Did you know that we are starting a youth choir?
You're probably thinking, what does a youth choir have to do with "Thoughts on Worship"? Well, I'm glad you asked.
Over the past several months the lord has really burdened my heart with the idea that we are having a disconnect between generations and more and more students are walking away from Christ once they graduate high school. My thought has been, what can we do as a ministry to connect kids to Christ in a way that will relate to them and in a way that will allow us to invest in them. My thought was a youth choir/discipleship ministry.
The idea is to "TIE" students to Christ and to other generations. I'm using the word "TIE" as a acronym for:
Teaming JR High, Sr High, and College students together through mentorship and to team them together with christ through discipleship.
Invite students to use their talents and gifts to glorigy God.
Equip students with opportunities to invest in others.
Some thoughts that I have on why we are losing our studnets once they get to college are
1. Maybe we're focusing to much on program and not enough on their relationship with Christ
2. Maybe we're not allowing studnets a safe environment to work out their salvation (or express their views, goals, ideas, and then train them.
3. Maybe we're afraid we don't have the correct answers to the questions and so we only teach on topics we know.
I have some other ideas, but I'd like to get some input from you, on your thoughts why we are losing our young people once they get to college.
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5 comments:
I tend to agree... we need to find more ways to "plug" our students in to the "church" than to just push them into our programs. Its one thing to hope that the various "ministries" in the church help to guide them in their faith, but I really feel that the more relational connections they can make in church among different age groups can go a long way to solidify their faith. The students are bombarded now with so many "worldviews" in the world, that we as a church need to connect with them as much as possible to show them faith lived in action, to reaffirm what they hear on a Sunday morning or Wednesday night. If they have more interaction living their faith in the church family, instead of listening to it, I believe that it will go far to solidify it in their hearts and strengthen them when they go off on their own.
In every other aspect of life, we know that concepts are best taught by doing, and are best received from those we respect and have a connection with, then it only goes to show that the best thing we can do for our youth, and adults for that matter, is to put them in relational situations in the church that mentor them and also provide opportunity to "learn by doing" instead of learning by sermon or Sunday School lesson or the occasional retreat or conference. Not that there is anything wrong with any of that, however, that can't be the complete package.
By the way... I wasn't trying to show disrespect by putting various terms in quotes... I was trying to address in more universal terms instead of just a local context.
You bloggin' stud!! Glad to see you've taken the plunge!
Okay, now I'll actually address the blog...LOL!!
Good thoughts, Todd. It has been my observation that our culture is constantly changing. From MySpace to Facebook to a barrage of media outlets, cultural values are constantly changing. In the 1950's, the church was setting the pace and influencing culture in most communities. Unfortunately, that influence has vanished. There is a sub-culture that has been created that today we call "church". It is a culture understood by those who have grown up in the church, but it is foreign to the culture that surrounds our churches. With the effective indoctrination of our students from other 'worldly' mediums, and the increased disconnect from where the church culture and "real" culture, we need to re-evaluate how we're connecting or not connecting with students within their cultural context.
Have I mentioned we've got two generations, going on three who are completely unchurched? No church background. This is a challenge for all leaders in church today. How do we connect with these people within there culture?
I love your idea. After high school, those were the toughest years for me- especially spiritually. You kind of get lost ot college- even thought I attended Campus Crusade For Christ, I still felt lost. I have always had a burden for kids at this stage of life. Anything can help them!
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