Confessions of a youth minister

Bigger is always better, or so I thought. For nine years I served as the lead youth minister in a metro Atlanta area church. We called ourselves REACH and our mission was to touch as many young lives as possible in the name of Jesus. It was great fun and we had activity-laden ministry that attracted many friends and family of teens in our youth ministry. We grew quickly from having four youngsters at my first Sunday School class to consistently having 40-50 teeangers at the Wednesday night group session to having over 100 kids at our popular activities. I would proclaim the power and name of Jesus, fire the kids up, invite them into a transformative relationship with their Savior, and ask them to bring their friends to the next gathering or event. It was an exciting time, and for someone who has a full-time career in sales and strives to be a "gatherer," I celebrated the growth in numbers as a great success.

Bigger is always better, or so I thought.

So what was the issue...isn't bigger better? Is having ministry stewardship over a growing number of people something to get excited about - absolutely. Is is reasonable to celebrate having more people in the seats for our church services, camps and youth activities - of course it is. So where was the issue? The issue for me was this - we were an activity-centered ministry instead of a presence-centered ministry. I was great at showing wiz-bang videos, organizing fun group games and getting people involved with what we were doing. Not bad, but there is something better.

Whether your church, youth ministry or camp is large or small in numbers, I have come to believe that truly effective ministry can only be done by helping others see the presence of Jesus, by way of the Spirit, in their lives. That happens through life-on-life, moment-by-moment experiences that we share with young people. It's about relationship. I was a youth minister of influence...trying to leverage my personality and ability to gather people to win them for Christ. Now I want to be a youth minister of relationship...helping young people to experience the relationship and the power of the presence of Jesus already in their lives. As Andrew Root writes in his book Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry, "Relational Youth ministry is about suffering with adolescents. It’s about sharing in their place with empathy, sympathy, and commonality…We must reach out to their (teens) humanity even if it means the suffering of our own humanity, for this is the way of the cross…We have offered them trips to Disneyland, silly games and cool youth rooms, not companionship in their darkest nights, their scariest of hells.” Amen.

I still play silly games and like cool youth rooms and get excited about a large crowd. However, now I have come to see that every person in that cool youth room is a cherished child of the Living God - not to be won over, but to be loved. No agenda. No strings attached.

Opening the church to young adults

Why do many young adults leave the church, and what will it take to bring them back? These questions are examined in Essential Church? by Thom and Sam Ranier. To read an excerpt, click here.

The book is based on a study of one-thousand "church dropouts" who were interviewed about why they left. Their answers have less to do with "losing their religion" and more about their desire for community that isn't made stale by simply maintaining the status quo.

The book offers four ways churches can make their worship community an essential part of these young people's lives again:

• Simplify - develop a clear structure and process for making disciples
• Deepen - provide strong biblical teaching and preaching
• Expect - let members know the need for commitment to the congregation
• Multiply - emphasize evangelism, outward focus, and starting new churches

I appreciate the insights of this book, and would add concerning its conclusions that what I think we are seeing in these young adults is two things:

1. A rejection of "Churchianity." By that I mean thy no longer see church attendance as a social advantage or imperative.
2. A longing for community. I believe this longling comes from an (often unknowing) experience of the union they have with God in Jesus, who unites all humanity to the "community" of the Father, Son and Spirit. This union is the basis of the "image of God" (imago Dei) that all humans bear (an image often distorted by sin). The church has the opportunity to make such community visible and accessible by being a loving community that is centered on Jesus and has doors wide open to include young people in their cultural setting. I hope we will do so.

The hopes of a new generation

What do young people hope for? That's a huge question, and there are no simple or single answers. But listen deeply to the hopes and dreams expressed in a powerful short video titled "Lost Generation" - click here to download.

I believe that what is heard in this video is an expression of a generation that is sharing in the hopes and dreams that Jesus, through the Spirit, has for them and with them for their world and his. I pray that we will help them realize these hopes with and in Christ.

Building community after camp

In a previous post (click here), I discussed approaching camps (and other short-term ministry events such as mission trips) as opportunities to build community that continues outside the event. In, "Living More Than Mission Trip to Mission Trip," Drew Sams offers tips for using social networking media to this end (click here to read his helpful article on the FYI website).

Better. Together. Forever.

Hey gang –

We have two GenMin camps taking place this weekend – Crosswalk in Oklahoma City and The Mountaintop in Atlanta. Would you lift both camps up in prayer. Pray for the staff and campers…for safety and good weather…for new and renewed friendships…that all eyes would be open to see the flowing river of love of God in those places and spaces. Whether you will be attending one of these two camps this weekend or another GenMin camp this summer – let’s all come to these places with great expectation. My personal “theme” scripture for this summer is Ephesians 3:20-21 which says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” Do you believe it? He’s more than able to break down walls of division, to turn things that were meant for harm into good, to restore a soul that only seemed destined for heartache and trouble and to bring families together! The Apostle Paul also mention “glory…in Jesus throughout all generations…” That’s what our churches and camps are all about…cross-generational living in Jesus. Grandmas and grandpas, dads and moms, brothers and sisters, young and old – living life together and sharing in the blessing of the relationship we have in Jesus.

The relationship that God has as Father, Son and Spirit has illuminated the truth that we are all better together. I need you and you need me and we need we. Amen.

Have a great summer and find one any of the GenMin camps at http://genmin.wcg.org/campministries.htm.

In Christ,
Anthony Mullins

VBS ideas

For some great ideas concerning running a Vacation Bible School (VBS) on a low budget, click here.

Churches before - during - and after camp

The following post is based on a post at FullerYouthInstitute.org which is distilled from "Deep Justice Journeys: 50 Activities to Move from Mission Trips to Missional Living," co-authored by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin.

It's important to help teens who go to camp or on short-term mission trip to both be prepared for the experience and then to process the experience when they return. Sadly, many congregations do neither, and much of the value of the experience is lost to both the camper and the congregation.

Here are some ideas to help both the camper and the congregation take advantage:

Before

Discuss the event with the leadership of the congregation before it happens. You may want to invite a few teen campers to attend the meeting with you. Then invite the church to pray for the campers. Provide a list of specific prayer requests and pictures of the campers in the church bulletin.

Figure out creative ways to invite the congregation to support the campers financially. Some churches have started selling $25 or $50 “shares” congregation members can buy as a way to invest in their transformation.

Invite the camp director or a key camp staffer to come to your church and give a five-minute profile, or even an entire sermon, on the camp.  Ask key adults in your congregation to volunteer to mentor one of the campers.

During

On the Sunday during the camp send a report to the congregation via cell phone - let them know how the campers they are praying for are doing.  Have the congregation pray that Sunday for the absent campers and staffers. (When they get back, be sure to let them know how God answered those prayers!)

After

Be sure to report the work God did in and through the campers and staffers to the entire church when they return. Teach the church a new worship song they learned at camp. Show pictures from the camp. Set up a meeting in which the campers and staffers from the congregation can discuss their experience with leaders from the congregation. Make sure the agenda includes discussing next steps to more fully integrate the campers and staffers into the life of the congregation.

A theology of the child

Click here for links on Per Crucem ad Lucem to short articles that address the theology of childhood. These articles address the theological vision of Calvin, Barth, Jensen and others.

Cross-generational worship blends old and new

One of our challenges in reaching out to the younger, predominantly post-modern and post-Christian generations, is to engage them in the story of Jesus (the gospel) in ways they relate to. Its about telling the "old, old story" in ways that are faithful, but that are understandable in a particular cultural setting (post-modernity in this case). One church in New Zealand has done so in telling the Easter Story, interpreting the ancient "stages of the cross" motif in contemporary ways. Click here to read more in an article titled "Something Old, Something New."  

Developing cultural intelligence

Click here for an article from David Livermore (posted on the Fuller Youth Institute website) concerning cross-cultural intelligence in ministry. This is an important issue as we reach across generational divides, which in our emerging post-Christian and post-modern world are also cultural divides.

Using camps to build cross-generational congregations

Generations Ministries camps, mission trips and other events are helpful tools for participating with Jesus in building cross-generational congregations. Click here to read more about this topic in the April issue of GC2 equipper.

What is Jesus doing in GenNext?

     We understand from Scripture that all humanity is included through Jesus in the triune communion of the Father, Son and Spirit.  And this means that Jesus, in union with all people, is actively ministering to them, in the Spirit - even when they do not know who he is (and thus who they truly are).

     This being so, a important question is this:  What is Jesus doing in his ministry with humanity? And, more specific to the focus of this blog - What is Jesus doing in his ministry to, with and through GenNext?

     Seeking answers to this question leads us to carefully examine what is going on in our culture. We look for the "fingerprints" of Jesus, even in the midst of a lot of brokenness and sin.

     One of the places I see Jesus at work, particularly in the imaginations of young people, has to do with an emerging care and concern for the environment, coupled with a growing spiritual awakening.  Note, for example, the following press release from the Pachamama Alliance. 

     "More than 12,000 young leaders converged in Washington, DC, for Power Shift 2009, from February 27 to March 2 [2009]. These young activists from every U.S. state and many other nations went there to get further educated and trained, to shine the spotlight on climate change, the need for green jobs, and to lobby and educate to hold our elected officials accountable for building a sustainable, equitable, green economy now.

     "Two powerful Awakening the Dreamer Symposiums [conducted by Pachamama Alliance of San Francisco, CA] bookended this historic gathering, attracting 10% of the participants. The Symposiums grounded participants in the magnitude of what’s at stake, rooted them in the holistic framing of an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, and socially just future, and provided them a powerful context for all they learned, enabling them to be more effective with all they set out to achieve...."

     Only time will tell what becomes of this post-modern awakening to a sharing in Jesus' love for his creation. But I suggest that we need to be aware of what Jesus is doing, in the Spirit that inhabits all people, in the emerging, younger cultures and seek to join him there in ways that meaningfully participate in what Jesus is already doing. That is our calling and privalege.

Helping high school students prepare for college

I recommend a new video from LiveAbove.com that shows how we can help our high school students (soon-to-be graduates) prepare for their transition to college -both practically andspiritually. Check it out!

On YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8MwF6WRVaY

Or www.LiveAbove.com/ondemand

The Trinity and Marriage

In his recent post on A Spreading Goodness (click here), trinitarian theologian Ron Frost blogs about God as Trinity and what that tells us about marriage.  I commend Ron for his helpful summary of the history of Christian thought and the implications of a trinitarian theology for marriage relationships. Check it out. 

Beware the "choking game"

A friend of mine noted with concern a growing phenomenon among kids age 9-16.  It is called the "choking game."  Parents and youth workers should be aware and on guard. For more information check out the links below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choking_game
http://chokinggame.net
http://www.stop-the-choking-game.com/en/home.html
http://www.telecomassociation.com/pubs/chokinggamereport/index.htm