Part of today’s youth culture is the culture of entertainment,
and we see it everywhere. Reality TV is meant to be an
entertaining look at others’ supposedly real situations, their
“candid” reactions, and their basic human responses to life.
Amusement centers amp it up every few years with the
newest thrill to get your stomach to do what God did not
necessarily intend it to do: flip inside out, upside down, and
out of your body.
Food is tied to entertainment like candy stuck to the lips of
a child whose parents are desperately trying to pry the two
apart. The range is from Chucky Cheese all the way to
FoodNetwork and superstar chefs. Teens are created to be
eating machines. One youth, who shall remain nameless,
said she would be at anything and anywhere as long as
food was involved.
Historically, youth groups have also had to confront the
issue of entertainment in youth group settings. Some
churches have rec rooms to give their youth safe places
to hang out and pass time. At conferences, large-scale
multimedia presentations capture the imaginations of teens
with the challenge of missions.
2010 High School Graduates
If our youth group culture at BCF has erred in its response
to the culture of entertainment, it has, to my understanding,
generally erred less on the side of babysitting and
entertainment and more on the side of boring lectures.
However, the past couple of years have been especially
marked with a desire to “net” our youth into deeper
relationship with God and greater levels of service.
Discipleship and service have been hand-in-hand partners
in growth, but at this juncture, our youth are very uniquely
endowed with an incredibly intense hunger and thirst to
move with God. He has been bringing a more outward
focus to youth group, and it comes in several forms, or
“movements,” as Andrew, our youth director, has termed it:
From missions-trip minded (focus significant personal
and church resources to going on a missions trip) to
missionally minded (seeing the ever-present mission
field of where we live)
From segregation (as a distant and separated teenage
cluster) to integration (living and breathing as part of a
larger body that is not divided into the cubbyholes of
age)
From introversion (not the standard psychological
definition, but self-absorption and seeing only those in
the group) to extroversion (having eyes to see those
outside and inviting them in)
From sidelined (being a spectator and/or feeling too
young to minister) to empowered (utilizing one’s gifts
now, regardless of whether it comes out polished and
regardless of age)
Our teens have worked hard to grow in these areas, and
they have been guided in intentional efforts to seek out
opportunities to do so. The recent effort to contribute
clothing and toiletries to meet practical needs in Haiti is
one example. The youth experienced joy as they saw
the congregation’s willingness and generosity to join
(integration) their efforts (empowered) to make a difference
in the lives of people (missionally minded and extroversion)
while they are right here.
Bolstering the individual growth of our youth has also
been a goal. There have been ongoing opportunities to
participate in “Waffle” (for middle school girls), “Capture”
(for senior high girls), and “Thirsty” (for the guys). The goal
of these ministries has been both to create a safe place for
our youth to grow and hear God speak into their lives and
also to nurture their relationships with their Father Himself.
Relationships between the adults and the youth have been
critical to developing a safe atmosphere to grow. The
youth’s relationships with each other, to support and
encourage each other, have also been important in their
growth. The relationships they have with both adults and
peers have created a safe and open space to look at
something that God may be pointing at in their hearts.
All three smaller groups—Waffle, Capture, and Thirsty—
are undergoing exciting transformation as the youth grow
and have different needs. Keep an eye out. Better yet, can
I encourage you, as an adult, to talk to youth and ask them
what they’re discovering for themselves and for their youth
group? Can I encourage you, as youth, to tell adults what
amazing and exciting ways God is moving in and through
your life? We need each other.
