A Needed Shift For Student Ministry
I want to be clear out the gate on this one, this post is purely based on my opinion. I know there’s an element of opinion in most, if not all blog posts and articles, and mine are no different but this is based on years of experience and many conversations with students, teachers, and coaches. The reason for this disclaimer is I want to be clear that I’m not saying I’m right and someone else is wrong. However, I’m going to challenge those involved in student ministry to take this to heart if we truly wish to reach this next generation.
I live in the deep south, where sports are king. Like many my age, I still remember the days in which Sundays and Wednesdays were considered church days and kept sacred from practices and sporting events. Like most places in the states, those days are behind us and with the growing popularity of year round travel sports it’s becoming even more of an issue. I’ll admit, this has caused some frustration for me at times in my ministry. It’s really easy for us to question priorities of students and parents and we can feel the angst of being in competition against these other events. It sometimes leads us to questioning our abilities or how well we’re functioning in student ministry. “If I could just…” too often becomes our thought. If you’ve been in student ministry for five weeks, five years, or twenty-five years, you’ve probably felt the tension in this statement. We start asking questions, feeling discouraged, and doubting. I also believe it’s led many well-intentioned student pastors and youth workers, myself included, to unintentionally create a shame culture within our churches and student ministries.
In 2018, Barna released a book entitled Gen Z*. It was detailed report in partnership with the Impact 360 Institute that researched Gen Z’s beliefs specifically when it comes to church, religion, institution, as well as morals and family. In the introduction, David Kinnaman, President of Barna Group, explains that they refer to this time we live in as a “digital Babylon.” That’s in part to the constant connection our digital native students live and then compares our students to the Judean exiles of the Old Testament. The bottom line, the anchor statement is, too many student pastors are still preparing students for the temple in Jerusalem, our church where we hold weekly services, and we must prepare our students to live in Babylon. The question, of course, is how does this look in our settings and communities?
I would love to share some things that I’ve learned and am continuing to learn as I process preparing my students to live as Christ followers in their Babylon.
Our ministries must be hubs, not destinations
Much like the days of sports, clubs, and organizations would respect Sundays and Wednesdays, the days of the church being at the center of society are behind us. Over the years there have been many ideas and practices on how to get people to attend church and many of those have worked for the season we found ourselves in. When you think about a hub, such as an airport, you don’t go to stay there. You go, connect, and fly! You may have read up to this point thinking I’m proposing not doing church or student ministry but that’s not the case. I still work hard to get students connected and plugged into our student ministry but my goal is to use our platform as a training ground for everything else students are involved in. I think this requires different conversations and a different level of intentional discipleship than we’ve seen before. That leads me to my next point.
Our ministries must seek to equip and empower students for their teams, clubs, families, and more
I tell my students often that anyone can be a “good Christian” inside the walls of the church. In fact, one could argue that most if not everyone is. I believe too many times we’ve oversimplified discipleship. What I mean by that is, we’ve traditionally made our focal point of discipleship is the church. I know many of seen the drawbacks to that and have started spending time with students outside of the walls of the church but I’d like to take it a step further. What if discipleship were not just teaching them the bible but teaching them how the bible applies to every aspect of their lives? What if discipleship were giving them a good understanding that the gospel is and should be in every conversation, every changing of a flat tire, in every pitch, drawing, or anything else they may put their minds and hands to? Obviously scripture doesn’t teach us how to change a flat tire but it does teach us the attitude we should have as well as work ethic we’re called to. This is true of everything. I want to teach that young man from the basketball team how to process his emotions of both wins and losses, of both failures and victories. Then I want to empower him, and others, to live it out, yes at church but more importantly, everywhere else.
Lastly…
Give them permission to miss and still stay connected
This generation of students is unique in so many ways. Fear of missing out (FOMO) is a real thing that really affects their daily lives. I’ve come to understand that more than the fear of missing out they have a fear of not being missed. It’s usually easy for us to notice when a student is missing but it’s sometimes tricky to follow up with them. This is where that unintentional shame culture can sneak in. I believe this because when I see these students and leet them know I/we missed them, their default is to try and explain why they missed. Some have argued that the student is feeling guilty for missing but I would say they would only feel guilty if they’ve been taught to do so. Instead of asking why they missed, let’s just let them know we noticed they weren’t there. If or when they begin to explain why, I stop them and make sure they know they don’t owe me an explanation but that I just wanted them to know they were missed. I then go on to tell them two things. One, we are there when they are able to return and they are welcome to plug back in when they can. Two, I ask how I and my team can support them in this season they find themselves in? In handling it in this way, we keep the discipleship door open with that student. They know they have another person or people in their corner and that they don’t have to feel any shame when they do walk back through the door of the church. By the way, I’ve found that more students than not do return when their season of life changes.
I truly believe these are some simple ways to make some simple shifts that can help prepare our students for their Babylons. We all long for that day in which the exiles return and we can rebuild the temple but in the meantime, let’s prepare them for life outside the walls of our churches. We have the great calling and privilege of impacting a generation that will impact the world, let’s teach them to do the same!
Keep leading well! Stay the course, you have what it takes.
*Barna Group and Impact 360 Institute, Gen Z, 2018