I thought this was an interesting interview with Evan Hunter of Ivy Jungle on some current trends in (college) campus ministry (especially the discussion on church-based campus ministry near the end).  Listen here.

I wrote this to myself a few months back but never published it.  Yesterday, I read the introduction to Mark Oestreicher’s new book Youth Ministry 3.0, and it seemed relevant to some of my frustrations.  I’m looking forward to reading further, but I thought I’d go ahead and put this post up.  It’s still relevant most weeks.

For a batter in the game of baseball, nothing says you’ve missed the mark like striking out.  Sure, it’s every pitcher’s goal to throw the ball in such a way that keeps the batter guessing about it’s position and velocity, but at the same time, it’s every batter’s goal to ensure that the ball gets no further than the barrel of his bat before ricocheting back toward the field of play.  Batters spend countless hours taking batting practice to work on their technique and coordination so that they can do everything within their power to not only avoid striking out but to try to hit the ball out of the park.

Sometimes it feels like doing student ministry is a lot like playing baseball.  You spend hours in preparation for a Bible study or an event, but afterward you’re left feeling like you’ve somehow struck out.  It’s easy to tell when you’re not connecting with students, and sometimes that can lead to a state of anxiety or frustration for both you and them.  The important thing is that you not let it discourage you from trying again.  Learn from your mistakes.  Adjust your swing.  Prepare, prepare, prepare.

I’ve been absent from the blogosphere for a while now.  I’m easily distracted by shiny things, so it’s not totally unexpected that I might have posting droughts.  There are a lot of days that I’ve struggled to find my voice here as well, so I consider this a work in progress.

I’ve gotten irritated with myself lately for using the phrase “’tis the season” far more than I should.  If someone says they have a cold, I say, “‘Tis the season!”  If someone wears an article of holiday clothing, I say, “‘Tis the season!”  I’m tired of saying that, so I’m going to start biting my tongue when the urge arises.

Having said that, it is, in fact, a special season.  Around the world, Christians are observing the season of Advent.  Advent wasn’t a part of my Christian experience until a few years ago, and I feel like I was missing out on such a wonderfully significant season.  It’s one of my joys in student ministry to introduce students to the seasons of the Christian year and to explain the ways in which these seasons can enhance their practice of faith.  During Advent, I also encourage students to take advantage of an online, devotional resource called Following the Star.  Produced by the same people who present Journey to the Cross during Lent, Following the Star is a series of daily devotions guided by the themes of hope, peace, joy, and love.  I hope you’ll take a look at it, and encourage your students to do the same.

Last night, I took a group of middle school students to a local ministry called Kids Against Hunger.  KAH runs a very simple operation, but it really struck a chord with our students last night.  Our job was to fill small bags with a scoop of soy, a tablespoon of dried vegetables, a protein/vitamin pellet, and a scoop of rice.  When prepared, these bags yield six servings.  These servings, however, will likely be the only meal the recipients eat each day.  We worked for about an hour and a half and assembled roughly 500 bags (over 3,000 meals).  The teens enjoyed the work and kept asking if we could come back next week.

Simple ingredients poured into a small bag won’t end global hunger, but it’s a start.  To me, it was a significant experience to see a group of eight middle schoolers joyfully working to assemble as many meals as they could so that fewer people would go hungry.  In a small deed done with great love, they got a taste of kingdom work, and they left wanting more.

*****
“It’s extraordinary to me that the United States can find $700 billion to save Wall Street and the entire G8 can’t find $25 billion dollars to save 25,000 children who die every day from preventable diseases.”

- Bono, (Source: The American Prospect blog)

Today marks my first anniversary as the associate pastor with student emphasis at the church where I serve.  I came here with a few years of student ministry under my belt but also with the understanding that this situation was going to be unlike previous experiences.  For one, my responsibilities now include college ministry, an area in which I have had no previous experience.  (College ministry has turned out to be one of the most rewarding areas of my ministry, however.)  I also came in with the understanding that I’d be working with a small yet challenging group of teenagers.  While there are some unique personalities that have participated in our youth program, I feel like they’re all good kids that want to grow in their faith and contribute back to the ministry of the church.

I’ve intentionally taken my time in reshaping some of the programs and activities in our youth and college ministries.  I try never to assume that what has worked for me (or them) in the past will work here and now; however, change takes time, and I really try to pray through any changes that I might make while gathering the input of others involved in these ministry areas.  That being said, I feel like we’ve made some positive steps in rethinking our goals and purposes and how those affect the things we do.  I know that there are still changes to be made, and I would hope that we never reach a place of comfortability where we begin to rely on a set pattern or method of ministry.  My goal is to be faithful in all things while being adaptable to the nature of the students I work with.

I heard a piece on NPR yesterday about the number of students taking a year off between high school and college.  Students are using this “gap year” to explore the world around them.  You can read the story for yourself, but what piqued my interest were the possible implications for student ministry.  Should we be encouraging students to take a year off following high school graduation?  What kind of opportunities can we provide to those that decide to take a year off?  How can we best prepare them to use this opporutnity to explore their gifts and calling?  Please feel free to throw in your two cents.

I’ve heard of giving away things like iPods and video game systems to attract youth to church events, but a semiautomatic assault rifle?!?  Seriously?

Have you heard the story out of Gloucester, MA, about the teenage girls that collectively decided to get pregnant?  (Watch the MSNBC report here.)  Accidental pregnancies have occurred among teenage girls throughout history, but it strikes me as uniquely disturbing that intentional teenage pregnancies would ever become a trend.  As much as we all lauded the movie Juno for its positive portrayal of a pregnant teenager, I wonder if some teens who saw the movie missed the point.

Marko recently shared some notes from a summit for junior high youth pastors led by sociologist Christian Smith.  I found the following quote interesting.

• If you could change one thing about youth ministry, what would it be?
CS: If I could change one thing about youth ministers is I would have YM stop calling teens “students”, because that relates teens to what they know about school. In Youth Group they should be seen as whole people who have a life outside of academic success. To call them students narrows them down to their scholastic identity. Church should be an institution that sees them as all that they are. There are a lot of kids that have dropped out of school and therefore lost there identity in Church as well! Our Public language should be Teens or Youth. If someone’s job is to legitimately work with youth in school then they are student ministers, outside of that, why would they be titled that? I don’t care what they want to be called, they shouldn’t be called students, it is collaborating with the motto of don’t fail, and they don’t need that from the church.

For some reason, it always feels awkard no matter which collective noun I used to refer to my youth group.  “Students” seems to remove any age-related conceptions, but I think Smith has a point.  How do you refer to your teens/youth/students?