I'm definitely "in" for the CYWC and I hope many other Canadian CRC youth workers are able to attend as well - it will prove to be a rewarding and helpful event and the discussion with other CRC youth workers sounds excellent!
Thanks for sharing your wisdom on this - very practical information!
My question is this - while "tweaking" programs is important, what happens when it comes time to complete overhaul? How does a leadership team know when it is time to go "back to the drawing board"? How do we discern the difference between "tweaking" and "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic"? In other words, sometimes our congregational cultures can be prohbitive in terms of the "model/strucutre" of our youth programs - how do we know when it is time to challenge the perceived knowledge of "the way things have always been done" without throwing the baby out with the bath water?
I highly recommend the "Seven Deadly Sins" materials from Faith Alive. It cerainly fits the criteria you've outlined (which, by the way, are very helpful ~ thanks!)
Personality types are also closely related to spirituality types.
Check out:
Sandra Hirsh and Jane Kise "Soul Types"
Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey "Prayer and Temperment"
Gary Thomas "Sacred Pathways"
I hope to lead an end of year workshop with the youth ministry leaders of my church on this topic. If anyone has any other resoures on "spirituality types", please let me know.
There is a great booklet available from Faith Alive called "So You've Been Asked to be Mentor". I give it to all our adults who serve as Profession of Faith and leadership mentors to our youth.
Good books on mentoring include: "Mentoring Millennials" by Daniel Egeler and "Spiritual Mentoring" by Keith Anderson and Randy Reese
I really appreciate your comments - you've spelled out very well the issues we are wrestling with. I realize that what we are trying to do is in many ways a first.
I agree that we don't want to fall into the trap of either age segregation or tokenism. In my opinion, "youth councils" and "youth advisors" are not the way to go - indeed, they are symptomatic of many of the issues related to youth and young adutls that our denomination is currently facing.
I think a few clarifying remarks on my part will help move the conversation forward.
The young women being considered for this position are professing members who definitely display gifts in the areas in which we are considering them. They are spiritually mature and of strong character. Our council is comprised of deacons, administrative elders, and pastoral elders. They are being considered for the role of deacon and admin elder, respectively.
It would be great if we could includ them as full members - it would be bold. However, the process we use in selecting council members is a) approval of names by council b) congregational approval of names via ballot c) casting of lots. While the girls have certainly passed the first step, as this is a new thing we are trying, they probably woulnd't get past step 2. Another complication is that they will be in grade 12 this fall and they will be heading to university in fall 2013. This means serving for 3 years is out of the question.
This is also something we are hoping to do only if/when suitable youth candidates are available. In other words, we don't want to create a standing position that needs to be filled year after year by a youth. This is not about getting warm bodies to fill an empty position.
I understand the confidentiality issue. However, I think that they understand it too - I think every teenager understands what it means to be entrusted with sensitive information - isn't that an important part of any friendship? I also think back on my experience as a co-op student in the Ontario Provincial Police when I was 17. I had to sign a confidentiality agreeement and I took it very seriously, much to the chagirn of my friends who were always itching for a good "cop story". I was exposed to a number of situations that many 17 year olds wouldn't face on a regular basis, but this did open my eyes to the realities of our world. I suppose the difference in a church setting is that the girls would know the members who are being discussed. But, again, I think that if they are given the responsibilities of a regular council member and receive appropriate mentoring and training that they will be up to the task. In those situations where it may be deemed appropriate for them to be excused from a discussion, that would be the most prudent thing to do, but I wonder, how often would this really happen, keeping in mind that they are not serving in roles of direct pastoral care (i.e. as pastoral elders).
As YUs newest "Leadership Consultant" for the GTA, the news of the layoffs was a huge blow, not only to those who were layed-off, but also to every youth worker with connections to YU. This was obviously not an easy decision for the leadership at YU and it is very unfortunate that this has to happen.
Yes, part of the problem could be chalked up to a marketing problem (when I tell my non-CRC colleagues about my role at Youth Unlimited, they are confused to hear that there is another YU). And economics certainly does play a part in this.
But I think the larger issue has to do with denominational support of highschool youth ministry on all levels (congregational, classis, denomination).
Certainly at a congregational level, support for youth ministry is obvious in many CRCs (to be clear, support for youth minsitry has nothing to do with having a paid youth worker on staff. I'm blessed to work with many churches whose youth ministries are tirelessly run by the blood, sweat, and tears of volunteers. All I can say to them is "wow and thank-you!". But in my experience, too often youth ministries are run as spaces to let youth "do their own thing" without interfering with the rest of the church (the idea of the youth service is a case in point - give the youth a Sunday night once and a while to make all the nosie they want but don't let them do this on a Sunday morning and definitely don't invite them to become equal and activie pariticipants in planning and leading worship alongside the adults lest they upset the applecart).
Even at the Classis level, many CRCs have taken steps to become more intentional about focusing on youth ministry - this can range from acknowledging that such a thing as youth ministry exists to having a classis invite its youth leaders and pastors to give a presentation on the state of youth ministry in their area (Classis Toronto invited its youth leaders and pastors to present at their May 2012 meeting).
At the denominational level, advances such as young adult delegates to Synod and the creation of YALT are great steps in the direction of acknowleding and including youth/young adults in the life of the CRC.
But is this enough to sustain youth ministry and does it underline youth ministry as a prioriy for our denomination, the awesome work of YU notwithstanding?
This is why the question you raise about creating a "made-in-Canada youth minsitry support system" is very provocative indeed as is your suggestion to find ways for the denomination to financially support youth ministry. What would this look like? Who knows, but I think the time is right to start having these discussions.
There is a huge difference between being "multi-generational" and "inter-generational". Most churches are, by default, multi-generational churches; that is, they are a congregation where more than one age group is present. You've done a great job fleshing out the countors of an inter-generational church - thanks!
I agree with you that we don't want to fall into is "tokenism" - sipmly having a youth present for the sake of having a youth present. This means giving youth real and meaningful responsibilities in the life of the church, similar to the ways you've outlined above.
We had Syd Hielema lead our congregation in a workshop on "Becoming an Intergenerational Church" - I highly recommend Syd's workshop - he offers great insights into how generational dynamics play out in congregations and offers practical suggestions for making the cultural shift to becoming truly inter-generational.
Let's face it - becoming an intergenerational congregation is a shift in the cultures of many congregations, which means change, which means questioning and challenging some of our practices. In light of the "mass exodus" of young adults from the church, I think most congregations are waking up to this reality and the necessity of making cultural changes. The question is - are they willing to make those necessary changes?
I should add that one of the things our congregation is doing is hosting a few intergenerational events throughout the year (Games Night, Music Fest, service projects, etc.) They are intentionally intergenerational in that the mixing and mingling of the generations is the priamriy goal of the evenings - all ages are engaged in the activity together and not simply in terms of physical proximity.
We've also shifted the focus of our high school youth minsitry from "large group activities" to one-on-one mentoring. Every youth who "opts in" to the mentoring program is paired with a mentor with whom they meet once per month for prayer, discussion, etc. The mentors receive training, are given the discussion topics that we are discussing at our youth Bible discussion nights, etc.
We are also in the process of expanding the mentoring program into our junior high and Sunday School programs - albeit, in a less intensive fashion. Sunday School kids are partnered with a "Prayer Buddy" which conitnues into Jr. High where those students will begin to meet with their mentor a couple of times throughout the year.
Driscoll is a fundamentalist neo-Puritan bully who runs with a pack of rabid dogmaticians who are obsessed with hunting heretics. The not so subtle subtitle of "Doctrine" is clear on this - "What Every Christian Should Believe".
1. My greatest joy is developing relationships with students, youth leaders, and families of our youth.
2. My greatest struggle is getting the congregation to see the importance of letting the youth have an active leadership role in all aspects of church life, particularly in regular worship service planning, membership on committees, and in providing fresh insight and innovative ideas for our church.
I would love it if parents were involved in our youth ministry beyond the typical role of chauffeur and/or host. I encourage the parents of my youth to participate in any and all of our youth events in whatever way or role they feel most comfortable - from helping out in the kitchen, to joining in during activity time, to sharing their faith story, to being a small group leader, to being a mentor. So far, there haven't been many takers - parents tend to rely on the excuse that their kids don't want them at youth. Even if this is the case (which isn't as often as parents like to assume it is)
upon becoming involved, many parents (and their children) realize what a blessing it is to participate in youth ministry.
The obvious caveat being that if a parent is a small group leader, they would not be the leader of the group in which their child is a member.
Posted in: Who is the New Youth Ministry Guide?
Thanks for the welcome and encouragement, Albert.
I'm definitely "in" for the CYWC and I hope many other Canadian CRC youth workers are able to attend as well - it will prove to be a rewarding and helpful event and the discussion with other CRC youth workers sounds excellent!
Posted in: Why Ask Why?
Albert,
Thanks for sharing your wisdom on this - very practical information!
My question is this - while "tweaking" programs is important, what happens when it comes time to complete overhaul? How does a leadership team know when it is time to go "back to the drawing board"? How do we discern the difference between "tweaking" and "rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic"? In other words, sometimes our congregational cultures can be prohbitive in terms of the "model/strucutre" of our youth programs - how do we know when it is time to challenge the perceived knowledge of "the way things have always been done" without throwing the baby out with the bath water?
Posted in: How to Choose a Bible Study
I highly recommend the "Seven Deadly Sins" materials from Faith Alive. It cerainly fits the criteria you've outlined (which, by the way, are very helpful ~ thanks!)
Posted in: Youth Workers and Councils: It Can Work!
Personality types are also closely related to spirituality types.
Check out:
Sandra Hirsh and Jane Kise "Soul Types"
Chester Michael and Marie Norrisey "Prayer and Temperment"
Gary Thomas "Sacred Pathways"
I hope to lead an end of year workshop with the youth ministry leaders of my church on this topic. If anyone has any other resoures on "spirituality types", please let me know.
Posted in: Do you have any resourses on mentoring, specifically 1, 2, or 3 high schoolers mostly?
There is a great booklet available from Faith Alive called "So You've Been Asked to be Mentor". I give it to all our adults who serve as Profession of Faith and leadership mentors to our youth.
Good books on mentoring include: "Mentoring Millennials" by Daniel Egeler and "Spiritual Mentoring" by Keith Anderson and Randy Reese
Posted in: Youth Serving on Council?
Mark,
I really appreciate your comments - you've spelled out very well the issues we are wrestling with. I realize that what we are trying to do is in many ways a first.
I agree that we don't want to fall into the trap of either age segregation or tokenism. In my opinion, "youth councils" and "youth advisors" are not the way to go - indeed, they are symptomatic of many of the issues related to youth and young adutls that our denomination is currently facing.
I think a few clarifying remarks on my part will help move the conversation forward.
The young women being considered for this position are professing members who definitely display gifts in the areas in which we are considering them. They are spiritually mature and of strong character. Our council is comprised of deacons, administrative elders, and pastoral elders. They are being considered for the role of deacon and admin elder, respectively.
It would be great if we could includ them as full members - it would be bold. However, the process we use in selecting council members is a) approval of names by council b) congregational approval of names via ballot c) casting of lots. While the girls have certainly passed the first step, as this is a new thing we are trying, they probably woulnd't get past step 2. Another complication is that they will be in grade 12 this fall and they will be heading to university in fall 2013. This means serving for 3 years is out of the question.
This is also something we are hoping to do only if/when suitable youth candidates are available. In other words, we don't want to create a standing position that needs to be filled year after year by a youth. This is not about getting warm bodies to fill an empty position.
I understand the confidentiality issue. However, I think that they understand it too - I think every teenager understands what it means to be entrusted with sensitive information - isn't that an important part of any friendship? I also think back on my experience as a co-op student in the Ontario Provincial Police when I was 17. I had to sign a confidentiality agreeement and I took it very seriously, much to the chagirn of my friends who were always itching for a good "cop story". I was exposed to a number of situations that many 17 year olds wouldn't face on a regular basis, but this did open my eyes to the realities of our world. I suppose the difference in a church setting is that the girls would know the members who are being discussed. But, again, I think that if they are given the responsibilities of a regular council member and receive appropriate mentoring and training that they will be up to the task. In those situations where it may be deemed appropriate for them to be excused from a discussion, that would be the most prudent thing to do, but I wonder, how often would this really happen, keeping in mind that they are not serving in roles of direct pastoral care (i.e. as pastoral elders).
Posted in: Youth Unlimited's Canadian Marketing Problem
Keith,
As YUs newest "Leadership Consultant" for the GTA, the news of the layoffs was a huge blow, not only to those who were layed-off, but also to every youth worker with connections to YU. This was obviously not an easy decision for the leadership at YU and it is very unfortunate that this has to happen.
Yes, part of the problem could be chalked up to a marketing problem (when I tell my non-CRC colleagues about my role at Youth Unlimited, they are confused to hear that there is another YU). And economics certainly does play a part in this.
But I think the larger issue has to do with denominational support of highschool youth ministry on all levels (congregational, classis, denomination).
Certainly at a congregational level, support for youth ministry is obvious in many CRCs (to be clear, support for youth minsitry has nothing to do with having a paid youth worker on staff. I'm blessed to work with many churches whose youth ministries are tirelessly run by the blood, sweat, and tears of volunteers. All I can say to them is "wow and thank-you!". But in my experience, too often youth ministries are run as spaces to let youth "do their own thing" without interfering with the rest of the church (the idea of the youth service is a case in point - give the youth a Sunday night once and a while to make all the nosie they want but don't let them do this on a Sunday morning and definitely don't invite them to become equal and activie pariticipants in planning and leading worship alongside the adults lest they upset the applecart).
Even at the Classis level, many CRCs have taken steps to become more intentional about focusing on youth ministry - this can range from acknowledging that such a thing as youth ministry exists to having a classis invite its youth leaders and pastors to give a presentation on the state of youth ministry in their area (Classis Toronto invited its youth leaders and pastors to present at their May 2012 meeting).
At the denominational level, advances such as young adult delegates to Synod and the creation of YALT are great steps in the direction of acknowleding and including youth/young adults in the life of the CRC.
But is this enough to sustain youth ministry and does it underline youth ministry as a prioriy for our denomination, the awesome work of YU notwithstanding?
This is why the question you raise about creating a "made-in-Canada youth minsitry support system" is very provocative indeed as is your suggestion to find ways for the denomination to financially support youth ministry. What would this look like? Who knows, but I think the time is right to start having these discussions.
Posted in: Doing Intergenerational vs. Being Intergenerational
There is a huge difference between being "multi-generational" and "inter-generational". Most churches are, by default, multi-generational churches; that is, they are a congregation where more than one age group is present. You've done a great job fleshing out the countors of an inter-generational church - thanks!
I agree with you that we don't want to fall into is "tokenism" - sipmly having a youth present for the sake of having a youth present. This means giving youth real and meaningful responsibilities in the life of the church, similar to the ways you've outlined above.
We had Syd Hielema lead our congregation in a workshop on "Becoming an Intergenerational Church" - I highly recommend Syd's workshop - he offers great insights into how generational dynamics play out in congregations and offers practical suggestions for making the cultural shift to becoming truly inter-generational.
Let's face it - becoming an intergenerational congregation is a shift in the cultures of many congregations, which means change, which means questioning and challenging some of our practices. In light of the "mass exodus" of young adults from the church, I think most congregations are waking up to this reality and the necessity of making cultural changes. The question is - are they willing to make those necessary changes?
Posted in: Doing Intergenerational vs. Being Intergenerational
I should add that one of the things our congregation is doing is hosting a few intergenerational events throughout the year (Games Night, Music Fest, service projects, etc.) They are intentionally intergenerational in that the mixing and mingling of the generations is the priamriy goal of the evenings - all ages are engaged in the activity together and not simply in terms of physical proximity.
We've also shifted the focus of our high school youth minsitry from "large group activities" to one-on-one mentoring. Every youth who "opts in" to the mentoring program is paired with a mentor with whom they meet once per month for prayer, discussion, etc. The mentors receive training, are given the discussion topics that we are discussing at our youth Bible discussion nights, etc.
We are also in the process of expanding the mentoring program into our junior high and Sunday School programs - albeit, in a less intensive fashion. Sunday School kids are partnered with a "Prayer Buddy" which conitnues into Jr. High where those students will begin to meet with their mentor a couple of times throughout the year.
Posted in: Doctrine by Mark Driscoll
No.
Definitely not.
Driscoll is a fundamentalist neo-Puritan bully who runs with a pack of rabid dogmaticians who are obsessed with hunting heretics. The not so subtle subtitle of "Doctrine" is clear on this - "What Every Christian Should Believe".
Posted in: Joys and Struggles
1. My greatest joy is developing relationships with students, youth leaders, and families of our youth.
2. My greatest struggle is getting the congregation to see the importance of letting the youth have an active leadership role in all aspects of church life, particularly in regular worship service planning, membership on committees, and in providing fresh insight and innovative ideas for our church.
Posted in: Parents Involved in Youth Ministry
I would love it if parents were involved in our youth ministry beyond the typical role of chauffeur and/or host. I encourage the parents of my youth to participate in any and all of our youth events in whatever way or role they feel most comfortable - from helping out in the kitchen, to joining in during activity time, to sharing their faith story, to being a small group leader, to being a mentor. So far, there haven't been many takers - parents tend to rely on the excuse that their kids don't want them at youth. Even if this is the case (which isn't as often as parents like to assume it is)
upon becoming involved, many parents (and their children) realize what a blessing it is to participate in youth ministry.
The obvious caveat being that if a parent is a small group leader, they would not be the leader of the group in which their child is a member.