Where do children and teens fit into this new church? This question came up several times in our meeting last Sunday and it is one of the places of hesitancy for most of the people with families who are considering a church plant. I say that to let you know that if you are worrying about this, you are NOT alone!
In this post, I want to give you a few things to think about from our perspective and invite you to converse about what the answer to this question might be in our church plant.
Traditionally, the modern evangelical movement has segregated age groups into different ministries. We actually take a separate approach. Our hope is that we will find the tenuous balance between ministering to our children and teens in a appropriate and meaningfully way while at the same time including them in the core of the community. Oftentimes, church becomes about adults in the middle of the life cycle (30-55) and ministries to others, such as children and teens ministries (as well as retired/elderly), become supportive to the main ministry emphasis of the church. Our hope is that as we integrate children into the life of the community, and making our services and life events open to the inclusion of families that we will be able to engage our children in their spiritual life, while teaching them that they are important in the family of God.
As a CCDA focused church we appreciate the focus that they have on ministering to the young members of the community. John Perkins has said over and over again, that if you want to see community change, you must begin with children. He also says that this is a multi-year commitment. We want to be committed to community development, and because of this we must recognize that children are a major agent of transformation in our community.
We also desire to support children’s parents as the primary educator and spiritual leader in a child’s life. Engaging family systems (where intact) and becoming surrogate families where they are not, is important and we want to strengthen not only our children but the family systems they are included in. This happens through active community involvement of childern interacting with their parents and other adults, and adults interacting with children and recognizing the importance of their role in the spiritual development of their children.
Those are some of my thoughts on the subject and I’m sure that they are not complete. Please use this opportunity to interact and express your feelings on the topic. It is an important one to our church.
Josh
What I’ve noticed in my 9 years of church going, whether it’s evangelical, mainline or Catholic (I’ve seen quite a bit of all) is that adults do the work, children play games and go on retreats and come back and tell the church how “totally awesome it was.” I’m not against that but I’m old fashioned too and feel that kids should be more exposed to the real work that churches do. If they feed homeless then kids, adolescent and up, should be involved in that. If repairs (painting etc) are required for church building maintenance, they should be helping. I’ve always thought that things are divided up too much between ages and genders in church. Where I work I am continually amazed to see the bonding that takes place between, for instance, a 19 year old patient and a 60 year old patient because they are not divided up and segregated.
By: Herb Leaming on November 26, 2007
at 1:44 am
I too agree that this approach could work (although I have no real exposure to it, so I can’t speak intelligently on it). I do feel however that during the teen years kids are dealing with issues like at no other time in their lives. Especially at this age kids are craving social interaction and acceptance. If they don’t find that at church they will look in other, not always constructive places. Just by providing popcorn & movie nights in a safe place with others their age can be very effective.
By: Troy on November 26, 2007
at 11:50 pm
It’s not hard to imagine two extremes on this topic. On the one end we have a church with no youth orientation at all. No youth group, no welcoming of teens in the community, and nothing to welcome or address the needs of teenagers. On the other end, we have a church with a huge youth program where teens have tons of fun doing lots of activities together, but have nothing really to do with the rest of the church. I think we are envisioning something very different from either of those. As you’ve described, a youth group can be a place of healthy community for teens at a time when friends and social life are extremely important. But the rest of the church needs the teenagers, and the teenagers need the rest of the church too.
My own hope for youth ministry is that it will be where our teens find their expression for the shared mission of our church, where they grow in faith and where they are equipped for service in the body of Christ. And have a ton of fun together along the way! I also hope that we will value their voices and participation together with the rest of the community. I believe we need their vitality, idealism and insight as much as they need our wisdom, friendship and guidance.
By: churchplantchat on November 27, 2007
at 4:39 am
Just say “no” to children’s church! My experience has been that children’s Sunday schools and children’s church groups give a watered down, cute version of the gospel that looks very silly when kids grow up. “You mean David KILLED Goliath? I thought he bonked him in the nose with a slingshot!” How do we give the youngest members the whole gospel that isn’t just a story without giving them nightmares?
By: Hannah on November 28, 2007
at 12:59 pm