Theological Youth Workers

Transitioning our Seniors

Its fall finals for a lot of our seniors.  As I look at those in my youth ministry I often wonder what will happen to them when they leave this town, this church, and their high school.  Will they also leave their faith.  Most studies seem to indicate that truth.

As a youth director in college I remember thinking, "These kids have no idea what they are going to be up against when they head to college."  My college faith experience was spectacular, but it didn't start out that way.  The first year and a half were a real rough time in my spiritual journey.  I did everything I could to try and help them find a new faith community, but I couldn't shake the sense that I was sending them out as sheep among wolves.  I remember those exact thoughts passing through my head as they graduated and we said our goodbyes.

Below is an interesting article from Fuller Theological Seminary's Center for Youth and Family Ministry.  It is a series of surveys and some interpretation on what is happening with those seniors as they head out the door to college.  You can read it here.

Response to YS Letter

O.K., so I need to give credit where credit is due.  Marko (Mark Oestreicher President of Youth Specialties) from Youth Specialties did respond to my email letter that I had sent to him.  It was the subject of the previous post.  I wanted to get that out in the open.  I have decided to post our exchange for the benefit of everyone.  Thanks again for responding Marko.

Here's Marko's initial response:

Oestreicher, Mark wrote ..
Hey matt - sorry it's been so long since you wrote.  Busy month.


Well, I hear what you're saying.  And not to be defensive, but I've
been expressing culpability on behalf of YS for two or three years now.  I
feel like YS was the leading instigator in the "professionalization"
of youth ministry, and in creating or promoting many (probably not all)
of the crappy models and assumptions we're now working to dismantle or
move beyond.  I say "not all", because - for instance - YS has never had a
big value on numbers (attendance, or 'decisions') as a good measuring
stick, and those seem to be such predominantly harmful guiding values
in the youth ministry world (well, in the whole church world, to be honest). 

I do not, however, feel the best response to evil 

(including participation in it)

is to spend the rest of my life expressing
culpability.  There is value in that, yes.  But, ultimately, there is
MORE value (yes, I think it's an issue of priorities) in starting to
define and practice a new way.

Anyhow - thanks for your thoughts!

marko

Here was my reply:

Mark-
Thank you for being willing to even reply.  I appreciate that a great
deal.  Indeed I think you are right that ongoing expressions of
culpability become unecessary at some point.  My perspective on what YS
has been doing the last few years is limited.  As I said, this was my
first conference in some time.  I just wanted to share what a VERY SMALL
portion of the event looked like to me.  I can't express enough how
excited I was overall about the direction that YS has taken since I was
last there.  It was so refreshing to me and was totally the opposite of
what I had expected from YS.  I know that probably did not come through
in my email.  You all are in my prayers.  Continue going forward with
your good work.

Matt Overton