Questioning Current Models of Youth Ministry
Read a Leadership article this morning that corroborates a lot of my thinking over the past few years regarding youth ministry in the church. In short, a new study reveals that age segregation, to the degree that it is currently practiced in most local churches, is counterproductive to forming adolescents into disciples of Jesus. The study cites stats on the high rates of youth dropping out of church involvement in their young adult years (70% after high school, 80% by age 30).
A few noteworthy observations:
A few noteworthy observations:
1. Relationships with adults are key.
- "There is a strong link between kids staying in church and their involvement in intergenerational relationships and worship."
- "the future of youth ministry is intergenerational youth ministry. . . one thing churches can do that really makes a difference is getting kids actively involved in the life of the church before they graduate."
- "being intentionally intergenerational means that churches need to be aware of and flexible about things that can be alienating to kids."
- Relationships are more important than worship styles.
- "Kids are far more interested in talking to caring, trustworthy adults than we think they are."
2. Church size affects adult-adolescent relationships.
- "one of the real advantages of being a smaller church is that there is a lot more potential for intergenerational relationships and longer lasting faith. It's a general rule that the bigger the church the more segmented the age groups and generations are from each other."
- Serving together is a key to significant intergenerational interaction in larger churches.
3. We should be setting high expectations for youth.
- "Teenagers are up to the challenge. In our college transition project, we asked high school seniors what they want more of in youth group. Time for deep conversation ranked highest. Games ranked last. That's one example of how we're currently undershooting. Tenth graders study Shakespeare. What are we offering them at church? Nothing comparable to Shakespeare."
4. Change should be incremental, pastor initiated, and lay driven.
- "The pastor is crucial. . . . the reality is that the behavior and attitudes of the pastor ultimately set the course for the church."
- "the change process often starts small. Look for a subgroup of parents and kids who will embrace this and can help you bring changes into your youth ministry. . . . people support what they create. So get people involved from the very beginning."
so just processing your thoughts.... i read the same study... & i tend to agree with most of that... so given your experience in what we are doing... where are we weak/strong?
ReplyDeleteHey man,
ReplyDeleteFor what they're worth, these are the strengths and weaknesses I see:
Strengths:
- Relevance. You address issues the youth care about.
- Passion. Enthusiasm for Christ, evangelism, and holiness.
- Social environment. Opportunities (before and after) for them to do their own thing and mingle.
- Activities. Camp, etc.
- Volunteers. You've recruited a lot and earned their buy in.
Weaknesses:
- Depth/Low expectations. Students need equipping for developing a fully-orbed Christian worldview. The adult and youth sermons won't cut it. Even with small groups, there's an enormous gap. I think we've tried to compensate for lack of depth (because it's hard) by cranking up the emotional intensity, but I'm not sure this accomplishes anything lasting.
- Ownership. A few exceptions aside, I think most of the students see themselves as the recipients of ministry rather than ministers themselves.
- Intergenerationality. College students and young adults are perfect volunteers b/c of their relative freedom from responsibilities, but youth need mature role models. Retired adults are the most undertapped resource in the church. Service together is the best way I see to get the intergenerational component in a large church.
- Evaluation. A lot of our assessment efforts were based on staff and volunteer perceptions. These are OK, but ultimately don't tell you anything significant. You need some assessment tools to evaluate the students' progress in spiritual formation. If you don't know where they are, you won't know where to start with them or whether the ministry is accomplishing its goal (making lifelong followers of Jesus).
I don't think they're exhaustive, but I hope those thoughts are helpful.
Holler back,
Matt
By the way, I'd like to strongly recommend working out a philosophy of ministry for the high school ministry using a particular model that has helped me immensely with mine. It's based on Phillip Sell's article "A Map for Ministry," which is an adaptation of William Frankena's educational model for ministry. I would be really happy to make a copy of the article and sit down and process it with you sometime.
ReplyDeleteIt's extremely helpful in that it helps you to align your strategy with your goals and your goals with your beliefs. It ends up being a huge accountability and evaluation tool, because it keeps you true to your goals while helping you see logical gaps in your strategy.