Unleashed
The top 10 things to look for in an effective, faithful youth ministry
By Gina Yeager-Buckley
I am stuck. I am “on” for teaching Sunday school this Sunday. It’s the day after two more episodes of violence—the shootings in San Bernardino, California, and Savannah, Georgia. It’s also Advent, and our two students, Annie and Abby, both delightful and compassionate young women, will not likely relish talking about more violence.
I feel ill at the idea of exposing them to any more of this mess. And there’s only the two of them. Yes, two. I am one of several youth-ministry volunteers at a small and wonderful church. Our youth class has two students and three teachers. We rotate so as not to overwhelm Abby and Annie with our sometimes-too-exuberant affection for them.
That love makes this moment all the more difficult. I feel lost and anxious about how to do an Advent lesson without being upfront about so much evil in the world.
Looks like I am not alone in my worry about Sunday’s lesson, either. When I log onto my work email (I am the Presbyterian Mission Agency’s associate for youth ministries), I find 10 messages from people across the nation asking me about curriculum for talking with youth about violence.
Youth at Faith in 3D joined a 90-minute worship service where, as a benediction, everyone was invited to step outside and gaze at fireworks.
I email a dear friend, Michelle Thomas-Bush, associate pastor for youth and their families at Myers Park Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. In response, she writes, “We created a youth group gathering a Sunday after the terrorist attacks in Paris on responding as people of faith.” She tells me that rather than getting lost in fear and despair (or getting annoyed with the heavy topic), the kids came alive. “The youth were all in agreement that the bottom-line response should be welcome, hospitality, and building relationships. ‘This is what Jesus would have done,’ one of them said.” One teenager even suggested that each member of the youth group worship with a Muslim friend or form a relationship with a Muslim.
Suddenly the words from Isaiah pop in my head: “Do not fear, for I am with you” (41:10). And it occurs to me that it’s not my job to shelter Abby and Annie from the hurts of the world. It’s also not my job to tell them how God is leading them in this awful moment. In fact, I’m the one who’s been feeling lost; perhaps, these young people are the way through the craziness. Perhaps they will be my teacher.
A youth helped pack food for community mission at the 2013 Presbyterian Youth Triennium.
Youth ministry is effective—and faithful—only when it engages our youth with the realities of both the holy and the hellish. It is our calling to serve with young people who are waiting not to be formed (God already took care of that) but to be inspired, befriended, and sent. Even into the tough places.
For the last 10 to 12 years several landmark studies and research projects have been running behind the scenes of a changing (perhaps even panicking) church to try to examine what is happening in congregations that seem to be “getting it right.” Criteria for success interestingly have nothing to do with numbers of youth, or the budget, or the nice new youth annex. These things aren’t bad, but alone they don’t tell you much about the health of a ministry. The markers for effective engagement look a lot more like what you’d want a young person to have as they graduate from high school. Taking all the wisdom gleaned by these studies, here are 10 characteristics that are likely to be present in churches that are effectively engaging youth.
(1) There’s a culture of youth ministry. This means that youth ministry has become a natural part of the church rhythm, language, worship, and mission. It’s not just an occasional program, and it’s not just for youth.
(2) Youth wrestle with difficult, even controversial, issues. Our faith requires that we not shy away from what is happening around us. We have to engage what’s going on in our culture, politics, and communities because these are a part of our youths’ lives, and if we don’t explore these issues through a Christian lens of redemption, no one else will.
(3) Youth worship with the full congregation. They participate in a worship service that has multigenerational leadership and is adapted to excite the interest of all present. This doesn’t necessarily mean “contemporary” (or bands or video or whatever you think might “get” youth to worship). It means communicating that it is important to you to have youth there. And when it’s important to have someone with us, we talk about them, include their experiences in our stories, offer some music they like, and include them in leadership and planning.
(4) Parents are their children’s primary spiritual directors. So, let’s help parents! Let’s pray for them. Teach them to pray. Give them support by providing time to gather, learn, talk, moan, and share ideas.
(5) Youth have both peer and adult relationships. Let’s focus on the people we have, who are in our church right now, and make getting to know each other the reason we get a gold star on a chart rather than attendance. In fact, let’s ditch gold star charts, and let’s have leaders trained to exclaim, “You’re here, and I am so glad!” during meetings in ice cream parlors and coffee shops and celebrations for the important rites of passage in our youths’ lives.
(6) There are adult and youth leaders. Leaders should be trained to be spiritually aware and capable and to tell people about their service. We’re looking for leaders with a deep desire to see young people in their church feel accompanied. We’re looking for leaders who want a mutually transforming experience, with everyone growing in their own faith.
(7) Discipleship emphasizes social justice and service. It’s not a trend; it’s a theological and biblical tenet, and it’s one of the clarion calls of Christian life. It’s not right to ignore the needs of the world and to focus only on a ski trip and call that ministry. We are calling disciples to Christ, not forming very nice kids who need a weekly place to be safe and have some laughs. Following Christ in 2016 is very much like what following Jesus was like 2,000 years ago. It involves fellowship (food, laughter, rest, travel), learning (asking questions, hearing stories), and risk (being with “those” people, speaking up for the stranger, carrying the burdens of those who are oppressed).
(8) There’s a strategy. Think about the developmental stages of your youth. Customize your ministry to your context, individual youth, and the church’s needs. Be intentional about what you teach over a period of time. There are loads of ideas, curricula, and approaches out there. To know what’s right for your context, you have to think about your youth and your church’s unique mission.
(9) It’s easy for youth to be a part of the life of the church. Young people should know that their involvement is desired. They shouldn’t have to go through extra hoops with the session or always take the initiative themselves. Invite their involvement in activities that match their expressed gifts and interests. They should also feel at ease in the church building itself, knowing it to be a safe and welcoming space where they can be themselves. Church space should be available to young people and not “off-limits.” They should feel as if it belongs to them as much as it does to you.
(10) Important rites of passage are celebrated. Many of the most significant moments of human existence (particularly for those in the United States) happen between the ages of 12 and 18 years old: transition from elementary school to middle school, learning to drive, puberty, romance, confirmation into the faith, and graduation. Churches that acknowledge these milestones help young people understand that “all of our lives” belong to God and are worthy of communal recognition, prayer, and pastoral care.
We’ve come a long way in our understanding of what makes ministry and mission healthy. And along this path we have come to understand that the numbers of people participating do not necessarily equal a deepening discipleship or a truly locked-in profession of faith. Of course, even knowing that to be true, I still assume a jaunty, yet slightly defensive, tone when describing “our tiny twosome, our little bitty group” at the church where I serve. But when I think about who those two girls are becoming, I feel excited. Hopeful. Ready to try again. Holy, even.
And perhaps that’s the real measuring stick for a church that’s itching to do something good in this crazy world.
Gina Yeager-Buckley is the associate for youth ministry for the Presbyterian Mission Agency.
Learn More and Take Action
For resources and guidance: pcusa.org/youthministry
Here’s how you can dig deeper into the 10 characteristics of a healthy youth ministry.
(1) Spend some time comparing the characteristics to your dreams for your young people.
(2) Talk to your youth and include them in the process.
(3) Talk to the parents of your youth. Find out what their hopes are.
(4) Over a 10-month period, spend one evening or afternoon a month exploring what it means in your church to incorporate a specific characteristic.
(5) Be encouraged. It’s likely that you have a handle on several of these characteristics already. It’s important to know what you do well and to communicate this.
(6) Involve your whole church. Youth ministry is often relegated to the basement with the bad couches. Get thee to the parlor! Remember “relationships.” Put the youth and the adults together and talk about youth ministry. Use the 10 characteristics as a template for dreaming, evaluating, comparing, when talking with youth and adults.
(7) Young people in the throes of their faith formation are inspiring. Encourage your young people, and their parents and youth leaders, to share their stories. Have them blog about what feel when they experience the crossroads of justice and faith. Ask them to give a testimony in worship or at a dinner about what it means to them to be in the church.
(8) Share the prayers of the youths’ parents with an adult church-school class or with the deacons, and then tell the church you are doing this.
(9) For some reason, most church members are completely unaware of what is happening with their young people. They care deeply but they are not aware. So, tell them what is happening
Fundraising Idea
The support wall
By Victoria Schaff
This fundraiser is adapted from an idea deemed “the greatest ever” (Google Wall-O-Money). Place 200 brightly colored envelopes marked $1 to $200 on a bulletin board. Invite congregation members to support the youth based on what they can afford to give. They simply remove an envelope, insert cash or a check, seal it, and place it in an offering plate or in a staff person’s box. (Remember to leave the envelopes unsealed when you hang them on the wall.) You can also put some creativity into it by inviting youth to write stories about their experiences in youth groups. Put each story and a picture of its author in an envelope. You can also stuff envelopes with a photo magnet that says, “Please pray for our youth.” Put a fun thank-you banner behind the envelopes so that as they are removed, a message appears to the congregation. Done traditionally, this fundraiser can raise more than $20,000. The most our congregation has raised is $6,800, twice what we formerly raised in a year of multiple fundraisers.
Adapted from “Fundraisers” Quicksheet, produced by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
For this resource and others: pcusa.org/youthministry
Quick Youth Group Ideas
By Presley Neal Cox
Pow Wow
Have the youth sit in a circle. Everyone gets a turn to share a POW (a low point of the day/week) and a WOW (a high point). Leaders can also put the POW and WOW points on their prayer lists.
Pow Wow Music
Instead of just sharing highs and lows, invite youth to share a song that reflects those feelings. Youth may choose to recite lyrics, share the song title, or describe the music. You can also invite one youth a week to bring in a song to play for the group, a song that connects with their faith, their doubts and fears, or their joys. Reflect on the song as a group.
Graffiti Wall
Materials needed: newsprint, markers, and music in the background
Put up blank sheets of paper around the room, with different questions on them. Invite the youth to stand in small groups at each sheet, write or draw their responses, and then, when you say, “Next!” move to the next sheet.
Scavenger Hunt
Send teams out to collect a number of items, perhaps 10, within a given amount of time. The catch: they do not receive the list until they return with their items. They are then given a certain amount of time, as a team, to figure out which item best fits each descriptor on the list. For instance, if the list says, “a new kind of drink holder,” teens may try to convince the judges that the basketball they found best fits this description because it has a place for a straw to be inserted, can hold lots of liquid, and wouldn’t break if dropped. Some sample descriptors include a symbol for peace on Earth, a conversation starter, our new youth logo, something Jesus could have used, a new way to study the Bible, an aid for helping alleviate world hunger, and something John the Baptist might have eaten.
Speed Fellowship
This activity is based on speed dating and is a quick way for everyone to get to know each other. Have half of the group sit down before the fellowship begins. Have the other half stand until someone rings a bell to begin; then each member of this group sits with a member of the other group for five minutes. When the bell rings, each person from the standing group moves to the next person sitting down.
Talk Tokens
Materials needed: tokens such as poker chips or pennies
Sometimes the challenge of getting youth talking is that some talk too much and some talk too little. Try to break that pattern. Provide everyone with the same number of tokens. During your discussion, each time a person speaks they must toss a token in the middle of the circle. Once their tokens are gone, they become a “listener.” The tokens are redistributed only after everyone has used up their turns to speak.
Talk Partners
Many people, particularly introverts, are uncomfortable sharing their thoughts off the top of their heads. When posing a question to the group, invite youth to turn to a new person next to them and share their thoughts. This gives them time to rehearse their answer. After a minute or two, call the group back together and invite those who are willing to share.
New Names
Materials needed: small slips of paper, pens, small containers
Divide your group into three teams. Ask, “If you were to change your name, what would it be?” Give everyone a few minutes to write down their new names and place them in a container. The leader will draw out a name and read it to the group. Teams then have a chance to come up with who they think chose the name. If a group guesses right, then that person leaves their group and joins the other. (For example, Group A guesses that Sally wanted her name to be Emily. Sally was in Group B, so she now becomes a member of Group A.) If a group guesses wrong, the next team has an opportunity to guess. Instead of a new name, you could also invite them to select a favorite cartoon or Bible character.
Adapted from “Quick Youth Group Ideas” Quicksheet, produced by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). For
this resource and others: pcusa.org/youthministry
