities. In addition to housing groups who are coming to the city for mission work (or those passing through St. Louis on their way to/from a mission site), we will also assist you if needed in setting up volunteer projects that fit your group's gifts and interests. At present, we are only asking a $100 hold-the-date deposit, which is returned to you in full after your visit. By providing housing and logistical help, all you have to worry about is getting here and feeding your hungry group after a day of work.

Here's what a few of our visitors had to say about the Urban Mission Inn after staying with us this past summer:

"Way above what we would have expected for accommodations on a mission trip. Extremely friendly for ages 10-70. Would recommend to churches wishing to attend "Mission 101." Affton Christian Church

"We were welcomed generously. Thank you for the extravagant hospitality. It is such a blessing to find a church with showers -- not to mention one intentionally opening their doors to teenagers." Lee's Summit Christian

"I was just hoping someone could host us but you gave us great contacts for work too. It's been a blessing to bring my 'country' youth to an urban setting and have such helpful guides." First Christian, Pittsburgh

The Inn is open year round so we're ready for your group whether you are coming for a weekend during the school year, over Spring Break, or a whole week in the summer. To find out more, go here.

--Brian

DISCUSSION STARTER: How Will You Be Remembered?

2009-10-19T14:30:00.011-05:00

What will others say about you when you are gone? Invite students in your youth ministry to look into the future and consider how they want to be remembered.

This idea, inspired by the parish nurse at my church, could provide a window not only into what values the teens in your group already carry with them, but what values you might help them explore in the coming year. Share with your teens the story of Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite. This story, perhaps apocryphal, encourages each of us to consider what, in the end, we want our life to be about. Nobel awoke one morning to find that a French paper had erroneously published his obituary, which condemned him for his destructive invention. This was a literal wake-up call for the inventor. Intent on leaving behind a more positive legacy, he determined then and there to create and fund the Nobel Peace Prize.

After sharing the story, invite your youth to project their imaginations far, far into the future and consider what they would want people to say about them at the end of their lives. What would friends and family share about them? What will have been their accomplishments? What will have been most important to them in life? Relationships? Money? Faith? Family? Career? You could invite them to explore these questions in a variety of ways: 1) Write a "In Memory of..." newspaper article about themselves, 2) Create graffiti about themselves on paper hung on the walls, 3) Develop their own epitaph and write it on an image of a gravestone (an interesting alternative if you are doing this activity close to Halloween or All Saints Day), 4) Team with a friend and act out a mock talk-show where they banter about the many amazing things each of them did in their lifetimes. 5) Simply go around the room and invite each person to share their thoughts verbally (allowing individuals to "pass" if they don't want to speak). Follow-up by asking youth to note what sorts of personal values their ideas about the future seem to suggest about their lives now and in the days to come.

Note: I can imagine some might find this a morbid or a touchy subject to discuss with teens. I'm reminded of a church member who told me recently that we really can't start living until we acknowledge or own finitude. Our teens do think about death and the end of life, whether we talk about it with them or not. If we choose never to deal with the issue, we still teach them something by our silence. If the church can't talk with youth about the end of life, who should?

--Brian

Hurting and Healing

2009-10-16T10:30:00.003-05:00

Last Sunday, I preached on the parable of the rich man asking Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. We all know how this story goes. We've heard it before: It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone rich to enter the kingdom of God. Even before Mark tells us, we know that the rich man will turn away grieving because he has just can’t stand the thought of giving up everything he owns. And, if we’re honest, some of us will grieve with him as well—because for many of us, his choice would also be our choice.

But if we read the story too quickly, we miss one of the most important parts. The rich man kneels. When he kneels, it is an authentic request to be healed. He wants to be healed of what is keeping him from being close to God. For us, it may not be possesions (it could be hurts, anxieties, fears) but it's still there. The kicker of the story is that the rich man rejects the healing that Jesus offers him.

I think this story is particulary fitting with youth ministry. Lately, I have noticed that a lot of our youth are hurting. Some share openly, some don't share at it. But what if you were to spend some time focusing on the idea of the healing power of Jesus? Healing, especially within the context of religion, may not be something we're comfortable discussing. But Jesus really was a healer. And we too have the opportunity to be healed.

The other night we watched this video and created our own cardboard signs:

It was pretty powerful. If you try it out, let us know how it goes.

--Jacob

13 Things You Should Never Do in Youth Ministry

2009-10-13T16:04:00.015-05:00

Tired of all these youth ministry blogs (this one included) telling you all the things you should be doing? Me too!

Who died and made us experts that we get to tell everybody else the best ways to recruit volunteers, evangelize youth, plan events, manage time, and on and on and on? So, in the spirit of knocking us all down a peg or two, let me share with you my list of things you should never do in youth ministry. Of course, I have personally done every single one of these!

1) Never use college drinking games for icebreakers even though you use soda instead of alcohol (and no excuses just because you didn't know the game was based on a college drinking game!)

2) Never call off a lock-in (or similar event) because only a few teens sign up/show up unless you want to send a message that those few don't really matter.

3) Never suggest to the youth that the adult part of the church just isn't as cool as the youth ministry part (unless you want teens to run screaming from the Church when they turn 18).

4) Never ask a parent to be a youth ministry leader or chaperone without getting permission from their teen FIRST! (or else you may get the parent to show up at the event...but not their teen.)

5) Never allow teens unfettered access to the church building for a video/photography project unless you find out the subject matter first (which is preferable to finding it out after the images hit Facebook or YouTube and the senior pastor is giving you a call.)

6) Never say "I promise" to youth unless you really mean "I promise."

7) Never drive anywhere alone with one of your youth (unless you are trying to escape from the T Rex that has just flattened the church building and even then the teenager should ride in the back seat!)

8) Never assume you know the sexual orientation of your youth, their parents or family members.

9) Never call youth after 10:00 PM on a school night unless you want to incur the wrath of their parents (besides, this is the time when they are supposed to be in their rooms, pretending to study, while they talk to their friends on the cellphone.)

10) Never show a movie before previewing the whole thing (a mistake I should have learned from in my teens when my youth leaders showed us "An American Werewolf in London" -- sex scenes and all!)

11) Never assume that your youth group members are keeping their parents "in the loop" about what you are doing in your ministry.

12) Never forget that, once you add them to your "friends list" on Facebook, your youth can see everything you are posting (unless you can figure the ends-and-outs of how to block them from reading your politically charged rants or the photos of you from the high school glee club.)

13) Never buy into the lie that just because the other youth ministries in town have more teens that you must be doing wrong. Just keep loving your youth and modeling, as best you can, Christ's way of peace, justice, and grace.

Anybody have any more to add? (Remember, to be fair, they should be things you've actually done yourself!)

--Brian

Contest Winner

2009-10-08T10:37:00.002-05:00

Congrats to Dana who is the winner of our most recent youth ministry resource give-away. She'll be receiving copies of Evangelism Remixed and Low Cost No Cost Ideas for Youth Ministry. Thanks to all who entered.

COMMUNITY BUILDER: Picture Scramble

2009-10-07T13:53:00.007-05:00

Challenge your youth ministry to work together as a community to create a shared story using only pictures.

I just received the children's picture book Zoom, by Istvan Banyai, in the mail. It's an amazing wordless text which starts with a very simple image (a rooster's red comb) and in each subsequent page the image slowly moves backward, revealing more and more about what you are seeing. So, an overhead image of children on a farm pulls back to reveal it is really just a tabletop toy farm being played with by a young girl. The image pulls back further to show that the girl is really just an image on the front of a magazine being held by a sleeping person. And on and on until we end up out in space with the earth just a tiny dot. You can see the whole sequence of images here.

I've been waiting for awhile to get a copy of this book to use it for a team-building activity I first saw somewhere on the web. Here's how it works: get a paperback copy and separate out all the pages. Pass one page to each group member. Explain that each of them holds an image that is part of a story and their challenge is to put all the pages in the correct order in order to tell the full story. The catch: no one is allowed to look at any other person's picture. This means they will have to talk with each other, sharing information, trying to figure out the "bigger picture." As the group begins to discern the sequence, they should begin to lay out the pages in order on the floor, but with the images face down, still keeping the images a secret except to their owner. When the group thinks they have the sequence complete, turn them over and check your work.

There would be lots of ways to follow up this activity if you don't want to use it strictly as a icebreaker. Invite your youth to discuss how each person in the group brings something unique to share and each adds to the group's "story." Perhaps apply this activity to the way the Bible represents our faith story as a bringing together of lots of stories from different people, places, and times. How are we still adding to that story of faith today in the ways that we live in community with each other and the world?

--Brian

COMMUNITY BUILDER: Do-Nothing Nite

2009-10-05T11:28:00.005-05:00

Well, here's a radical community-builder idea for your youth ministry: host a night in which you gather together...to do nothing!

Okay, maybe not "nothing," but pretty close. Rather than one more fellowship night organized around some crazy activity, high-energy games, road trip, or an hour or two of staring at a tv playing video games instead of interacting with each other, try this alternative. Announce to your group that your next meeting with be a "do nothing" night. You won't be organizing any activities. They are invited to come and bring their own activities, provided it's something they can do that will allow others to do their own thing without being disturbed. Youth might want to bring board or card games to play with friends, bring their journals and write, their sketchbooks and draw, read a book, or just hang out and talk. Perhaps have some quiet music ready to play, provide some snacks, and just let the group enjoy each other's company.

Believe me, most of our youth have schedules that are so overloaded that this one evening of sabbath time will be a real gift. And if you just can't resist the urge to "program," you conclude the evening with a short time of prayerful worship, focused on the spiritual practice of sabbath rest, perhaps using Exodus 20: 8-11 or Deuteronomy 5:12-15.

Cool Video Project Idea for Youth Ministry

2009-10-02T12:25:00.003-05:00

Love this video. This could make a great project for youth groups to do together, either for a worship video or just to spread the postive message of the gospel around on the internet.

Youth Ministry & the Numbers Game

2009-10-02T11:51:00.005-05:00

Fellow youth ministry blogger KaGe has just shared a great reflection on his site about what it means to get caught up in the numbers game, particularly when your group is small to begin with:

I admit it. I am guilty, 100% guilty. I fell for it, I bought into it, I totally invested into it and was completely and utterly emotionally destroyed last week when I had a killer evening planned for youth group. I planned for 15 (which is a high number for our church) and was completely ready just in case I had a couple of extra people come. . . .OK, so my plan was great, a fun, active game, an active lesson, time for discussion and then bring it home with prayer and hangout time. Sounds good right? Now remember when I said I was prepared for 15? Well, it's hard to do a large group lesson/game when only 4 show up...and one of those was a half hour late. UGH! (((heart slowly breaking))) I dragged myself home that night
defeated.

I imagine most of us have been in this position - feeling like there was something wrong with us or our ministry because we didn't attract a huge crowd of teens to this event or that. And yet, Kage, in reflecting on the whole affair, has come to realize that perhaps there is a real advantage to leaving behind the numbers game and instead focusing on the strengths of being small in number but mighty in ministry. Check out the rest of his excellent post here. Perhaps his brainstorm could bear fruit in your ministry, too.

Rethinking Youth Contest: Women in Youth Ministry

2009-10-01T21:19:00.016-05:00

Time again for us to pass on some free youth ministry resources to our readers. This month the give-away is a brand new text from Youth Specialties entitled Evangelism Remixed: Empowering Students for Courageous and Contagious Faith by Dave Rahn and Terry Linhart. This book would especially appeal to those whose ministries focus on equipping teens to share their faith with their peers. We'll also toss in a copy of Low Cost No Cost Ideas for Youth Ministry -- a now out-of-print but great resource for those watching the pennies in their youth budget!

How do you enter the drawing for these freebies? I'm interested in doing some upcoming posts on women in youth ministry. In my years in ministry, the best pastors and youth workers I've ever served with have all been women. Ironic, as most of Christendom still refuses to acknowledge women as equal partners with men in ministry (particularly when it comes to "called" or ordained ministry -- though the tide is slowly turning on this issue).

So, I figure it's about time that Rethinking Youth Ministry celebrates our female colleagues. Know of a good blog written by a woman youth minister? Have a story to tell about a great female youth worker? Are you a woman in youth ministry yourself who wants to share about your experience in the trenches of youth work? Know of resources especially aimed at women in youth ministry? If you are willing to share any of the above with our readers, email us with your story or resource. Each entry/resource/story provides you with a chance in the drawing for this month's freebie. Contest ends midnight October 7.

-- Brian

Are We Playing It Safe in Youth Ministry? Pt. 2

2009-09-29T16:02:00.008-05:00

In a recent post, I argued that we need to stop playing it safe in youth ministry and encourage our youth to follow a more radical Jesus. Several of you offered some helpful comments on this post and I didn't want them to go unnoticed. Here is a sampling:

It is more dangerous inside the church than it is outside. It is like being trapped in a garage with the car running and breathing spiritual carbon monoxide, until you pass out and then die spiritually. The toxic fumes of religion are no match for following Christ in the open air of a hurting world.

So much of youth ministry have been tuned to "protect" teens from the "evil world". The church turns missional, but strangely enough youth ministry seems to be the last to change. In youth ministry we still do the contra-world type ministry where we simply duplicate what happens in the local culture and so it in a "safe Christian environment". Dangerous Youth Ministry might be not have youth group, but to send our teens back to where they come from... that is where they should be living, not true?

To make a Church dangerous, we as Youth pastors must first be dangerous. When Jesus is being made known and people see the fruit in our ministry they will either: fire us, or follow us.

Our blogger friend Jason shared a sort of companion post he wrote for his blog that echoes the sentiment that perhaps we've been playing too safe with our youth. Jason comments:

After reading your post Brian I couldn't help but think of Lenore Skenazy in New York who wrote a book called "Free Range Kids." As a reporter she found that the HYPE about danger was always WAY out of proportion to the reality. She was voted worst mom for letting her 9 year old ride by himself on the New York Subway system. Churches could probably do months of lessons on just statistics alone showing how the things we think are dangerous in reality are not the things we
should be worried about.

And finally one reader was helpfully honest:

I'm living that "safe" youth group (note - I can't even call it ministry) and it's killing me! Oh, to be dangerous...that's what I want. How can I get my church to become dangerous?

This is the real question, of course. How do we get our ministries to be more "dangerous" when it comes to following the radical way of Jesus? I have suggested some broad approaches: radically reinvisioning the world in which we live, opposing violence and working for peace, speaking out against intolerance and injustice, leaving the comfort of our youth rooms, and deciding that sharing our faith means more than convincing other people of our religious point of view. Those are the big ideas, but how about some practical suggestions to get us started living more dangerously. One reader, Jay, shared what his group is trying to do:

We started 2 years ago doing what we call eVANgelism, where we pile into vans loaded with press pots of coffee and hot cocoa and head to downtown Toledo Ohio on winter evenings (typically thursday) and give everyone we can find coffee and cocoa, sometimes praying with people, sometimes sharing the Gospel, sometimes just having conversations.

This evolved into a summer ministry where we take our bikes downtown split up and just meet people on their lunch breaks, or general pedestrians and talk about life, pray, and share the gospel. The response has been tremendous for the most part. The one piece of advice everyone gives us is this "Be careful". I understand the concern, I really do, but that advice is an indictment on where we are as a church in america... too much caution, too much fear.

Read the rest of Jay's comments here. Jay's eVANgelism effort started small, with intermittent success. But this is the way to move into more dangerous ministry. Dip your toes in the water. Be a careful observer of your youth and see what they are ready for and what challenges will excite them. Take small but brave steps and see where they take you. Those steps might include:

Challenging your youth to round up all the stuff in their rooms at home that they hardly ever use, even though it is perfectly good "stuff." This might include clothes, cds, books, electronics. If they haven't used it in the last year, have them bring it to the church, hold a rummage sale, and decide on a worthy cause that could use the funds. Follow-up on a study or radical stewardship.

Experiencing a homeless simulation by creating a shanty town on your church parking lot from cardboard boxes and then you and your youth sleep in them overnight, your only food being some sandwiches and water served to you from the trunk of a church member's car. Debrief the experience as a way to talk more honestly about the problems of homelessness.

Participating in a 30 Hour Famine weekend retreat or "A Fast that Lasts."

Journeying on a weekend inner city mission trip with Center for Student Mission or The Urban Mission Inn.

Taking a stand on an issue involving justice, peace, prejudice or oppression in your community by creating signs with positive messages about the issue and then displaying them as your group stands on a busy street corner on a silent vigil.

Partnering with local interfaith youth groups to do a mission project together, taking time in the experience to learn about each other's values and belief systems.

Other suggestions? --Brian

CREATIVE WORSHIP: Think Globally

2009-09-23T06:49:00.007-05:00

Here is an unfinished worship idea but one I imagine some of you could run with and expand.

Last Sunday we focused on global missions with our morning youth class and talked with them about the missionaries we are supporting in Haiti, a husband and wife pastor/doctor team. We set up several learning centers for the youth to explore but many of them gravitated to the one you see below. Their task was to create a collage of the globe using photographic images of people and places from around the world (we utilized National Geographic magazines). They started out by roughly outlining the continents and them went to work filling in the spaces with images torn from the magazines and glued to the paper. This could certainly been done as a meditative prayer station, inviting participants to focus their prayers on the needs of the world as they work. It could also become a permanent prayer center in your youth room - a place to post news items about needs around the world or to gather around when remembering those dealing with war, drought or natural disaster. Plus, it looks pretty cool.

See more creative worship ideas here. --Brian

From the "You Gotta Be Kidding Me" Dept.

2009-09-21T13:31:00.007-05:00

What's that tank doing up above? Hanging out in some church's youth room. A church in Ohio has giant models of war craft and military symbols installed in their children/youth space to attract kids and perhaps play on the theme of "spiritual warfare." Setting aside the unlikelihood of children making the metaphorical leap from real tanks and guns to "spiritual warfare," do I even need to say why theologically this is so very, very wrong? I'll let this commenter from the Church Relevance blog do it for me:

This sickens and saddens me that weapons and the military (things that control and kill) are being turned into things of worship. Sorry to be the one that thinks this is wrong after all the “gee isn’t this cool” comments, but please really, what message is this sending to the kids and the community? Not the same as the one Jesus asked [us] to share.

Then there's this one:

Maybe one of the tremendous things that has gotten lost in the push for relevancy and “cool media” has been the theological reflection that goes into our structures and presentations. It is highly dangerous, theologically, to push out such a strong militaristic theme…especially to deeply impressionable children. We are left to wonder about how long the conversation was about the theological implications of creating this kind of space. Now I’m not suggesting we need to go back to the medieval times of gothic architecture, but I do believe our church spaces deserve honest, and careful reflection. I think we’ve lost that in our push for capturing the cool.

See more images and discussion here. Your thoughts?

-- Brian

VIDEO: Helen Prejean on Following a Radical Jesus

2009-09-21T13:04:00.001-05:00

HT to Matt Stone.

Are We Playing It Safe in Youth Ministry?

2009-09-17T08:59:00.009-05:00

My old ritual, as youth group would wrap-up on Sunday evenings and the young'ns were heading home, was to say to them "Be Safe." Isn't that a strange way to say goodbye? Of course, all I meant was "Have a good week and come back in one piece" but is that really the best advice we have to give to our youth? They live in a wold of school violence, AIDS, drugs, computer predators, terrorism. Is being safe all it's cracked up to be? What about when it comes to our faith? Is teaching our youth to "play it safe" our best option? Probably not, but are we willing to lead youth ministries that encourage real risk?

One of my favorite passages in C.S. Lewis' The Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe finds the young protagonists chatting with Mr. and Mrs. Beaver. The Beavers are trying to describe Aslan, the Lion (a metaphorical stand-in for Christ in the story). Lucy, taken aback by the notion of meeting a lion, asks, "But is he safe?" Mr. Beaver replies. "Safe? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't. But he's good."

Do our youth ministries too often offer a Jesus who is "safe?" A Jesus who asks little of us beyond giving intellectual assent to a list of religious beliefs? A Jesus who says, "Just agree that I'm your Lord and Savior and then I'll leave you alone to your video game nights and your road trips and your skateboard parks?" We know that for the early church, following Jesus was not just about committing to a list of do's and dont's or pledging allegiance to religious dogma. For them following Jesus meant walking through life the way he walked, living and loving as he lived and loved. Theologian Paul Tillich describes this as making the spirit of Christ a reality by "participating in his very being." In other words, following Christ is not primarily about abstract belief but about a way of being in the world.

And if we dared to do this in our youth ministry, we'd better be prepared for trouble. Because following Jesus with our youth -- really following Jesus -- will be anything but safe. Because here is what it would look like:

Radically reinvisioning the world in which we live -- even though it's a world in which we are pretty comfortable (Do our youth rooms really need a mini-fridge and an Xbox or should our priorities be elsewhere?).

Letting go of all our old distinctions of rich/poor, male/female, gay/straight, young/old, powerful/powerless, respected/shamed, cool/uncool, popular/unpopular (Who is not in your youth group because they don't think they'd be welcome in the church? What are you doing to extend to them the hand of Christian hospitality?)

Opposing violence and working for peace (Is it time for a protest march?)

Speaking out against intolerance and injustice and calling on the Church to do the same. (How do your youth see the intersection of their faith and their attitudes about healthcare, poverty, AIDS, abortion, the death penalty, racism, etc.?)

Leaving the comfort of our youth rooms to go out and literally feed the poor, clothe the naked, care for the lonely, heal the sick. (Can we do this every Sunday and not just on the yearly mission trip?)

Deciding that sharing our faith means more than convincing other people of our religious point of view or showing publicly that we are more pious than the next person. It's about how we live and love in this world. ("Preach the Gospel always and, if necessary, use words.")

Of course, none of this stuff is safe. Some of it may even be dangerous. Some of your teens will jump at the chance to be world-changers. Some will leave and find a youth group that is more entertaining and less challenging. And know that when you start messing with the present order of things, those who benefit from that order will always see what you are doing as a threat. Perhaps this is why churches work so hard to keep youth pacified with video games and big screen TVs and trips to Six Flags and their own rooms far, far away from everyone else. We figure if we keep them distracted enough, they might not notice that this Jesus guy really is a radical, dangerous troublemaker calling us to overturn the tables of the world and work for something completely different.

So, how do you know if your group is following the radical Jesus or just playing it safe? Ask yourself: Is our ministry meeting any resistance from those, youth and adults alike, who are happy with the cultural status quo? Have we confused the gospel with our culture’s recipe for respectability, comfortableness, safety? Does the Jesus we follow demand anything of our youth other than being members in the "nice people" club? Is the Jesus we share with our youth more like a kitty cat or Aslan the Lion?

I know many of you out there are leading "dangerous" youth ministries. We'd like to hear from you and know what you're doing. You may just inspire the rest of us to stop playing it safe.

--Brian