flickr: The Arches
A few years ago, our family of six left a congregation full of parents with young children, and joined a church made up mostly of university students.1 This wasn’t an ideological statement on our part: it was simply because my husband works in university ministry, and that’s where we needed to be at the time. But it’s made me aware of some of the benefits and costs of going to church with people from a different age and stage from your own.
Some parents resent being the taxi driver. I offer to do it whenever I can. When else do your teenagers actually consent to sit within 10 metres of you, let alone talk to their friends while you listen? And besides, the opportunity to pay out their appalling music and inflict your own Classic Hits and Memories upon them is too much to resist. (more…)
For many years, the barometer of a healthy church has been a strong and growing youth group. If the 1950s was the age of the Sunday School, the 70s and 80s have been the era of the Youth Fellowship. Coffee shops and youth outreaches have sprung up everywhere. Many churches, failing to make progress in adult evangelism and ministry, see their youth ministry as the key to a bright future. But what is the point of youth work? Is it worth the time and resources we pour into it? The Briefing examines the issues. (more…)