Corey’s church background comes from a traditional Free Will Baptist upbringing. While he has never had ill will toward his home church’s motives and methods, once he settled away from home at college he became involved in a newly established church that is quite opposite in method from the way he was brought up. Part of the attraction to the church was its difference in “worship style” and “preaching style”, but staying is accredited to the relationships developed.

I give all of this background to lead up to the conversation I had with Corey while I was out to visit this past month. At the end of a Sunday spent attending Corey’s church (the newer more “contemporary” one), the two of us sat and had a conversation in his apartment. In the middle of the conversation, Corey looks at me warning me that he wants to talk about something he hasn’t been able to talk with anyone about. He then follows with voicing the concern that the church isn’t being what the church is intended to be. “We do all of these new things, with new music, and new preaching. We change ‘bulletin’ to ‘announcement sheet’ and ‘sanctuary’ to ‘worship center’, and all of the emphasis is placed on an hour and a half on Sunday.” I would use a common phrase to describe Corey’s view of the church. It is like putting lipstick on a pig. The same things are being done, but they just have a new look. There seems to be no real connection to the community the church is a part of and the needs of the people with in the community.

Corey has noticed a disconnect between who his church is and who they should be. This is a common position among many church lifers who are now twenty somethings wondering “there has to be more to church than this.” Such searching often can lead to actions that are unhealthy both for the person as well as the community they have issue. Most react by leaving the church to look for another, start another, or just leave altogether. Leaving, I believe, is a poor course of action in most situations. Why not be a part of the solution rather than the problem. Leaving acknowledges a problem. Staying and helping create change acknowledges possibility. Church is a collection of people. People should not be viewed as problems. Jesus saw and sees possibility. Why shouldn’t we? My encouragement to Corey is that he view the possibilities rather than the problems. The change that can happen points toward the Kingdom.

What are your thoughts on Corey’s situation and many others in the same situation? I’ll be posting a follow up on this conversation concerning problems vs. possibilities later along with other conversations.

Each time the next kid comes up in line all of the flavors are repeated. Some already know exactly what flavor they want, others debate for awhile going back and forth between flavors, and others go with what their friend is having.

Everyone is getting a sno cone, but they are each getting them in their own flavor, grape, cherry, root beer, green apple, strawberry, etc. They are all getting the same thing, but they are also getting different things.

I recently took a quick trip back to Kentucky to be in a wedding of two of my friends. It was a great time getting to catch up with some friends I haven’t seen in long time. While I was there, I was able to discuss a topic that is very high on my interest meter (not literal meter, just figurative), youth ministry.

I had talks with four friends who are all youth ministers. All five of us are in different types of youth ministry in five different church/community environments. We are all doing the same thing, youth ministry, but we are all doing different things because we are in different places.

The first, we’ll call him cherry (no figurative connection between flavors and ministries, just a name), is in a part-time position located in rural Kentucky. The church is mostly made up of the over 60 crowd, but the community is made up of a complete range of ages. The church also has a view of youth as the church of tomorrow and not today. He is a single, Masters student trying to do youth ministry with the limit of 15-20 hours a week.

The second, grape, is in a full-time position in suburbia Lexington, KY. His church is mostly made up of the more well off socioeconomic class due to the community it is located. He is the high school minister and is recently married.

The third, root beer, is in his first month in a full-time position in a larger rural community. The church is located in a “downtown” area, but it is not an area that could be considered a “city”. There is a wide range of types of people, generationally and socioeconomically. His position also includes working with K-6 kids, and he is recently married.

The fourth, green apple, is in a full-time position in a larger rural community much like root beer. However, he has been at the church for over a year now and married for over a year. The church is made up of a variety of generations and socioeconomic statuses. His church also is much like cherry’s church in its view of the youth as a part of the church.

The fifth, strawberry, is in a full-time position in rural suburbia Oklahoma. The community has a wide range of socioeconomic situations, and the church is situated directly in the middle of them. There is also a wide range of ages involved in the church and community.

In each of these situations, the purpose is basically the same, but each looks different and has different environments. Applying the methods and ideas of cherry to green apple’s situation would neglect the true need of green apples community. Each has to have the uniqueness that is best for its environment.

Cherry needs to help bridge the generational gap while also nudging the entire church forward in its thinking of doing and not just saying.

Grape needs to challenge the church to be outward focused in its giving and doing and not complacent in its current situation in comfortable suburbia.

Root Beer needs to use the resources available to create a continual growth of youth from younger to older as active participants of the church today.

Green Apple needs to be patient with the church’s view of the youth ministry and continue pushing them away from the country club view of church toward an all are welcome to participate Kingdom view.

Strawberry needs to help bridge the gap between statuses while challenging the youth to be participants in the church now.

Each are different, but each are seeking the same Kingdom.

Only you are the expert on your situation. Therefore, we can’t force a model or method or idea in an environment, but they must come from the environment we are in while also keeping the Kingdom way in mind.

What flavor are you?

(I apologize if I made assumptions on the different situations or suggestions that are inaccurate. I was only trying make a connection with the point I was making.)

The constant struggle for youth ministers and other youth ministry volunteers is one of maintaining the excitement and enthusiasm upon retuning home and back to “normal life”. I remember attending camp, Super Summer, retreats, D-Nows, and many other events where I would be challenged and pushed with excitement to go and do, but as I returned home I would gradually lose the enthusiasm and excitement. I didn’t necessarily fall into a struggling life, but my push to “do” was gone. My enthusiasm was gone. My excitement for following Jesus was minimal. As a HS student, college student working with youth, and now a youth minister, I’ve searched and searched for a remedy to this gradual slide into complacency. The very idea of retreats and D-Nows was formed out of this issue of summertime “camp high”, but even those haven’t remedied the issue.

So what can we do as youth ministers and youth ministry volunteers to help keep the excitement and enthusiasm to follow Jesus through out the year and years to come? Here are some of my suggestions coming from my experience as a teenager as well as working with teenagers.

• Invest in the everyday lives of your volunteers (this one is mostly for youth ministers). If the very people who are leading your youth ministry are becoming complacent, then it is only a matter of time before your youth will. Challenge your adults to grow deeper. Send challenging emails and facebook messages. Recommend books and articles for them to read. Give them specific challenges to invest in specific students.
• Invest in the everyday lives of your youth leaders, probably the students you took to SS (for youth ministers and volunteers). Challenge them to go deeper. Ask the tough questions. Set up a regular time to meet with them. Give them specific people to latch on to (adults and youth). Find responsibilities for them to take on with in the church. Don’t be afraid of being blunt or straight forward with them. If you’re a volunteer, seek out one or two students who you can mentor, and don’t take that job lightly.
• Set up reminders of camp and Super Summer and refer to them often. We made a mosaic cross at camp this year. It is in my office currently, but I’m going to hang it in our youth cafe and bring it up throughout the year as an example of Christian community. The people in the OT were constantly setting up reminders of God so that they would always remember the event and God’s faithfulness.
• Discern excitement from emotional feel good experience. Promote excitement in teaching, bible study, missions, etc. Don’t let emotion be the only catalyst for transformation.
• Don’t let yourself become complacent. Do everything you can to maintain your own excitement. Keep growing deeper. Make sure to personally maintain you own relationship with God. You can’t lead teenagers to become followers of Jesus if you are being one.

These are just a few things that I would suggest. You may have others to add. Feel free to comment and share your ideas with me and others. Remember, following Jesus is a daily laying down of one’s life for Christ and is not summed up in a week long experience or single life event. The purpose for these onetime/annual events and camps is to challenge and push us to continue on in our journey. I hope that our teenagers and we ourselves would not fall into the trap of event based Jesus following.