Youth Ministry 3.0

I recently attended the National Youth Workers Convention in St. Louis w/the Alfs and Holversons and had an excellent time. I wish all of our NCC youth workers could attend this event becuase it is always such a challenging and encouraging time for me.

Mark Oestricher, the president of Youth Specialties, spoke at the final session and I wanted to share some of his thoughts with you. he spoke on "a preferred future for youth ministry." In his talk he briefly went through the history of youth ministry and based on what he's been observing these days he shared where he thinks we might be headed in youth ministry. Here is how he broke it down:

Youth Ministry 1.0 1930's-40's
- Youth Culture Fixation: Identity
- Key Themes: Evangelism and Correction
- Key Verse: Matthew 7.13-14
Proclamation Driven

Youth Ministry 2.0 1970's-2000's
- Youth Culture Fixation: Autonomy
- Key Themes: Discipleship and Positive Peer groups
- Key verse: Matthew 28.19-20
Program Driven

Youth Ministry 3.0 today-?
- Youth Culture Fixation: Affinity "Where do I fit in?'
- Key Themes: Communion and Mission
- Key Verse: Acts 2.42-47, John 17.18
Not Driven but Present

Marko believes that we are shifting into a new season of youth ministry where programs and events do not matter as much as our presence in the lives of young people. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all youth ministry programs and strategies (if they ever truly existed). You know your community. You know your kids. each context is different and requires different approaches to ministry. So here were some suggestions that Marko offered as we enter into a communional and missional day of youth ministry:

1. Contextualize: You know your kids and your community
2. Do Less (less programs and events/more just being w/kids)
3. Be communional: Strive to invite your kids into authentic Christian community
4. be missional: model and teach your kids to reach out to others and share Christ with them in tangible loving ways
5. Be present: Spend times with kids. Laugh with them. Cry with them. Talk about the tough stuff with them. Love on them.

I hope Marko's preferred future is the direction we're headed. I think it is. these are exciting days to be in youth ministry. I hope that we have youth groups everywhere doing less and being present to one another more.

Keep loving on those kids!

Erick