In case you didn’t have an extra $695 in your budget for the
What Teens Want Conference, here are some highlights from
YPulse.com.
- There are 33.8 million teens in the U.S. (up more than 200,000 from 2005).
- Teens look up to their parents. Seventy-one percent see their parents as their chief role model, miles above the next contender, teachers (40%). On top of that, 59% say their parent is their best friend. They are the first generation to share music taste with their parents.
- If they inherited $20 k, would spend it on a college education (by a large margin).
- Greg Tseng from Tagged.com noted that 87% of teens are online and 35% of teen media consumption is online.
- 5% of Virgin Mobile users admitted to breaking up with a boyfriend/girlfriend via text message…Welcome to the mobile lifestyle.
- 44% of teens have different friends offline than onllne.
You can read the whole article here, and it’s worth the read. These people are doing more research about young people than ever. The church should pay attention to what the marketers are doing because they are getting to know their audience.
Hopefully soon, we’ll post something about what this means for ministry. Stay tuned.
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The Princeton Theological Seminary’s Institute for Youth Ministry offers many resources about youth ministry. They have PDF files of their lectures on youth ministry from 1996-2004, with topics including A Theological Approach to Youth Ministry, Proclaiming the Gospel in a Wired World, Youth and the Quest for a Passionate Church, and others.
Another resource provided by the Institute for Youth Ministry is the Audio Journal on Youth, Church, and Culture. You can download the MP3 for free or order the current copy on CD, and archive issues are also available for download or purchase. If you’re looking for some free audio about youth ministry, this audio journal is a great download.
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I’ll have to admit, when I first read
Kurt Johnston’s post about the formula for junior high ministry, I didn’t agree with him. The formula he proposes for junior high ministry is:
Junior High Student + Caring Adult = Good Stuff. I thought that I didn’t agree with him because, although I agree that this is a good start of an effective ministry, is that all that youth ministry is about?
Certainly, youth ministry has more to it than just an adult reaching out to a student. Students also play an important part in effective ministry. If that weren’t so, why would we invest in Student Leadership Conferences or curriculum? Why would we waste our time with these things if we didn’t expect students to be leaders and minister to their peers?
Then I read the rest of his post. Kurt goes on to say that, “The need for a young teen to have an adult loving them unconditionally and pointing them towards the Father will always be the foundation of a good ministry to young teens.” I am in agreement with the fact that having caring adults is foundational in the formation of an effective ministry. This may not be the entire ministry, but it is foundational to the ministry with young people.
Picture by: David Di Biase from sxc.hu
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Each year, countless numbers of youth groups pack their bags and head off into the wild blue yonder for short term missions trips. They may be one week long or more, and they change many young people’s lives, but how can they make an impact on the field long after these students are back in their daily school routine? Having received many short term missions groups as a missionary living on the field, here’s what I’ve learned about trips that have impact on the field after the group has left.
Tie your ministry to a local church or ministry. Local churches and ministries are much more in tune with the culture and spiritual climate of a location, and they know what ministry should be taking place in their area. They also will be there long after you are gone and can assure you that follow up will at least be attempted.
Communicate often with the missionary or leader. Be sure to tell them the strengths and weaknesses of your team so that he or she can adapt the ministry to your collective gifts and maximize your time there. This also allows the leader on the field to recruit the necessary people from the target group to make the trip effective.
Involve nationals as much as possible. The nationals know how to work within their culture, and many times their involvement with a short term group will give them the vision they need to continue the ministry when you are gone. It’s amazing how many times I have heard, “I had never done that before, and I don’t know why.”
Focus on the real big picture and focus on individuals. It’s always nice to go back to your church and tell them big numbers results, but don’t forget the impact that a week of your life can make if you really invest it in another person. It may not be as amazing to go back to church and say, “I had 3 meaningful conversations with two students from the youth group,” but it will last longer than saying 100 people raised their hands in our massive crusade.
Go back. The impact of a group who comes back year after year is much greater than a group who comes and goes. Knowing up front that your church will be returning in the future allows many great things to happen and relationships to be built. It becomes a long-term partnership from the beginning, and it adds accountability to the mission. Many times, I’ve heard nationals say that certain people have made a greater impact because they came back.
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