Education Dilemma
Like many churches, Faith Roseburg is struggling with ways to reach our youth, especially middle school and high school ages. Traditional Sunday School structure is obsolete. For several years now we have tried different things to lure kids to church - breakfast, service projects, pizza, etc. We, the council & pastor, are interested in what is happening in other congregations. Do you have a curriculum that is meaningful or a project that hooks kids? Have young leaders been empowered to be more active & how has that worked? We are interested in the nitty gritty of how this works in your congregation and community. Although we are geographically isolated, kids are the same the world over & Roseburg would be no exception. Please share your experiences so all of us can reach out to kids.
Cindy Ferguson
Possible resources
Our last two ministers to youth did a good job of connecting with the kids and connecting the kids to the congregation.
I don't think either would object to me passing on their contact info, but I prefer not to do so on even so limited a public forum as this,
If you will contact me at jsmaas@yahoo.com I'll pass on the information to you.
Say hi to Pastor Jane for me -- she is a buddy of my sister -- Pastor Barb Punch in Prinville.
John Maas
An Idea
Cindy --
Wouldn't it be cool if High School and Middle School kids could ask each other what's going on in their groups -- what's working, what's frustrating.
I see that Lisa Gray has started a youth "group" here in soul cafe. You should join that group and check in with her!
John
The constant struggle
Hi Cindy,
I echo all of your questions and concerns. There is the OLYO Group here on Soul Cafe, and that may be a good place to ask questions directly of the youth. However, I've found that many students who invest in OLYO (leadership or otherwise) are invested in their congregations in some way or another already, and they come together as a source of encouragement.
I'm interested to see if anyone responds with some great ideas, because we've yet to find "the hook." And in so many ways it pains me to even have to phrase it like that. I think it's much less about what we're NOT doing to draw students to church on Sunday, and more about what IS drawing them elsewhere. Much of the time when our students aren't in church Sunday it's because there's something else going on, and not simply that they don't want to come. Sports, primarily, but there's also scouts, performing arts, etc. At which point for me it becomes more a parent issue and less a student issue.
So another layer to the question is how do we get parents to invest in a meaningful way?
I wish I has answers, but I think if many of this can engage in the questions together we'll all have some insight to gain.
Peace,
Lisa
"It becomes a parent issue . . ."
Lisa wrote:
Boy, that an important factor, not the only one, but a major one. How important to parents is faith development in their children? I think that's a crucial question to be asked of parents and discerning the real answer is one key to effective youth ministry.
Early in my ministry I was hand-wringing about the cost of a multi-day trip we planned. One of my parents said to me, "If we can afford [more than that] for basketball camp, knowing they won't play even in college, we can certainly afford it for their growth in faith."
Cindy and Pastor Jane certainly seem to see the benefit in the spiritual development of their children. What other allies do they have among parents AND other caring adults in the congregation? Who is willing to partner with them in a myriad of ways -- stategic planning, faith sharing (small group leaders, drivers, co-advisors), monetary support, etc..
I don't think this means excluding kids in the process, but recognizing what Lisa is saying about parents/adults and forming partnerships -- leaders, kids, parents.
BTW, I've taken kids from former congregations to OLYO events. They are worth attending. I've found them to be a good example of what happens when kids and advisors work together to plan and carry out meaningful youth events. AND I think they are especially important for kids who do NOT come from large congregations or near other Lutheran congregations from which to share resources. These sorts of things were major group building/faith building experiences for our kids in the two small town parishes I served. It also refreshed, trained and encouraged me and other volunteers as youth leaders.
John
We want them with us, do they want us with them?
Many, many years ago I was a Director of Christian Education and that also meant youth work. I noticed rather quickly that we were always asking the kids to come to us. The question then became, do we go to the kids. Who is going to their ball games at their schools? Who is chaperoning the dances, who is going to their concerts? How are we becoming involved in their lives? Is the church part of their life outside of the boundaries of the church walls? How can we become more connected outside of the church building so that they see us in their lives? If we involve ourselves with them, will they want to involve themselves with us?
Just my thoughts. By the way it worked for our church and the youth group really grew. The youth of that time are the current leaders of that same church and they still have an active youth group and now a very large congregation.
Mieke
Being Active in Their Lives and House Church
While I was at seminary I was part of a pilot program for an area congregation developing a house church model. Essentially, gather, eat, read and discuss, pray, and commune. My youth have taken to that model with fervor. For the first time in four years we are growing. It is nothing new, but it is comfortable and safe. From the environment to the company our 9-12 graders have an opportunity to talk about issues and faith in their own living rooms and it has helped them to open up in new and exciting ways. I guess that is the "going to them" idea from Mieke.
Additionally, I try to make sure that I catch at least a couple of events in every season. I've been to basketball, volleyball, skeet shooting, Junior Miss, golf tournaments, dance recitals, you name it. We have a Wall of Fame for all of those moments that are captured in the local paper and I often share what our youth are doing in the community (including inviting the congregation) during the announcement time after worship. It's those kids with whom I have made contact that way who are coming and with whom I have a positive working relationship.
Eric
Good Word...
Thanks for your post Mieke. Many churches are 50 years behind Young Life and similar para-church ministries in terms of going to where kids are at. Youth ministry must operate more like cross-cultural missions. The difficulty is that congregations want 'results' and don't know what to make of things they can't count. A family member of mine was expected to be in the office 9-5 as youth director. Ridiculous :)
This is exactly what I was
This is exactly what I was talking about Eric. It worked very well for us when I was a Director of Christian Education. The Bible study in small groups worked very, very well for us. We had a Bible study before almost anything we did, whether it was a camping trip, tree decorating, visiting the elderly, a potluck, an overnight, we always did it and the kids absolutely loved it. We frequently met at homes outside of the church building for our activities and the kids loved that. They got to know each other as friends, they felt comfortable around each other and they invited their friends, who already knew us because they had seen us and met us outside of the the church at their functions and activities.
I might add that this was many years ago. I am happy to say that from that first group we had a large percentage of them continue their education at Concordia University and several became Pastors, or teachers or Directors of Christian Education. As for the rest of the kids, most of them are still active in the church and so are their children because the new DCE's continue with the personal involvment approach, albeit not as intensely as we worked at it.
God bless you for stepping outside of the box.