Do you keep pushing Youth Ministry buttons that don't work?
'Why do we continue to follow practices and models of youth ministry that have no real impact on the discipling of youth? Not too many years ago, I finally gave up the practice of opening every youth group gathering with a bunch of crazy games which were intended to set a tone of fun and excitement for the youth but which really just sent the message that the Bible study/discussion program to follow was the boring part of the gathering'.
This quote is taken from the DOPCANDY website (run by the Diocese of Portsmouth's Children's and Youth Worker, Ben Mizen). It brought to mind an article I read a while ago entitled Church: The Boring Bits for Kids (they're not what you think), by Beth Barnett. Although part of the Baptist Union of Australia, and so maybe not wholly relevant to our British Anglican traditions, it made me think about how we ‘do' church for our children and young people - they may not fully engage with the worship, have to sit through endless church notices, and then go out to their own groups while the adults sit through the sermon. Beth suggests that ‘we often fall for the old game of thinking the Sermon is the problem. The sermon is not the most boring bit - heck! We're talking about the Bible - how could that be boring? (I'm deadly serious).
And thinking about it, pastors/preachers, don't you invest a huge slice of your week into preparing the sermon - to be engaging, to wrestle honestly with text and how God is calling us to live in our context? That has got to be scintillating for kids: grown ups - thinking about abandoning their old habits - taking risks - looking to the adventures of the Spirit. If I was a kid I'd be buzzing.'
I'll leave you to read the articles and reflect...
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