One reader posed a question to me in a comment to a recent post: “Do you still think you have the youth ministry bug?”
If youth ministry means investing in the lives of young people for the good of God’s Kingdom - Yes! I’ve got the bug.
If youth ministry means a program-centered approach officially sanctioned by a local church - No! I don’t have that bug anymore. (and it has nothing to do with all-night lock-ins and being in my late-30s)
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4 comments:
I sense you have a big problem with programs, especially big church programs.
I agree. I am all about people, not programs!
I love this blog!
Marko (president of YS) posted this blog on his page today. That is how I found you.
I am in this with you. I no there is no easy answers, so I all about having the "conversation".
for 13 years i served in youth ministry on a church staff. i've never lost the "bug" but did lose my appetite for the traditional church based, event driven model, replete with indifferent parents. what to do? i've ministered as a houseparent to teenage guys for the past 5 1/2 years at a Christian children's home.
one thing i'd always stressed to kids' parents was that because they spend more time with their kids - by virtue of the fact that they LIVE with them - than i could ever hope to - having 3-4 hours a week with them - that they (parents) have a far better opportunity and responsibility to influence their teens. i finally decided to put my money (and career) where my mouth was, and it's been an awesome experience, albeit a challenging one.
best ministry decision i ever made.
I am a youth pastor. I also found this blog via Marko's blog. I read many of the posts and consider myself...intrigued. I have struggled of late with continuing to do things just because that's how it's always been done. This could be a very valuable forum. I look forward to the "conversation".
Thank you for offering this.
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