Youth Ministry

Okay. I can't believe I am writing about Youth Ministry. I am not a Youth Leader and my children do not attend Youth Group at my church. There are times I can not even relate to my children, so how could I possibly relate to any other youth? Crazy. I know God is stirring something within me and I am letting this percolate.

I continually have thoughts about Youth Ministry, programing ideas and God has given me this vision, a sort of a music video that plays out in my mind, of youth worship in a space they created in this tiny room at my church, with an altar that was built together, with a very talented woodworking gifted parishioner I know. Oh, and the kids have painted this room with a mural of their design. The music and liturgy they create is God inspired and inviting. As God's music video plays out, I see an intergenerational exchange: adults, seniors, younger children, and people from their ministry work sharing this prayer time and Eucharist with them. There are no boundaries, they have built relationships within our community and beyond, in the shelters, seniors centers and with the lonely and struggling peers they see each day at school and in their neighborhoods. They are there with their best friend and with the person who removed them from friend status on face book. In addition, the youth fully engage in what they refer to as the "too traditional, not welcoming 10:45 traditional service". In this vision, there is a sense of real belonging in a faith community, young and old alike, embracing liturgy, one another's differences and uniqueness. I believe this can happen.

I woke this morning about 4:30am thinking about youth. I thought about an awesome young lady at my church who will begin and lead a HS Bible study this fall, (totally her idea BTW). I thought of the college freshman who is leaving this week, remembering to check my facebook messages to see if she has responded to getting together before she leaves. I thought about my daughter who has been so moved by her experience in Young Life in HS and a mission trip she took to Jamaica. I thought about my youngest son who patiently sits and listens to me practice my sermon, when I have the privilege to preach.He asks me questions. Good hard questions. I thought of his service project for his HS this year; clothing and food drives for the needy in our county,(I don't think they know they all are living, breathing disciples). I am thankful that my children expect me to pray before we eat whether we are dining at a crowded mall, a local restaurant, or our table at home with one another and friends. I woke to thinking about youth in general, my kids, the kids in my neighborhood and everywhere. Have I done enough? Am I doing enough?

How can kids develop faith that impacts their lives when our world in general seems to have the opinion where church and God are less and less revelant. Locally, here in Loudoun County, the debate continues about the appropriateness of the Nativity displayed at the courthouse, something that has been done for many, many years. This year the Baccalaureate at a local HS had only 22 students participate out of a class of over 550! The message they get is God isn't valued outside of their church.

I think ministry with youth requires ministry with parents too. Parents are the most important spiritual mentors in a youth/teenagers life, but I bet few parents realize it or feel prepared for this role. I think addressing youth/teenagers faith
without addressing parents' faith doesn't make any sense. Maybe parents need to be surveyed on what faith means to them or what they hope their youth/teen will get out of youth group , socially and spiritually. Better yet, what a great group session/sessions to have, an open safe forum for parents and youth separately then possibly together to talk about God and faith. I think our kids need to see their parents as grown ups with faith, willing to embrace the views and questions of our youth/teens where ever they are on their spiritual journey.

Let's face it, faith formation has to be intentional. I read something once about kids and religion that made so much sense to me. It went something like this: Often parents say they want to "expose" their kids to religion. They are going to let them choose for themselves. That's naive. Teaching isn't indoctrination or coercion. It is intentionally passing on something that matters. We need to talk about it, model it and construct opportunities to practice it. We don't just expose our kids to things that matter. Can you imagine the disaster we'd have if we simply "exposed" teenagers to driving? We teach them to drive because driving well matters. Why are we more concerned about teaching teenagers to drive than teaching them about Jesus?

How do we get our youth to unplug from their life of facebook, twitter and TV land of The Real Life of .....(you fill in the blanks) to hear God's voice?

It takes a village or at least a congregation to engage and support youth and teens. The adults in a congregation need to understand the value of what they, as adults , have to offer . It can be a skill, a listening ear, a mentoring role, and/or taking an interest in the spiritual growth of the youth and respecting their level of faith that is appropriate for their age and maturity. The youth/teens need to feel valued and part of, not apart from the congregation.

Rob Bell, writes in his book,Velvet Elvis, "The writers of the Bible are communicating in language their world will understand". That is what we need to do for our youth...communicate the language of the Bible in a way that they will understand. They will get the "message" and will then be able to see God is alive and working in their lives. They need to know that the Bible tells a story and the story isn't over. The story is ongoing and they have a part in it.

The Youth are the leaders of tomorrow both in the churches and in the world. I pray that they are encouraged, inspired and empowered by their growing love of God.

Namaste,
Maureen