6 Predictions for the Future of Youth Ministry

(This post also appeared at The Mayward Blog)

First, a disclaimer: I really have no idea what I'm talking about here. I haven't done any official research, worked on a PhD for these predictions, or examined data. This post is entirely anecdotal and from personal observation, experience, and conversations from leading and learning in youth ministry for a decade in American and Canadian contexts. I'm going to throw these six predictions out there and just see what the youth ministry tribe thinks:

Here's my forecast for what North American youth ministry will look like in ten (10) years...

1. The range for a youth ministry will be from age 8 to age 35. With puberty starting earlier and extended adolescence becoming ubiquitous, a youth pastor will be responsible for shepherding third graders going through puberty as well as 32-year-olds who are still struggling with their sense of identity and autonomy. I still believe the church can become a micro-culture where young people are viewed as potential-filled adults and treated as such, but I think the greater culture may go this route if it continues on the same trajectory, and the church (and youth workers!) will need to find a way to respond accordingly.

2. The drastic decrease of the full-time youth pastor position in churches. The only churches able to afford a full-time youth pastor will be the large suburban megachurches, mostly in evangelical circles in the United States. The vast majority of youth workers will be part-time or volunteer-based youth ministry, and the primary youth workers (apart from parents) will be teachers/professors, coaches, and counselors. Churches will have to become more innovative and collaborative in their youth ministry practices, potentially having more regional youth ministries and partnerships between churches to love the teens in the surrounding neighbourhoods. I wonder what this shift could mean for colleges and seminaries with youth ministry degrees and professorial staff.

3. Youth ministry resourcing organizations will become entirely online and regional. With the advent of the Internet and blogging/tweeting/Facebooking world, the age of the huge youth ministry convention will be over, and the one-size-fits-all curriculum and training that comes from many organizations will go by the wayside. What works in a Catholic setting in Seattle simply doesn't work the same for a Baptist in Nashville. This regional emphasis will clear the way for smaller contextual gatherings and giving voice to a wider variety of youth workers. It will also mean having to discern and sort through the mass of content being created--anyone can create their own website, start a consulting/coaching program, or publish their own book and curriculum, meaning there will simply be more resources (good and not-so-good) to choose from.

4. The traditional family structure of "two married parents with biological children" will be the vast minority. Single-parent homes, divorced parents, blended families, gay parents raising kids, foster and adopted children, and grandparents or other family members raising children will be more of a norm. As the culture is redefining family, this will radically change the entire concept of "family ministry" for churches, as well as increase the need for individualized familial care and counsel. As the family system becomes more complex, so do many of the issues for adolescent identity formation.

5. Families--Christian and non-Christian--will have little to zero Biblical knowledge. As the North American culture becomes increasingly post-Christian, expecting that parents and teens will be familiar with common Bible stories taught in Sunday school will be unrealistic (because Sunday school programs won't exist). Young people will be more familiar with the filmic versions of Jesus or Bible characters (Moses, Noah, etc.) than the characters in the Biblical accounts, and with apps/electronic devices becoming more normative for reading habits, having a Bible or a daily devotion--aka "quiet time"--will be quite different. People read and learn differently in the Internet age; the Bible as literature will be understood and interpreted in new ways by the next generation of readers, requiring a shift in how we teach the Bible and theology.

6. Relationships marked by grace and truth will still matter. It's always been this way. Whatever the future holds, a long obedience in the same direction with a few close Jesus-following friends and mentors will always endure. Beyond programming, culture, demographics, or trends, fostering authentic relationships between adults and youth will continue to be the mark of healthy youth ministry, no matter the age.

What do you think? Which predictions do you think could be accurate, and which sound absurd? Share your thoughts and forecasts in the comments.

Upsidedown Kingdom: Church leaders social justice tour featuring Shane Claiborne

Looking for some ways for you, as a leader, can get training on how to action #socialjustice as #Jesusjustice in your youth group? 

World Vision Canada is hosting afternoon church leader forums featuring published author and Christian activist Shane Claiborne, leader of Philadelphia community The Simple Way, and contributor to The Red Letter Christian blog and movement.

Shane speaks to the important matters of living and participating in community, advocating for justice, responding to the needs of the poor and being wise stewards of the rich resources that God has given us in this world.  He is highly respected by emerging younger leadership in churches and communities. 

May 28, Kelowna, B.C.
May 29, Regina, Sask.
June 10, Thunder Bay, Ont.
June 11, St. Catharines, Ont.
June 12, St. John’s Nfld.
June 13, Summerside, P.E.I.

World Vision Canada offers these opportunities as “give backs” to thank churches for their ongoing support of our ministry and their solidarity for those who live in poverty.

About me: I live a pretty simple life... trying to love God and treat others as good as myself... I epically fail at this but mercifully God loves me anyway... different cultures inspire me... the outdoors is my passion... I'm pursuing my MDIV / Masters in Counselling at Tyndale... I spent 22+ years in the skate / snowboard / entertainment / marketing / retail industry at the executive level... led the charge at West 49/Billabong for 12 of them... I've worked in youth ministry leadership roles for more years then I can count.. after many moons in the corporate world I switched to the dark side and am currently the Manager of Youth & Student Campaigns at World Vision Canada... but more then anything I love giving my heart to mentoring and helping youth! #lovelife #dreambig #keepitreal #socialjustice #jesusjustice I/T @cindymielke  facebook.com/cindymielke

What can I do to be saved?

If you are like me, you understand that your salvation is a gift of God's grace and that you can do nothing to earn it. I understand this, I teach this, I love this... but I actually have difficulty living this. More often than not, I end up (consciously or unconsciously) "doing" all that I can to show God that I am worth saving.
From a sermon by Ryan Graham (Pastor of WestLife Church in Calgary), coming to grips with the correct definitions of the vocabulary surrounding our salvation can actually solidify the reality that "I have nothing to do with this". 

Salvation:  the "saving" of a sinner from the righteous judgment of God. When someone appeals to God and seeks forgiveness in Jesus, his sins are forgiven. He is cleansed. His relationship with God is restored, and he is made a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17). All of this is the work of God, not man. Salvation is a free gift (Rom. 6:23). We are saved from damnation. When anyone sins, and we all have (Rom. 3:23; 6:23), he deserves eternal separation from God (Isaiah 59:2). Yet, because of His love and mercy, God became a man (John 1:1,14 ) and bore the sins of the world in His body on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24; 1 John 2:2). We are forgiven when we realize that there is nothing we can do to earn the favor of God and we put our trust in what Jesus did for us on the cross (Eph. 2:8-9; 1 Cor. 15:1-4). Only God saves. The only thing we bring to the cross is our sin. Both God the Father (Isaiah 14:21) and Jesus (John 4:42) are called Savior; that is, deliverer from sin. Remember, it was the Father who sent the Son (1 John 4:10) to be the Savior.

 Is this something I can do?  no



SALVATION DEMANDS EACH OF THE FOLLOWING THINGS IN PROCESS:

Redemption: to free someone from bondage. It often involves the paying of a ransom, a price that makes redemption possible. The Israelite people were redeemed from Egypt. We were redeemed from the power of sin and the curse of the Law (Gal. 3:13) through Jesus (Rom. 3:24; Col. 1:14). We were bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23).
         
 Is this something I can do?  no

Justification: To be justified is to declared legally righteous. It is a divine act where God declares the sinner to be innocent of his sins. It is not that the sinner is now sinless, but that he is "declared" sinless.  The sinner is not made righteous in that his soul is changed or that his soul is infused with God's grace.  Instead, justification is a legal act of imputing the righteousness of Christ to the believer (Rom. 4:11; Phil. 3:9). This justification is based on the shed blood of Jesus, "...having now been justified by His blood..." (Rom. 5:9). When God sees the Christian, He sees him through the sacrifice of Jesus and "sees" him without sin. This declaration of innocence is not without cost for it required the satisfaction of God's Law, "...without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness," (Heb. 9:22). By the sacrifice of Jesus, in the "one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men," (Rom. 5:18, NASB). In justification, the justice of God fell upon Himself--Jesus. We receive mercy--we are not judged according to our sins. And grace is shed upon us--we receive eternal life. This justification is a gift of grace (Rom. 3:24), by faith (Rom. 3:28) because Jesus bore our guilt (Isaiah 53:12).

 Is this something I can do?  no

Propitiation: This means the turning away of wrath by an offering. It is similar to expiation but expiation does not carry the nuances involving wrath. For the Christian the propitiation was the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. It turned away the wrath of God so that He could pass "over the sins previously committed," (Rom. 3:25). It was the Father who sent the Son to be the propitiation (1 John 4:10) for all (1 John 2:2).

 Is this something I can do?  no

Regeneration: The act of God whereby He renews the spiritual condition of a sinner. It is a spiritual change brought about by the work of the Holy Spirit so that the person then possesses new life, eternal life. Regeneration is a change in our moral and spiritual nature where justification is a change in our relationship with God. Also, sanctification is the work of God in us to make us more like Jesus. Regeneration is the beginning of that change. It means to be born again.

  Is this something I can do?  no

Sanctification: To sanctify means to be set apart for a holy use. God has set us apart for the purpose of sanctification not impurity (1 Thess. 4:7), and being such we are called to do good works (Eph. 2:10).
Christians are to sanctify Christ as Lord in their hearts (1 Pet. 3:15). God sanctified Israel as His own special nation (Ezek. 27:28). People can be sanctified (Exodus 19:10,14) and so can a mountain (Exodus 19:23), as can the Sabbath day (Gen. 2:3), and every created thing is sanctified through the word of God and prayer (1 Tim. 4:4-5).
Sanctification is 2 things:

The position in which you are placed by God of purity, righteousness, perfection.

It is also the process by which the Holy Spirit actually makes us, in experience, that righteous, pure, perfect. It is to become more like Christ in all that we do, think, and desire. True sanctification is impossible apart from the atoning work of Christ on the cross because only after our sins are forgiven can we begin to lead a holy life.

  Is this something I can do?  no 

Lordship: surrendering to the authority, power and dominion of a lord. Salvation involves a turning in the heart from sin and, as a part of faith, a submissive commitment to obey Jesus Christ as Lord. Lordship has implications for evangelism, assurance, and the pursuit of holiness. The grace of God in salvation not only forgives, but transforms, and a lack of obedience or transformation in a person's life is warrant to doubt that they have been born again. 

 Is this something I can do? ahhh, yes!  Finally, I get to be part of this!  
But wait, for some strange reason, this is the part many Christians really, really never get to.



Awesome truth? Salvation is a gift of God's grace. Live it forward with Christ as Lord.
dave


Dave Brotherton was a youth pastor from 1984-2006 and now teaches youth ministry at Ambrose University College in Calgary. Dave is also the National Youth Guy for the Alliance churches in Canada, the director of Legacy Youth Conference, and a junior high volunteer in his church. Dave is married to Lisa and they share 2 of the greatest kids in the world. Fishing, camping, and cheering on the Leafs are some of his favorite things. This summer, Dave is transitioning to lead the ministry of Sauble Christian Fellowship, Sauble Beach, ON.
twitter: @oldbrotherdave

Becoming Invisible

“He Must Increase, But I Must Decrease” - John 3:30

My favourite worship leader is Matt Maher.  Among the many reasons why (in no particular order):  he’s a brilliant musician, he’s an intelligent writer and storyteller, he has a profound understanding of church, he’s a lot of fun to be around, he’s Catholic, he’s Canadian, he’s been a long-time friend to both the Archdiocese of Vancouver and to me, and we’re the same age.

Among his many endearing and inspiring qualities is his humility.  He always ensures that the worship is about Him and not him.  I’ve seen him leading 18,000 youth in spirited praise only to quietly walk off the stage without fanfare so as to not interrupt the worship.  Matt doesn’t need the adulation...and when he does receive it he is quick to direct it all to God.

Matt literally and figuratively becomes invisible when he leads worship.  And it’s a beautiful thing.

It reminds me of John the Baptist.  John was to prepare the way for Jesus knowing that he in essence was destined to play “second-fiddle”.  He was obviously fine with it, as he proclaimed with great humility:  “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Here are 3 ways that we can apply a humble attitude in our youth ministry:

1,  It’s about God and not about us.  I’ve heard many youth ministry mandates and mission statements to the effect of “leading young people closer to God” but I never heard one that says “leading young people closer to the youth minister.”  Yet many times we forget that it’s not about us.  I’ve written before about my early youth ministry career.  In my efforts to become a popular yet competent leader, I volunteered to give every talk, be in every skit, and lead every group discussion.  While it made me feel good, it took me a while to discover that I was holding other people down – people who were just as popular and much more competent.  Thankfully, this phase only lasted a short while.  At least I hope it did.

2.  Ask for help.  Even Jesus needed a dozen apostles to help him carry out his ministry.  So what makes you think you can do things on your own?  The “Lone Ranger” mentality almost never succeeds, rather it can lead to burnout, depression, and a plethora of unfulfilled promises and unclear expectations.  You can decrease by recruiting leaders to help you, asking parents to take some ownership in the ministry, and delegating and trusting tasks (large and small) to others.  It will prolong your youth ministry career and make the ministry much stronger overall.

3.  Realize when it’s time to move on.  As good as you may be (or think you are), you are not irreplaceable.  The strongest youth ministries are those that have ongoing leadership training and even a succession plan.  I think of athletes like Brett Favre and Michael Jordan who had difficulty walking away from the sports that made them so renowned.  If you are getting complacent or if the ministry is not growing, then it may be time to take a hard look at how effective you actually are.

As you examine your effectiveness in youth ministry, ask yourself:  “In what ways must I decrease so that He may increase?”

Clayton Imoo is husband to Gail and father to sons Sean Isaiah and Jacob Isaac and daughter Kayla Marie.  He has served as the Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver for the past ten years, helping parishes develop their own youth and young adult ministries.  When not doing ministry, Clay enjoys spending time with his family, playing music, playing sports, playing naptime, and writing blogs on topics such as family, faith, and the Vancouver Canucks.  Learn more about him at http://www.claytonimoo.com or follow him @claytonimoo      

3 Ways We Destroy Connection

Two weeks ago I wrote about the necessity youth workers face to create environments where students find a place to belong and someone that believes in them. Last week in a video interview with Mark Oestricher, he mentioned that teens are being driven by their desire to belong to connect as their foremost filter through which they create their connections.

If we agree that creating space to belong is important, are there habits and elements that erode or destroy these connections?

1. Humiliation - No one likes to be the focal point of jokes on a regular basis. When students make mistakes do we ridicule them in some way? Do we parade them in front of their peers and ask them to apologize? Do we use them as an illustration in our next youth talk to "inspire" their peers to choose differently?

Jesus met with a Samaritan woman at a well. (Read more here). As he interacted with her, he challenged her towards a hope-filled life but he didn't humiliate her in the process. We all make mistakes. We are all sinners. When we humiliate someone we alienate him or her from community and cause they to question their sense of belonging. What would our youth ministries look like if we instead responded with love and grace while avoiding the seductive nature of humiliation?

2. Condemnation - When we focus on behaviour more than identity, we tell a student that who they are is less important than what they do. Character is reflected by our actions, that's true, but activity void of deep connectivity to a set of values that govern our decision making process is empty and really does not have any formative connection to character.

What if instead of focusing on a list of do's & don'ts, we focused on living into a rhythm of life filled with hope, joy, compassion, kindness, gentleness, patience & self-control? What if instead of hearing how bad we are we focus on how great our God is and how amazing His design for life really is? I don't know about you, but I'm tired of feeling like I'm not good enough to do something because of what I've done and need to be inspired to live life despite my past, present or future mistakes. Perhaps teens are longing for a sense of mission beyond sin management similar to what we as leaders may be craving?

3. Lack of Invitation - When we expect students and families to get involved in the experiences we create instead of taking the time to invite them into the creative process and the experience itself, the program becomes more important than the people. 

I've been learning a lot about this theme lately. What is success in invitation? Is it when the person responds to the invitation positively? Or is it simply the extension of the invitation? Jesus interacted with a young rich man and invited this man to become a disciple. The man chose not to respond positively to the invitation Jesus extended, so does that make this interaction a failure? I don't believe so. In this story we are shown that reality that not everyone will want to be a part of what we are doing and/or facilitating. If it is true that teens are desperately looking for a place to belong, if they are never invited to do so, how will it be possible for them to find it? Do our youth ministries need to reflect more of an invitational culture than one of expectancy?

Do you agree with these 3 ways we destroy connection? What would you add to this list and why is it important?