In youth group the other day we had a boys night which we do once a month. At the same time the girls do a girls night. Both groups watched different dvd's with the purpose of creating discussion, to which both did. The girls watched "Heart of Soul Surfer" the story of a Christian female surfer called Bethany Hamilton who was attacked by a shark resulting in her losing an arm. From what I hear the Dvd was a fantastic discussion starter, although perhaps boys would have been a bit distracted by girls constantly walking around in bikinis. For the guys, we watched a documentary on Hillsong United and how they started, found in the "united we stand" cd+dvd combo from a few years back.
The guys found this particularly inspirational as they realised that this amazing ministry they were witnessing started with only a few, was not always the "cool, hip, trendy" thing perhaps we are use to seeing today, and for many of them it was a realisation that the event was not the only place they could engage with God, but also within youth, and within church.
This led to some fantastic discussions about going deeper with God in both youth and church, but what was interesting was that for many of them, it was church that was the problem in terms of engaging with God. Many felt embarrassed knowing their parents were there, or that people might comment, or even in some cases embarrassed to worship.
One commented that what happens if another family comes in, and their son isn't truly Christian, what would they think, and if they were part of the school, would they reveal something to everyone at school.
This seemed to be a real fear. Obviously, as Christians school is a challenge in it self, but surely church should be a safe haven for these individauls?
Another point that came out from the dvd was the realisation that the youth could be the missionaries into school. So often we can spend all our time as youth workers attempting to get into schools to do assemblies, run groups, etc, which is all fantastic, but the reality is the best evangelist are the youth themselves.
A friend of mine once said that people to not come to Christ through being yelled at, but rather through love and friendship, and I hold that value true.
The questions then are these:
How do we best equip are youth?
How do we get them unashamed in church?
Blessings,
Rich
The guys found this particularly inspirational as they realised that this amazing ministry they were witnessing started with only a few, was not always the "cool, hip, trendy" thing perhaps we are use to seeing today, and for many of them it was a realisation that the event was not the only place they could engage with God, but also within youth, and within church.
This led to some fantastic discussions about going deeper with God in both youth and church, but what was interesting was that for many of them, it was church that was the problem in terms of engaging with God. Many felt embarrassed knowing their parents were there, or that people might comment, or even in some cases embarrassed to worship.
One commented that what happens if another family comes in, and their son isn't truly Christian, what would they think, and if they were part of the school, would they reveal something to everyone at school.
This seemed to be a real fear. Obviously, as Christians school is a challenge in it self, but surely church should be a safe haven for these individauls?
Another point that came out from the dvd was the realisation that the youth could be the missionaries into school. So often we can spend all our time as youth workers attempting to get into schools to do assemblies, run groups, etc, which is all fantastic, but the reality is the best evangelist are the youth themselves.
A friend of mine once said that people to not come to Christ through being yelled at, but rather through love and friendship, and I hold that value true.
The questions then are these:
How do we best equip are youth?
How do we get them unashamed in church?
Blessings,
Rich
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Great post Rich and something I also struggle with. I think that in many cases, the young people haven't really grasped what the Gospel is all about! They know Jesus loves them, but they don't see themselves as sinners and therefore don't really need a saviour. Telling their mates that following Jesus is important just doesn't seem to register. It's like admitting that your dad works in McDonalds!
I've been challenged about this and have been trying to model in my own language and actions just how important the Gospel is. By mentioning it all the time, we're starting to put it into their consciousness a bit more making it easier for them to discuss and understand.