Stuart Barnes wrote an interesting piece in about Alex Goode, the England full back, in the Times today. He makes the point that, while Alex Goode is not technically the best full back in the England squad, he is the best choice. This is not on the basis of not his technical ability but his intelligent reading of the game and how he brings the best out of his team-mates, especially Toby Flood. He writes:
"Flood is a fly-half who needs assistance. There is no doubting bravery of his attacking game. He relishes playing on the gain line but the balance of when to step back and seek space elsewhere is often anything but in evidence.
Goode sees the braoder canvas. He realises that the best pictures need and depth as well as all that furious foreground action". Stuart Barnes, The Times. 11.11.12.
I like the scrap of frontline youth ministry. I have a thirst for the dramatic. Taking new ground, through conversation, through strategy, through big, bold, brave moves. Nothing fires me up more than a new relationship formed, new trust being shared and seeing a young person or project make radical progress in their lives. My heart just pumps a little faster when I'm at the gainline.
I'm not so keen on sitting back and surveying the game and watching others scrap it out on the frontline. My soul doesn't quite fizz in the same way when I'm passing the ball to someone else and watching them put their body on the line, making yards and getting the accolades.
While being Toby Flood is fun for me, it isn't neccasarily what my church, or my young people need. They need me to be an Alex Goode. If my time at my church is to leave a legacy that lasts, I need to pass others the ball and let them run. So I'm resolving to step back, read the game and pass the ball to others. I'm resolving to say no to my own preferences, and my pride, and allow others to take the ground and the glory.
If only I could actually play like Alex Goode! Swiiiiiiiing low!
What is Growth in Youth Ministry? How do we measure it? Increased numbers? Increased committment? Deeper relationships? Intergration with the wider church? Sometimes in youth ministry we can feel we face an impossible job in which the goalposts of success move depending on who you are talking to.
There is always an ebb and flow to youth ministry, as there
was with Jesus’ ministry. There were times when he had thousands of people following him, yet other times he seemed to play down the attention of thousands, in a bid to invest in just a few.
Likewise, this ebb and flow is accentuated by the nature of
young people. Young people are in a constant state of growth: There’s the
physical stuff; the physical transition from childhood to adulthood. But there is more than meets the eye: They are growing their sense of identity, they are constantly
testing out their moral compass and making changes to who they are. They are growing their
worldview and trying out new ideologies, trying to see what fits best. All in
the context of a post-modern, fast moving, upgrading culture.
In her book 'Practicing Passion', Kenda Creasey Dean calls this the Patchwork self. Young people are constantly applying new and discarding old patches. The Patches represent moral views and cultural nuances.This is the growth context in which we work. And I for one wouldnt change that for the world!
Therefore a growing youth ministry is always changing and
responding to the changing reality. Just because it works right now, doesn’t
mean it will work tomorrow. I'm convinced that every September is a new start; you may have the same young people, team and environment, but your group will have grown and changed significantly over the past year (or even over the summer). Don’t get complacent and don’t make assumptions!
A growing ministry recognises that youth ministry is a process of
observing, responding and shaping your ministry. The youth worker is a contrast tinkerer, tweaking, developing and responding to the changing landscape.
So which is best? Does God want us to have increasing
ministries or should we resist growth and keep things small? At the risk of sitting on the fence, I think that the answer
is both. Ministry is about seasons, there will be seasons of numerical growth
(spring) and new commitments, equally there will be seasons of depth (autumn).
Recently I learned that trees grow all year round. In Spring, the tree grows in height and colour. It is a time when the growth is at its most evident for all to see. The growth seems effortless and the tree is at it's boldest and most striking. In autumn, the tree loses it's colour, it stops growing upward, but it continues to grow. The growth is unseen, in the depths, as the tree grows it's roots. It is much harder to see and celebrate growth and to the untrained eye it seems as if there is no growth at all. Youth ministry is like a tree. There, I said it. Spring is the season of evangelism and numerical growth. It's not hard for you
(and your church) to see the fruits of the growth. You are surrounded by
colour and your ministry just seems a bit taller. The hallmarks of a youth ministry spring is increased attendance, increased interest, new relationships being formed and an increased sense of
momentum.
The autumn season is marked by unseen growth, but growth is still taking place. In autumn, our groups feel routine, it can be hard to be encouraged and there
may be some numberical loss. But it reveals the young people that are not going to last the
winter. In youth ministry, this is the season to grow deep. Numbers
may fall, but this is time to give more attention to less young people.
How can I grow in the Spring season?
If God is calling us to a season of growth, where should I
start? Observation. Observe your current situation. Are there any young people
in your youth group? Is it possible for them to bring friends? What is the level of
buy in from your young people? Involve them in the process. Friends of the young people is the obvious place to start.
But what if you feel called to reach out to a new group of young people? I would start by asking lots of questions: What does mission look like? Who is God calling us to? Is the ‘mission group’ compatible with my existing group? How will discipleship need to look like for this new group?
Young people exist in subcultures: bmxer, sporty, music. Therefore I would advocate a youth ministry that takes this in to consideration. Marko (in the book Youth Ministry 3.0) suggests that youth ministies should have multiple youth ministries to multiple subcultures. He says:
‘One
youth ministry will only reach one kind of kid, one subculture. Multiple youth
ministries within the same church have the opportunity to establish
contextualised, present (not driven) ministries of communion and mission in
multiple youth culture contexts’. Mark Oestreicher
How to grow in the
Autumn Season
The autumn season is the time to grow deep. It is the season for discipleship. Think mentoring, exploring the gifts of your young people and allowing them to use them and think integration into wider church. This would be the time to invest in your small groups. In July's Youthwork Magazine, Krish Kandiah suggests a radical rethink of how we disciple. His reason? 7 out of 10 young people will not make it to their 20’s and
still be in church. Inspired by the Sticky Faith initiative, he suggests three ways to stop the rot:
1. Desegregate the church whenever possible
2. Discover the gifts of your young people and allow them to use these to shape the
church
3. Reverse that ratio: work towards having five adults investing in every one young person
And finally: Essential building blocks for growth
Prayer and discernment: Seek God and observe your environment
Be intentional: know what you are setting out to achieve in
this season
Seek out the right help: Get the right people in the right places that model discipleship and are prepared to commit for a generation
Be faithful: To God, to you, to your church
Keep moving: Recognise that you never arrive
Sell the vision: Get buy in from the whole church. Shout about
what you do.
You know those seasons you have when you feel everything is a struggle? When every step takes all the strength you have? When your doubt causes you to question who you are and what you do?
When I feel like this I like to walk, usually to Newlands Corner. When I walk I worship, I read scripture. I shout at God. I ask him where he was. I wondered why he seemed to be hiding from me. I didn't look for solutions, I simply looked for Him. Did you know there is a whole book in the bible that is full of these kind of prayers? I used this particular passage:
Joy is gone from our hearts;
our dancing has turned to mourning.
The crown has fallen from our head.
Woe to us, for we have sinned!
Because of this our hearts are faint,
because of these things our eyes grow dim
for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,
with jackals prowling over it.
You, LORD, reign forever;
your throne endures from generation to generation.
Why do you always forget us?
Why do you forsake us so long?
Restore us to yourself, LORD, that we may return;
renew our days as of old
unless you have utterly rejected us
and are angry with us beyond measure.
(Lamentations 5:15-22)
God does not answer all my questions or solve all my problems, but he is waiting for me there. The last time I went on a God-walk, I was drawn to Numbers 13, where God sends a scouting party to explore the promise land that he was going to give to His people. The party came back with many good reasons why they should not even try to take the land: They are bigger than us, their have better defences than us, we've heard about the people there and they are scary. Of the party of twelve, ten of them wanted to abort the mission, but two of them got it. Joshua and Caleb believed that they could take them. Why? Because God was with them.
I'm contemplating what this all means for my own life, our youth ministry but I have this deep sense that the fruit is not 'in here' but out there. What would it mean for us as a church to truly give ourselves to the young people of our parish? We talk a lot about evangelism, but would we truly be prepared to sacrifice our own preferences for the sake of the gospel reaching those who have not heard? How would it shape where we put our resources?
None of these are easy questions to answer, but I have a feeling that where God is leading us may be huge in every way. While there may be a many reasons not to do it, the only real factor is the God who seems to be leading us there.
As I read back over this post it sounds more like a journal piece than anything else. Not profound or full of wisdom, but real and earthy. The moral of the story? To take time out to draw breath and engage with God. Not to find answers, or to get solutions, but just because you can.
I leave you with the soundtrack of my Friday with God:
Take my hand, I give it to you
Now you own me, all I am
You said You would never leave me
I believe You, I believe
