Relating to Young People

This weekend the staff of the conference hosted an event to talk about the various ministries that we can offer to local churches. One of the workshops that I hosted was on dealing with how to engage ministry with Young People (youth and young adults). Two questions that kept coming up in the workshop I was leading were, how can we relate to young people?; and how can we get young people to be a part of our congregation? Both of these questions were good questions for congregations to ask.

To the first question, how we can relate to young people?;  My first response is that you need to get to know the young people of your community. You'll be unsuccessful in relating to any demographic if you don't first understand what they like and the struggles that they face day-to-day. With young people this can be widely varied , and it might be hard to center on one or two things. The most obvious answer is ask young people in your community what they like and what they need? After you discover those two things, you need to practice radical hospitality to young people. A great example of how to do this can be found in the Scriptures as to how Jesus offered radical hospitality to the people he interacted with. That is, loving people for who and what they are just as they are. In story after story in the Bible we see Jesus relating to people of all walks of life without casting judgment on who they were or what their past might be like. If more churches did that with young people, they might begin to see more young people as the children of God that they are.

The second question of how do we get young people to be a part of our congregation?; That may be a little more straightforward. The first thing not to do is to demand young people to conform to the traditions and worship practices that older generations hold dear. Some young people may like that, but most do not. You need to incorporate worship styles that appeal to young people and engage young people in ministries that they would be interested in, primarily missions. Young people live out their faith by "doing ministry." Inviting young people in your congregation and in your community to participate in local, national, and international mission trips is probably the fastest way that you can get young people involved in the ministries of your local church. Once they have participated in a trip, make a special time for the whole congregation to learn about what their experience was and make a big deal out of it.

If you put some of these suggestions into practice, you might just be surprised that young people want to be a part of your congregation.

Bible Translations for Youth

As a pastor I often get asked, "What's the best Bible translation or version that I can get for my youth or young adult?" This is kind of an open-ended question and one that I would respond similarly to anyone who would asked me.The best Bible translation or version that anyone could ever get is one that you understand!

A lot of people get hung up on denominational recommendations and think that they have to follow those recommendations to the letter of the law. But when you read a Bible translation and you have trouble understanding it, then what good is it? The point of owning a Bible is to be able to read the Scriptures and understand what the Scriptures say to you for your life. When you spend more time trying to decipher what the Scriptures are actually trying to tell you, it defeats the purpose. All that being said, I do have a few recommendations of some Bible translations that I think are good not only for youth and young adults, but for anyone.

1)The New Living Translation (NLT). In general< the New Living translation is a fairly new translation. It came out about 12 to 15 years ago.What I like about the NLT is that it is common ordinary everyday language that most anyone can understand, but doesn't lose the integrity of the original languages. As many will know the Living Bible, its predecessor, was a paraphrased version that did not use the original biblical languages.

2) the New International Version (NIV). The New International Version is a great mainstay and is widely accepted by most every denomination. While its language is not as inclusive as it could be, it's biblical interpretation is very well thought out and you can find the NIV in a wide variety of study Bibles and youth sensitive Bibles like "Youth Walk."

What you want to stay away from if you want a good solid Bible are the paraphrased Bibles (The Message, The Living Bible, etc.) While these are great second Bibles to have on hand to get a better understanding of the Scripture that you're reading, they do not make good study Bibles and they do not directly come from the original Greek and Hebrew so their meanings are somewhat skewed.

Good luck in picking your next Bible for your youth or for yourself. It is something that can be kept for a lifetime!

The Art of Listening to God

Listening for God’s voice these days can be a really tricky endeavor. With all of the distractions that we face in our day-to-day lives like phone calls, e-mails, text messages not to mention family responsibilities, it's a wonder that God can get through to us at all.

Now imagine that you are a young person (someone between the ages of 13 to 20 something). Those distractions have now doubled, tripled or even quadrupled in the frequency and intensity. How are we as people who work with young people supposed to help them focus on God through so many distractions, when we ourselves can't focus?

I bet you were hoping that in this paragraph I was going to give you a three-step process to make listening to God easier, however that's just not going to happen. There is no easy process to listening for God's quiet voice. It has to be an art form.

For some, quieting the distractions around them might be the answer. They go away on a retreat and while on that retreat they can seem to focus better and can hear God more clearly. For others, they might get flashes through all the distractions and can somehow peace those flashes together so as to make sense of it all. While still others just happen upon what God wants them to do as though it was "magic."

I am often envious of those people who can connect with God so easily. It's as if they have a direct connection with God 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They make it look so easy while the rest of us struggle to make out in the quiet whispers what God wants us to be doing with our lives. What I have learned about listening to God is that for everyone the answer is just a little bit different.

So as you help young people discern God's calling in their lives, it is not a simple matter. Help them. Guide them. The truth I realized is that you know God is speaking to you when God touches your heart. When that happens, don't ignore it. Don't worry… If you don't hear God the first time he calls, God will keep trying until it gets through!

Therefore be it Resolved

As we begin the new year, a lot of people make New Year's resolutions. Last year's New Year's resolution for me included losing weight and joining a gym. As per usual, I started out well going to the gym about 2 to 3 times a week. But by the second month I only went about once a month, and by month six I wasn't going at all.

Such is the case with most New Year's resolutions. We make them trying to set a high goal for ourselves, but undoubtedly we fail miserably. The same could be said for youth and young adult ministry. After the rush of the holiday season, many in youth ministry or young adult ministry make grand plans for the next year. They say things like, "This year will be different than last year" or "Just think what we can do if we really put our time and energy into these ministry areas." In the first couple of months we do very well. We hold vision team meetings, we take surveys and we genuinely try to make a radical change invigorated by what a new year brings.

The problem is that we fall into the exact same trap that we do with our own New Year's resolutions. We set our goals way too high and way too grand. What I have learned is that we need to use the "K.I.S.S." principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). While we might be tempted to do something grand by way of youth ministry or young adult ministry at the beginning of the new year, we need to keep those ideas relatively attainable. Instead of making grand plans, try making a simple plan that can be done within two months. Once that is accomplished, make another small plan, again something that can be accomplished in two months. You will find by doing that, you will be much more successful in moving your youth or young adult ministry forward and you won't get frustrated as quickly.


Good luck and may the plans that you make in 2011 be attainable and achievable!