I’ve
always thought that the youth worker’s “summer”
was really . . . nonexistent. While the weather is warm, school
is out or altered, and teenagers are working, hanging out, attending
summer school, while the youth workers of the world keep going.
Youth workers go directly from a busy summer of mission trips,
vacation Bible school, and youth conferences to Rally Day, calendar
planning, fall retreats, and a new season of spiritual formation
and Sunday nights. While there is no recognizable change in
pace for the youth worker’s schedule, there is a monumental
change in pace for the young people who are returning to the
classroom.
With that in mind: is there a way to
think about your church’s ministry with and for young
people that makes the summer-to-fall transition more thoughtful
and creative?
Consider “back to school” time as an annual
rite of passage—a time when the church can and
should offer spiritual support to youth.
It is time to develop the year’s calendar for youth activities,
prepare for new curriculum, and make plans for the church year.
But what would happen if planning were driven by our creative
response to a much overlooked passage in a teen’s life?
Each year of middle or high school means new teachers, new rhythms,
new challenges—physically and emotionally. Tests are more
challenging. Peer groups are remixed. Sociologists say that
the start of a new school year causes more individual anxiety
for the teen (and the teen’s parent or guardian) than
any other time of the year.
While we’re “Rallying,” maybe we ought to
be thinking of this as an opportunity for ongoing accompaniment:
to truly walk alongside our young people as a community of faith
and compassion. Rallying for our youth—for their sense
of community, support, and spiritual care—means identifying
this time as important, and the call of the church as uniquely
able to respond.
Consider the needs of youth and follow thorough with
the church’s unique response.
Gather a team together to consider the needs and interests
of youth as they make the transition from summer to fall. What
will youth be feeling? Anxiety. Excitement. Stress. Ask the
team: “What spiritual needs do our youth have during this
time?” The follow-up to that question is “What is
a youth-friendly, relevant way the church can meet that need?”
“First Day” Practices
Many young people will make the switch from sleeping in to getting
up early for school. Have adults in the church prepare “First
Day” care packages for the youth that include a note offering
a friendly thought, a prayer, a Bible verse suggesting God’s
presence with that young person, a morning snack such as a muffin,
some fruit, juice, or a frappacino. The adults could even make
a special “First Day” early delivery and offer to
pray with the young person and to give a blessing. Consider
the implicit message in a practice like this: the church, your
church, cares for you, just as God cares for you. We’re
thinking of you. Your needs are important and not forgotten.
Rally Day with a Twist
Infuse worship with a sense of rallying around our youth and
children. Use illustrations in prayers and sermons that speak
to the experiences of the younger people in the church: school,
friends, band practice, report cards, testing, less sleep, new
locker combinations. Let the children and youth know that their
lives are on God’s radar, and God cares about their days,
their experiences, and their decisions. Help them remember that
through worship we lift up corporately our relationship with
God and that this relationship connects to them and their lives.
Have the Christian education committee and/or youth committee
work with the staff in preparing this worship service. Include
parents of youth and children, teachers, caring adults who are
not parents. The message is that we care for and value children
and youth.
School Year Resolutions
I’ve always thought that the real new year for those of
us involved in Christian education and youth ministry was back
to school time. Host a gathering for youth that focuses on the
year ahead. Rather than resolutions that pile up expectations
on kids (whose lives are already filled with expectations by
school, family, peers, and society), create a practice of prayerfully
considering the year ahead—an interactive or guided prayer
that invites the youth to visualize the coming school year.
Have the youth find a comfortable position in which they can
relax into a prayerful posture. Have them visualize their school:
the hallways, the classrooms, the football games, the cafeterias,
the friendships, the tests and assemblies. Literally walk them
through the physical school campus and invite them to imagine
how they could encounter Christ in these places. Read a passage
such as Psalm 139 that reminds the youth of God’s presence
and knowledge of our lives. Read a gospel story that connects
Jesus’ encounters with life and people to the youth’s
encounters.
At the end of the prayer ask the youth to create school year
resolutions. Encourage resolutions that help them create spaces
for God in their daily lives—simple rituals like a silent
bidding prayer for their classmates or a prayer for strength
and joy each time they open their locker. Write these resolutions
down and have youth create small laminated cards that can be
attached to their key rings or tucked into their wallets.
Late summer and early fall are historically one of the busiest
times for youth ministry. Youth are reentering the rhythm of
school and extracurricular activity. Parents are juggling their
lives and their teens’ lives. Church can feel like just
one more thing rather than the foundation it should be. So let’s
shift our approach a bit. Let’s consider back to school
time as more than a calendar entry. Let’s look at it as
an opportunity for faith formation. |
