No Youth Group...No Problem!

“We’re looking for a church with a strong high school youth group.” 

Those words from a Peace Lutheran Church visitor a few weeks back raised my anxiety level.  I had to sheepishly admit that Peace really doesn’t have a ‘youth group’ for those in high school… but that we were working towards activities that involve the entire family (and high schoolers could be a part of it)!  What a lame attempt to justify what appeared to be a glaring gap in our ministry.

The church that I grew up in had a very active Luther League, complete with a full time youth director to lead us in many awesome activities.  I remember the camp-outs, lock-ins, youth trips, bowling nights, and doughnut sales. 

If only we could recreate that experience at Peace!!  I’ve dreamt of having a fun, camp-style youth director who could build relationships with the youth and shepherd them to faith.  Many larger churches get to have that…but sadly Peace just doesn’t have the resources to pull it off.   IF we had the resources THEN we’d make a positive impact on the faith of our youth.  For years I’ve felt the disappointment that smaller churches like Peace have let their kids down!  I suspect I’m not the only one!

It’s a lie!  My whole way of thinking changed last week as I had the opportunity to attend a “Nurturing Faith @ Home” class at Luther Seminary.  I went to find some creative ways to overcome our ‘smallness’ and help kids grow in faith (despite our lack of a cool young director).  What I learned shocked me!  Study after study reveals that the model of ‘cool youth director and lots of youth activities’ does a POOR job of raising kids in the faith.  And you know what kind of ministry actually impacts the faith of young people?  The very family ministry that I sheepishly offered!  

The research overwhelmingly shows that children (whether toddlers or high schoolers) grow in faith as they share in faith activities with parents and other adults.  For years there has been a major disconnect between ‘youth’ faith activities and ‘adult’ faith activities.  The youth had their own Sunday Schools, youth groups, and service trips.  Very few parents helped to lead them (and most parents were too intimidated to do it!).  Most adults took part in separate faith activities (leading worship, gathering in small group Bible studies, having personal devotional time).  We always made the assumption that the youth would make the transition from ‘youth faith’ to ‘adult faith,’ but the church provided few ways for that to happen.   Youth ministry focused on the personality of the leaders and the fun activities they attended.  As the youth grew and matured in life, those events faded away.  Nobody (including parents) had prepared them for an adult life of faith.

If youth ministry is about hiring a full time youth director and planning many activities…Peace can’t do that.  But if youth ministry is about gathering families together to grow in faith together…we’re all set!

In December and January many people from Peace gathered together to ask the question, “What is the goal of Peace’s faith formation activities?”  A group of people boiled the whole conversation into four core values:

·         Help people develop a personal relationship with a God who loves them.

·         All people are God’s children…so all should be welcomed and made comfortable.

·         Faith building activities can involve the whole family.

·         Providing a variety of faith building activities will allow the most people to take part in some of them.

For once, I’m not ashamed to not have a rockin’ youth group!  We build faith in our youth (and adults!) when we get families together to work at Channel One…when we take time to teach the whole family to pray (as we’re doing in our Wednesday night Lenten time)…when we gather families for movie nights at Peace… when families work together to usher or serve communion on Sunday mornings!   In the next few months you will hear all sorts of creative ideas on ways that families can come together to grow in faith (and it doesn’t matter if the family has toddlers or high schoolers at home…whether the family’s kids have grown and left the house…whether grandma now raises the kids…whether the family consists of one person or many…).

Small churches like Peace are perfectly suited to gather families to grow in faith together.  The time to be ashamed that we can’t have a youth group like someone else’s church has gone.  It’s time to hold our heads up high…and boldly lead families together in faith.