Livingloud - The Bowmanblog

What I've learned after 15 years of Youth Work & Ministry

I've recently been reflecting on what I've learned after 15 years of doing youth work & ministry. I can't quite believe its been that long!  This list is by no means exhaustive nor is it in order of significance, it is merely some of the wisdom and insight I've discovered on this journey.  When I started in this gig I was so young, so green!  I'd no clue what I was doing.  God opened my eyes to youth work & ministry (back then in N. Ireland there were no youth workers/pastors) and gave me a passion for young people.  If I could somehow get my DeLorean to hit 88mph I'd go back in time and sit my 19 year old self down and this is what I'd say...     

Remember the importance of Character - Leadership stops and starts here.

The best thing I can do for my young people is love Jesus more.

The Jesus I know is the Jesus they will get.

My greatest teaching tool is my life (my walk will always talk louder than my talk talks).

The best people to reach young people are young people.

My 'doing' for God flows out of my 'being' with God - If I take care of the depth of my relationship with God, he will take care of the breadth of my impact.

Relationship is the primary currency of Youth Work & Ministry.

I don't have to be cool.

Youth Ministry is not a profession it is a 'lifestyle' - Seek to follow Christ’s example and develop an incarnational ministry. 

Evangelism and discipleship are two sides of one “making disciples coin”.  You cannot be truly effective at either, without being effective at both.

Stay teachable - learn from the journey.

Apathy is a killer of souls.

The church can be a cruel and brutal place.

The church can be a place of healing and grace.

For many in the church the idea of a perfect future is a return to an idealised past.

The majority of church practices are cultural accomodations to a society that no longer exists.

God could take any rock out of the garden and make a better youth worker/pastor out of it than I'll ever be. 

I'm not irreplaceable.

Know why you do what you do!  Think & wrestle theologically about youth work & ministry. 

Numbers add up to nothing - a large youth ministry doesn't necessarily denote a healthy youth ministry.  Focus on depth not breadth!

Learn to balance family and ministry - Don't sacrifice your family on the altar of ministry! 

Vanguard Team

Today we welcomed a team from Vanguard University in California.  They are here for spring break and no better way to spend it than a week of High School student ministry.  We set it off tonight with a fantastic Elevate event.  Even though they'd just stepped off a plane having flown all the way to London and then from London to Belfast they really rose to the ocassion.  I'm really amped about this week and it's a joy to partner with these guys, its stuff like this that still gets me really buzzing about youth ministry. 

Hoodies

I promised the youth group I'd post a proof of what our 'Elevate' hoodies are going to look like.  I love hoodies and things like this are a great way of communicating a group's identity.  Click on the image to make it bigger. 

   

take to the world... this love, hope and faith

take to the world... this love, hope and faith

Here are the details for our Mission Trip this summer. 
Trip Dates
08 July: arrive in Krakow (Poland) travel to Malenovice (Czech)
09 - 11 July: Team Training
12 - 19 July: ENGLISH CAMP
20 - 22 July: Follow up in Prague
23 July: Sight Seeing in Prague
24 July: Travel home

Cost: £550*
This includes air travel, all in country transportation, accommodation, meals and travel insurance.
Deposit: £50 (deposits are non-refundable) *We anticipate a concentrated fund-raising effort to help cover costs. 

Application forms & full details of Mission Czech ’08 are available from me.  Forms should be completed and returned by Friday 28 March 2008.  Team Training will commence in April 2008.  If you are interested or have any questions please get in touch.

Be part of a movement of over 50 camps involving 4000 young people. Summer English Camps provide an excellent environment for building relationships and sharing about the hope and forgiveness that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
This is a unique opportunity to work as part of a team reaching out to young people in the Czech Republic. 

Frozen Grand Central - What an attention Grabber!

I talked about this video of a flash mob in Grand Central Station at the.element on Friday night so I thought I'd post it here so you could check it out.  It's superb!  Over 200 people all frozen in place at exactly the same time, they remained frozen for 5 minutes.  Grand central is one of the busiest places on the planet and the impact was impressive just check out the reactions, this creative act caused people to stop in their tracks and wonder what's going on?  There is a real lesson here on the kind of lives we're living, are they attention grabbing?  Do they cause others to think, to wonder?  Our walk will always talk louder than our talk, talks! 

Rest-Art Mime Tour 08

I've not had much time to post lately we've been busy with life and youth work.  Last week we had Rest-Art visiting with us.  Rest-Art is Tomsa and Blahos; two gifted mime artists from the Czech Republic.  They performed at various youth events and led mime workshops in our local High School.  I love to see young people get excited about creative arts and these guys certainly entertained, educated and enthralled students throughout the week. 

Touchdown - The Formal

While I was away speaking at Soul Cafe this weekend Val took a group of our young people to the Touchdown Formal.  Touchdown is our Presbytery Youth movement.  They had a blast, they looked amazing and it was a superb event.  Enjoy this slide show of their antics and check out the Photo album for more pics. 

Soul Cafe

It was my birthday on Thursday, thanks to all of you who sent texts, or commented on facebook or myspace... I feel the love,  Means a lot! 

I'm speaking at Soul Cafe this weekend.  I've spoke there before and It's one of the best outreach events I've ever been involved with.  The guys really pull out all the stops when it comes to the event, but what really sets it apart is the prayer that goes into it.  You can plan for great things, you can work for great things, but above all you must pray for great things! 

Elevate - Christmas Bash

We had our Christmas Bash on Saturday evening.  It was a superb event brimful of mirth & mayhem!  Andrew put together another video of the highlights! 

the.element Lock-In

We had our lock-in on Friday night.  Over 70 young people and 12 hours of high energy activities, a lot of fun and some great memory makers.  It's undoubtedly been one of our best events and the young people were stellar raising over £1000 to help buy a land Rover for a missionary family living and working among the Maasai people in Kenya.  One of our students (Andrew) put together a great little video of the event and 'Chuck' my rubber chicken (which we use in the classic game 'chuck the chicken) even found himself in a starring role ...hum?!  Enjoy! nice job Andrew loveitloveit!

You've Been ASBO'd

I love this resource from Frontier Youth Trust - 'You've Been ASBO'd Certificate'.  It's an award, and the idea is that Youth Workers, Parents, Teachers etc. can download it for free and give it to young people who they think deserve it.  It's a superb way to acknowledge those young people who have made a positive impact or performed unconditional acts of kindness in their community, youth club, school or group etc. ASBO usually stands for ‘anti-social behaviour order’, but they’ve subverted it to mean ‘alright, sensational, beautiful, original.’  Loveitloveit!

Young people are increasingly depicted in the media as a lawless underclass responsible for creating society’s problems.  But the most worrying aspect of these recent developments is the growing intolerance, demonising and vilifying of young people.  Young people may indeed find themselves criminalised for their anti-social behaviour, which may be something as simple as the clothes they wear e.g. 'hooded sweat shirts'.

There is no doubt that problems exist, the key issue is what causes these problems, and what can be done to address them. 
To give you a bit of information regarding ASBOs -  Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs) were introduced by section 1 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 in England and Wales and have been available since April 1999. Though ASBOs are civil orders to breach one is to commit a criminal offence.
The Northern Ireland context is somewhat different from that of England and Wales and as a result ASBOs have only been introduced quite recently and to date have been used in a limited capacity.  The introduction of ASBOs to Northern Ireland has been shrouded in controversy.  Northern Ireland's children’s commissioner Nigel Williams took a stand and attempted to prevent the government from introducing them, believing they would interfere with young people's rights of privacy.
ASBOs may seemingly deal with the symptoms of the problem while the root cause of the cancer goes untreated.  Such an approach may in fact leave adolescents in a very precarious position. 

The statistics show that since April 1999 until September 2005, a total of 7,536 ASBOs were issued and 43% were given to kids aged 10 to 17.  47% were breached by the end of 2005.  The evidence continues to mount up, proof that children and young people are increasingly criminalised with around half of all ASBOs given to young people under the age of eighteen.
ASBOs rather than deterring young people from anti-social behaviour actually criminalise non-criminal behaviour, the definition for anti-social behaviour is so broad and vague that many are handed ASBOs for behaviour most people would consider to be acceptable. 

Kudos to FYT for subverting a term that has become synonymous with young people and for producing an award that celebrates their potential and how Alright, Sensational, Beautiful and Original many of them are!

A Message From Bob

The Scoop on the MAD Weekend

I always look forward to the MAD weekend.  To put it quite simply there is no finer youth event in the country and our youth board has consistently raised the bar with each successive year.  The theme this year was ‘1 Life’. 

Marko was superb and as always did a great job of making deep truth accessible and understandable to young teens.  Andy Flan led the worship and I’ve got to say that each time I hear him I like what he does more and more.  It can't be easy leading worship at a Presbyterian Church in Ireland event; ‘with respect’… most young people are coming from traditional churches which are stylistically and lyrically a world away from something like the MAD weekend.  Andy took some risks, was creative in his arrangements and I’m not ashamed to admit I got pretty emotional during the Sunday morning worship just looking around at the young people unbounded, joyous and free in their worship of God… Oh how we need more of this on a Sunday morning in our home congregations.

Our young people were fantastic fun!  I love the luxury of extended time with them that a weekend such as this provides.  Relationships were deepened and I know that many of them were deeply impacted by what Marko had to say.  God was moving, hearts were touched and lives changing. Loveitloveit!

I did a seminar on the Saturday morning: ‘Private Life’ (when I looked primarily at the importance of Character and integrity in our private lives), it went pretty well and there was a good vibe in both slots that I did.  I think the seminars across the board really complemented what Marko was saying and encouraged young people to live this 1 Life with no regrets. 

All in all a great weekend, with a great group of young people.  And I should point out to the 1st Pres crew that I did emerge from the weekend as Sumo Wrestling champion!  Check out the Youth Ministry in Saintfield photo album.

Going MAD

We're off to the MAD weekend at the University of Ulster campus in Coleraine.  This event pulls together close to 800 young people from across the country and is without a doubt one of the best events ever developed by the PCI.  Marko is speaking this year and I'm looking forward to this time away with our young people.  The truth is that some of the deepest and most effective experiences with young people take place during a chunk of extended time with them.  Quality time is an accident that occurs in a qauntity of time.  loveitloveit!

New Events

We recently launched two new events -

the.element takes place every Friday evening from 8-10pm.  It's a youth club event with a host of activities for students to plug into.  We had the first event last week and it was a resounding success.  It's been good to hear so much positive feedback about this event.

Elevate meets fortnightly and is our new Saturday evening youth group.  We let loose, share in laughter,  deepen friendships, seek God and learn together.   

Saying Goodbye To Becca

This week we had to say goodbye to Becca.  Becca is from Colorado Springs and has been coming faithfully to Ireland for several years to serve in our youth work and ministry.  She has been staying with us since early June, and while it has been an amazing time it has not been without its challenges; on our return from the Czech Republic Immigration subjected her to an horrendous ordeal of interviews, pulling the plug on her hopes to attend school for a short time whilst here (I could rant at length about the immigration service and what seems to be nothing short of persecution of Christians coming into N. Ireland? Go figure, but from the stories I've unearthed it certainly seems that way... but that is a subject for another post).  At one stage it looked like Becca was going to be forced to leave the country, but we believe God intervened (trust me having dealth with some of those petty bureaucrats, nothing short of a miraculous intervention could change minds) And that is exactly what happened, she was given leave to enter the country, got her passport back and was able to stay here until her parents visited and return to the states with them this week.  Becca has quite the story to tell.  It's also a story about the lives she has seen impacted this summer, including her own.  We're going to miss her terribly and the girls already miss their big sister.  Becca, stay the way God is changing you!  Thanks for all you have sacrificed to stand with us in this work.  We love you!    

What a week!

It's been a wild week - Holiday Bible Club with around 230 kids every morning, my group was 'The Pirates' with about 75 kids in it and we enjoyed a packed program of mirth and madness. Loveitloveit!  Fast forward to the afternoon and we had over 50 kids at our soccer camp which we ran in partnership with Athletes in Action, then with just enough time to catch a breath it was time for our teen events.  We had three this week: Monday was 'G in the Park' - an evening of some of the finest games ever played by man topped off with a tasty barbecue.  On Wednesday: we had 'Messy Fun Night 2' with 88 young people and some of the grossest games ever played by man, it was of course an incredible memory maker.  We wrapped up last night with a 'Movie Night'.

What a week! We're exhausted but ecstatic to see lives impacted by God. Thanks to everyone who prayed, helped out or showed up.  Check out the video and enjoy some of the highlights of Messy Fun Night.

Mission Czech 2007 - Underground English Camp

We're back after 18 life impacting days in the Czech Republic.  This was our 10th year of English Camps, and I'm just as excited about English camps now as I was doing those first camps with my friend Niall back in the 90's.  It's inspiring to be part of a movement; a revolution of God across the nations.  And it is encouraging to see team members grow in their faith, as they step out of their comfort zones.  There is a wonderful story in the Chronicles of Narnia when Lucy encounters Aslan the lion for the second time.  When she sees him, she exclaims "Aslan, you're bigger!" Aslan replies, "No, child, I am not.  But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."  God is ready, willing and able to reveal more and more about Himself to us!  And that is exactly what has happened on this mission trip. God has shown us a bigger picture, and to the mission crew I want to very simply say 'Stay the way God is changing you!' And keep the eyes of faith open wide, God is at work here just as much as He is in the Czech Republic... join him.  You guys were a superb team and I want to thank you all for your commitment and sacrifice, I'm proud of each and every one of you.

The theme of English Camp was 'underground' and through stories of individuals from the Gospels who encountered Jesus we explored how God offers us more life than we could ever imagine and a way out of the underground and into a relationship with him.  Czech students experienced a packed programme of English instruction, small group discussion, fun activities, sports, music, games and the late night tea room.  We all enjoyed sunshine and 90 degree heat (which was super fun on what is affectionately now referred to as the 'never-ending hike')... seriously though, all of these were memory makers.   

I've published a Mission Czech 07 photo album - so click on over and see what we've been doing for the last three weeks.  The pictures tell the story in a much more effective way than I could ever describe it here... the bottom line is there are 'no words' to describe an adventure like this.  I'm simply just blown away and blessed that we get to live this life and be a part of what God is doing.   

I've also published a few more photo's on my Flickr photostream please do check them out too.    

Czech Republic Bound

Today we leave on our missions trip to the Czech Republic.  We have a packed schedule over the next few weeks and would really appreciate your prayers as we travel and lead English camp.  We arrive in Prague tonight and have a short pit-stop there before traveling east to malenovice; our location for English camp. We've got a great team and we're siked about the trip. 

I'm not sure how much internet access I'll have, but I'll try to post updates... signing off for now. Shalom.

Team Schedule
8 JULY - Arrive in Prague: 20:30
9 JULY - Day In Prague
10 JULY - Travel to Malenovice
11 JULY - Pre-camp Training
12 JULY - Pre-camp Training
13 JULY - Pre-camp Training
14 - 21 July - English Camp
21 July– Travel back to Prague
22 July - Worship at Dejvice
23 July - Follow-up day
24 July - Follow-up day
25 July - Sightseeing In Prague
26 July - Fly home 

Saying Goodbye

The V7 Pres Team left this morning.  They were exhausted after a busy two weeks of activities but overjoyed at what was accomplished.  We've made some great memories, thanks for all your hard work, sacrifice and commitment.  Check out the photo album for the highlights of summerfest 07.

More Pics

The summerfest 07 photo album is growing, check it out!

Summerfest - The Living Room Gig

It is hard to believe we're half way through our summerfest week.  Due to other events our facility was maxed out tonight, and summerfest was relocated to the minor hall (or as I affectionately refer to it as 'the living room')  Seems like we were using every available space outside and in for games & activities tonight! 

I don't play the numbers game, but they have been good and pretty consistent throughout the week.  Yeah there is the to be expected 'no-show' apathy from some teens connected to the church, it seems it is nigh impossible to move some people (some things never change in the trad church) and after a year of creative events and opportunities I'm not even going to get sidetracked by this issue because we have other stellar young people who are plugging in and who haven't missed a night of summerfest, Props to you guys!  And I'm excited by the numbers of young people from the community who have come along, we're making connections, building bridges and planting seeds this week.  Loveitloveit!

To any family and friends of the V7 crew who may be tracking the team's progress via the blog, know they are doing a superb job!

What a ride...

Marko posted about this video- it's 8 minutes 45 seconds of the great Mike Yaconelli.  I'm sitting here, tears streaming down my face, reminded again of why I do what I do. 

Setting it off... Summerfest 2007

Tonight we had our first Summerfest Event, it was superb! Great crowd, brilliant atmosphere... loveitloveit!

I've added a Summerfest 2007 photo album, click on over and check it out. I've also updated our youth ministry photo album with some recent events as well as posting some recent pics of Erin & Talitha.  Enjoy

Summerfest Begins

The V7 team from Colorado have arrived and settled in, tomorrow evening we kick off our summerfest week. There will be youth events each evening packed with games, skits, live music and a ton of fun. Clay will be playing live on Saturday evening as we wrap up the week.

I'll try to post pictures throughout the week, stay tuned... 

Being or Doing?

Lately I've been feeling the pressurized burn of busyness.  I think its partly due to the knowledge that a full and demanding summer lies ahead of us, together with the deadlines that accompany study, the priority of family and a growing awareness of the expectations, and judgement of others.  That last one in particular can be a killer. 
We have after all, been here for just over a year now, not long in terms of building a sustainable, strategic youth work, but long enough to know the honeymoon period is over! 
Come September we'll be starting some new events, and trying to cultivate a greater sense of unity in what is already going on.  We've taken things slow until this point, watching, listening, learning, discerning the needs.  I guess most people will be excited, but some will probably find change hard.  I realise I can't remove the pain that sometimes accompanies change I can only manage it. 
With a keen sense of discernment also comes the awareness that some people probably get frustrated with how we do things simply because we don't do it their way.  And there are others who just don't see the sacrifice of time, energy and love that you're pouring out, while others may only have eyes for failures and flaws.  And sadly there maybe some others who in spite of all we might try to do, have their minds made up and for some reason they plain just don't like you.  The truth is when you walk the path of ministry sometimes it means taking some hits and bearing some scars.  All of this can be a heady dangerous mix, you could become discouraged, disillusioned, hardhearted, or get forced down the route of trying to please people.  It's also easy to get sidetracked into doing rather being, the cul-de-sac thinking that goes along the lines of... If I just do more... give more... get more creative... have cooler programmes... etc.         

I realise I could  become so busy doing the work of God that I'd miss the importance of being God’s person.  Its easy to confuse the two—doing and being, especially with a packed schedule and the burden of expectation.  I believe, being connected to God on a daily basis is more important than anything I could do.  Jesus said, “Remain in me, and I will remain in you…apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5).  Or as one of my youth ministry mentors used to say 'Your doing will flow out of your being'.
Service in youth ministry should never come at the expense of your personal passion and depth for God.  The truth is that the greatest thing I can do (or any of us on this path can do) for young people is to love Jesus more. 

Are you ready for a change?

I posted this as a comment on From Under The Duvet but feel its worty of a post on these pages.  It is a challenge to some of the criticism, apathy or negativity I sometimes hear or observe...

As someone whose lifes work revolves around church, and who has worked with young people for 15 years, I often hear the comment this is boring - if I'm honest more often than not from the least committed but yet the most frequent to complain (funny that). My response is simply Yeah I agree, sometimes I feel its boring too. But be the change, at least I'm (with others) there to effect change, to be a catalyst. Standing on the sidelines dissing has never changed a thing!

From a youth ministry perspective... things are not where I want them to be in our church, but I've only been here a very short time, and I've responsibilities beyond the realm of teens work but I have a vision, a dream that I want to see realised. As things are maybe if I were a teen I'd right it off too, I dunno, but on the other hand, I think I'd want to be the kind of student who says I'm gonna help build this thing, get off my backside and make a difference.

In many ways it comes down to two types of people 'Givers & Takers' or put it another way consumers or activists. So many people in church are consumers... its all about 'me' what I want, when I want it, the way I like it, at my convenience.

I got news for you folks... you're not called to be a consumer... church is not about you! You are no big deal! But Jesus is, and it is all about him! So to the naysayers, the complainers, the criticisers, those taken up residence on the sidelines what are you gonna be? What are you gonna be known for? Are you gonna step up, and build something that lasts... its called the Kingdom.

What will your generation be known for? will you be agents of social & spiritual change?   Or will you be agents of social & spiritual control (if you stay on the sidelines, with your 'me' 'me' attitude and your constant dissing, that is exactly where you're headed.

If you are the ones who can make a change... show me... step up, stand shoulder to shoulder with us and be the change!  If not, sit down, shut up and let us get on with it.

Summerfest 2007

A Good Solider

I'm posting another video, this one is for those of us involved in ministry.  It's a short message given by Pastor Mark Driscoll to a recent church planting conference, but the principles and qualities he's talking about are applicable to many spheres of ministry.  I like Marks' stuff, he doesn't beat around the bush, he calls a spade a spade and sets off some depth charges in regard to reaching young men and what it takes to stand in the battle as a good soldier.

Watch Think Respond

An Update

The Blog has been silent over the Easter break, simply because we've been busy doing life & ministry (and its always better to 'do' life than merely write about it)... so a brief update on the latest happenings.

To help with preparation for our upcoming mission trip to the Czech Republic we had a group of young Cz leaders visiting with us over Easter.  It was an invaluable time for our students to connect with the Cz leaders, build relationships and enhance our team training.  We also made good use of the glorious weather we've been experiencing and took off for a team day on the north coast.  We had a great time visiting the Giants Causeway and then hiking around Runkerry point to Bushfoot Strand and Portballintrae.

We also ensured we had plenty of time for the Cz's to see some of the sights and drink in the history of N. Ireland.  I've posted some new photo's on Flickr from these travels please check them out by clicking the flickr badge opposite. 

Church Family Weekend
Then we were off to the north coast again for our church family weekend at White Park Bay.  The weather was once again glorious, and the time with members of our church community was enriching as we explored what it means to live for Christ 24/7.   

I've also posted some new pics of Erin & Talitha from the weekend, check out the photo album. 

7 Days... with the Vanguard University Crew

The past 7 days have been a head-spinnin-living-out-loud kinda adventure; we've had a mission team from Vanguard University in California working with us.  I'm deeply humbled that these students and leaders would give up their spring break and travel thousands of miles around the world to partner with us in our youth work & ministry... And I'm so glad they did!

Each day was packed with School's work - presentations in the Assemblies & R.E. classes at our local High School, where students were treated to a superb programme of music, skits and group activities.  The team also encouraged the students in the Scripture Union groups meeting in three major schools: Saintfield High, Down High and Ballynahinch High.  We also managed to squeeze in presentations in two local primary schools, all our regular youth activities, and some of the sights of Ireland.  We lived every moment and made some great memories.      

The Goal Is Elevation...  On Saturday evening we had a youth event - 'Elevate'.  Over 80 young  people enjoyed a fantastic programme of music, drama and fun, all designed to elevate God, each other and the gospel!  Team VU... We're going to miss you guys!  Thanks for all your hard work and encouragement.  Check out the Photo Album and see what we got up to this week. 

Some encouragement for my fellow youth workers

This is hilarious!  The Skit Guys performed this skit 'The Chair' as a thank you to all the youth workers out there who are investing in the lives of young people.  It is a challenging, exciting and sometimes discouraging work... so I'm posting this video as an encouragement to my fellow youth workers; the members of my tribe who are faithfully and tirelessly working away in the trenches!  Smile as you remember the people who have sat in 'the chair' (some of them you'll recognise in this skit)

(ht to Tim Schmoyer)

Upcoming Events in 2007

It's happening this July!  If not you, who? If not now, when?

Full details available from me.

The Christmas Bash

We had our Christmas Bash last night, it was a fantastic event when students could let loose with some riotous fun.  There was messy mirth, madness & mayhem with 'Custard Diving', 'Ice Cream Feed' and 'PIE Russian Roulette' to name but a few.  Check out the photo album.   

10 Easy Steps For Youth Ministry Success

Had a good meeting with our elders about the future of the youth ministry and some of the challenges ahead.  It got me thinking about the key elements that make a youth ministry successful, then I came across this by the late (though very much current in heaven) great Mike Yaconelli... I love it!  Mike had a great way of pointing out some of the messed up thinking that marks a lot of ministry.  Here's what not to do.  Enjoy!

Ten Easy Steps to Guarantee a Successful Youth Ministry!
by Mike Yaconelli

1. Dumb Down the Gospel. Employ attractive phrases such as, “Since I’ve known Jesus I’m happier, getting better grades, and captain of the football team!” Even better, reduce the complexity of the gospel into group cheers (i.e., “Give me a J!”) or simple worship choruses like, “God is so good…blah blah blah.” (Try singing those words in Ethiopia.) Or even better, try out some hip slang (i.e., God is “phat”; Jesus is a “hottie”).

2. Count. Constantly make everyone aware of your group’s attendance figures and the increases in attendance. Make numbers an issue by setting attendance goals for each activity and reward the group for reaching those goals. Spend lots of time throwing pies at the leaders if goals are reached.

3. Put Your Students on Display. As soon as kids become Christians or rededicate their lives or show real growth, put them in front of the group and have them share their testimonies—especially if they’re physically attractive. Let young people talk about their faith as much as possible and don’t worry about the fact that most young people have no clue how complicated and rough the real world is with or without Jesus.

4. Don’t Allow Down Time. Hey, kids today are MTV kids! They can’t sit still for any length of time. Silence, solitude, prayer, meditation, fasting? All totally lame in the eyes of this generation! Nope, keep ‘em busy, active, noisy, and shuttling from one Christian rock concert to another. Fill every moment of your program with something to do—otherwise you’ll lose their attention (which would be disastrous because then they’d have to pay attention to God and their souls).

5. Stay on the Technological Cutting Edge. What would Jesus do? Are you kidding? Jesus would have the best sound system you ever heard, along with a DVD player, the Internet, instant messaging, the coolest Web site, and of course a digital TV. Show your kids that when it comes to the latest technology, Christians are right there! I mean, who needs to read when you can watch?

6. Create Celebrities. Make sure your young people get an earful and eyeful of the latest Christian music stars, video stars,  who profess their faith in Jesus on national television. Encourage your young people to worship, idolize, and live under the illusion that these people are somehow better, deeper, more Christian, more together, and more dedicated than them. Let them believe that the marketed images of these celebrities are completely representative of them—even though you know it isn’t true.

7. Let Youth Group Take the Place of Church. Oh sure, encourage your kids to attend the contemporary service—even though you know most of them never will because church is “boring,” filled with “dull, old people,” and the music “sucks.” Whatever you do, though, don’t suggest that worshiping with people they don’t like and connecting with people who are older and wiser just might save them when their adolescent view of the world is shattered. Just keep convincing your students that youth group is a good substitute for church.

8. Tow the Parental Line. Whatever you do, don’t cause friction with parents by suggesting to their kids that grades, financial security, college degrees, and athletic scholarships really don’t matter. Just accept the fact that most parents want their children to attend youth group as long as it doesn’t interfere with hockey, football, ice skating, tennis, ballet, or baseball practice. And don’t encourage young people to resist their parents’ attempts to smother the call of God on their lives, either. After all, you could get fired!

9. Ignore the Arts. Never encourage painting, dance, sculpture, writing, poetry, ballet, or trips to the museum, symphony, and opera. Stick with activities that rock! The WWF rules!

10. Live in the Now! Verify the success of your ministry by visible, measurable, observable results you see now. Don’t waste your time worrying about lasting results. Who can wait?! Go for the instant return. Hey, once your kids leave youth group, you aren’t responsible for what happens to them anyway, right?

11. “Us” Versus “Them.” (Yeah, yeah, I know I said “Ten Steps”—sue me.) Convince your kids that the only way Christians can make a difference is through public, physical confrontation with the “world.” Explain that this “world” is “them,” and Christians—the good guys—are “us.” And since it’s us against them, we have to “stand up for our faith.” Encourage them to march in rallies, wear slogan-filled T-shirts, hang banners, and do whatever it takes to get in the world’s face. Convince them that the Devil and his demons are running around, wreaking havoc—and the only way to deal with the Devil is to confront and “bind him.” Don’t let them believe that evil is much more seductive, much more camouflaged and tricky than they could ever imagine. And whatever you do, don’t start getting into Jesus’ strategy of powerlessness.

Now go get ‘em!

(ht life in student ministry)

the mad weekend

We're just back from the MAD weekend!  This is a stellar event for young people that has been running for the past 8 years.  I spoke at it a few years back but this was my first opportunity to take a crew along.  With superb music from Andy Flannagan the mighty [crave]: and great mainstage messages from Victor Coert, students were encouraged that they can indeed Make A Difference in their Churches and communities.   It is quite something to see 800 students at a gathering such as this, I can't help but think of the potential for impact!  As a church we've got to seriously start viewing these students as the 'church of today', that means valuing them and equipping them to live boldly and impact this world.

Best of all the MAD weekend gave us the opportunity to spend a chunk of quality time with the Saintfield crew and we had a blast (check out the photo album for some of the highlights) human foosball, rodeo bulls, Jayne's crazy dares, Kezzah's seaweed weapons and shouty mini bus singalongs were some of the memory makers.   I'm constantly amazed that I get to do this job and be a part of your lives, it is the sweetest thing!  So, here's to life with you guys and life in all its fullness!

Youth Work and the future of the church

Youth Work Magazine report that a major survey has revealed that 59% of England's churches have no young people aged 15 - 19 in their Sunday congregations and youth work programmes.  The 2005 English Church Census was undertaken by Dr Peter Brierley.  His research also reveals that 49% of churches have no 11 -14s and 39% have no under 11s.  The statistics are frigthening, though the report (Pulling Out Of The Nosedive) does state the church is losing people at a slower rate than seven years ago. 

While the exodus may be slowing and indeed some churches are growing (the larger the church the more likely it is to be growing) the fact is the Church is failing in its job of faith transmission.  It is not reaching and keeping young people.  I'm not aware of the statistics for the North of Ireland context but I suspect they too would reveal an alarming (and growing) absence of young people. 

The Church must act...now!   Dr Brierley states: 'Run these trends forward 20 years and you'll find fewer churches.  But the ones that are left will be larger, and they'll be involved in youth and children's work.  The evidence would suggest that you need a youth or children's worker in order to survive.  The question then is no longer "do we want a youth or children's worker? Now it's "do we want to survive?"'

So, is youth work the answer?  Or is it simply slapping a band aid on a bigger problem?  In the article Andy Hickford cautions that some churches have appointed youth workers 'to ease the adult church's conscience about the lack of young people.  Too often they were expected to deliver bums on pews on a Sunday and left to get on with it.'  He warns that 'Christendom is littered with crushed and broken ex-youth workers.'  The Church would do well to listen to Andy's wisdom, I've been in one of those situations.  I've felt the pressure to solve in a few short years a problem created by decades of neglect.  The weight of that pressure takes its toll emotionally, spiritually and physically.  That unrelenting pressure and expectation to justify your existence by getting young people to stay in church.  The truth is I couldn't blame them for leaving... The only reason I was there is because I was paid to be there!  (here is a good tip for Senior Pastor types who honestly want to wrestle with these issues - Ask your youth staff if they would choose to go to your church if they weren't being paid to go there)

When churches adopt such an approach its kinda like sticking a finger in the dam to hold back the flood waters, pretty soon the dam breaks and the youth worker drowns!  The only lasting solution is to fix the dam.  Andy Hickford warns: "Unless we ask far deeper and more penetrative questions about how the Church goes about mission to the world today I can only see history repeating itself."  As a youth worker/pastor I for one, am glad that Andy has highlighted how disastrous it is when churches employ youth workers to avoid asking these vital questions. 

Youth work & Ministry will play a significant role in reversing the slide of young people and young adults out of the church, but it is only part of the solution.  It begins with the Church taking a long hard critical look at itself, what it is doing and why it is doing it.  It will mean a commitment to change, not simply for the sake of change, but because we must be relevant to a lost and dying world.  It will mean reaching out without selling out and a commitment to love what God loves: people, not traditions!   

It will mean placing youth work & ministry firmly on the agenda, making it a priority!  The implications here are far reaching: churches must give careful consideration as to how every decision they make will effect their young people and children.  And finally it will involve actively and prayerfully supporting workers and giving them the funds, resources and freedom to develop a proactive and pastoral youth ministry. 

We either do this, and nothing short of this... or die.  The choice is that simple. 

Placement Begins

I've been studying part-time with the University of Ulster for the past couple of years.  I'm on the home stretch now and this week I've begun an 8 week placement with acet (Aids, Care, Education & Training).  No doubt it will be quite a juggling act to keep all the balls in the air over the next couple of months, but it will be good to be challenged and stretched outside of my familiar youth ministry thing.