Ancient-future youth ministry

Group, Jul/Aug 1999 by Yaconelli, Mark

It's Sunday just after 5 p.m. in the youth room at Sleepy Hollow Presbyterian Church in San Anselmo, California. Seven adults are sitting around a "Christ-candle"in the youth room. There's no talking, no laughter For 10 minutes, the only noise is the sound of their breathing.

These volunteer youth workers are using an ancient Christian practice, the Ignatian Awareness Examen, to meditate on the previous week's youth group meeting. They're asking God to show them moments when the group was open to God and moments when the group seemed blocked.

They are listening. . .

Now it's 7 p.m.-one hour into the night's youth group gathering. There are 18 senior highers and five adults sitting in a candlelit sanctuary. A gold cross stands on a table. At the front of the room, two young people strum guitars and lead the singing. They're chanting the 'lesus Prayer," an ancient meditative practice rooted in the Eastern Orthodox Church: Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me. ff Over and over they sing; some close their eyes, voices silent.

They are listening. . .

Thirty minutes later an adult leader has just finished leading a discussion on Philippians 2. Young people and adults are scattered across the sanctuary; some are sitting, others lie across the pews, still others sprawl on the floor with their heads resting on folded hands. The adult leader is telling kids about "Lect/) [).iv/na, a form of biblical prayer practiced in the monastic tradition. He opens his Bible and reads a text. He reads it again. He reads it a third time. Silence.

They are listening. . .

and Indiana are immersed in similar practices-fasting, Centering Prayer,3journaling, praying using guided meditations, and taking contemplative walks. The central aim of these practices is to pay attention to God by listening, watching, and waiting.

How did these churches get involved in pre-modern ministry? In the fall of 1997, the Lilly Endowment funded a ministry experiment called the Youth Ministry and Spirituality Project. San Francisco Theological Seminary and Youth Specialties sponsored the project in 16 churches representing many denominations across the country. These churches committed to help develop, test, and spread a contemplative approach to youth ministry.

By contemplative, I mean practices that invite a deeper awareness of God's presence. Our hope is to explore what youth ministry looks like when we anchor our programs, religious instruction, and mentoring relationships in a commitment to consistently dwell in God's presence.

Today's popular youth ministry models are creative, dynamic, and fun. Yet something's missing. In a typical youth group, how many kids actually encounter the resurrected Christ? Does our focus on youth directors, curricula, and programs crowd out opportunities for kids to experience God? I think a youth program is effective only when it offers kids the space, tools, and time to encounter God's transforming love.

We so often invite kids to live their lives in Christ through our words and lesson plans, but we rarely find ways for them to actually practice this life. They need us to equip them with the skills to develop a transforming intimacy with God.

encountering God We don't need another ministry model; we need a different kind of church-a church that's rooted in loving God and others, in contemplation and action, in prayer and justice. The YMSP approach to youth ministry pushes for a return to God-awareness in Christian formation by inviting everyone involved in the ministry to listen to God. To make the shift, we ask participating churches to commit to building. . .

1. A community of disciples-Growing adults tend to invite growth in young people. But kids need more than a few growing youth workers in their lives-they need a growing church community. Effective adolescent spiritual development requires the whole congregation, so we ask YMSP churches to form ministry teams by calling together eight to 10 diverse adults who represent their congregations. Teams meet for spiritual formation through practices that encourage a deeper awareness of God's activity in their lives. Team members are called to be "servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries" (I Corinthians 4:1) as they reach out to young people.

2. A liturgy for discernment-YMSP ministry teams understand they're called to practice the presence of God among young people, but how? We developed a "liturgy" and asked them to use it before or after their weekly youth group meetings. We encourage teams to primarily attend to God's presence when they meet, then design programs and ministry strategies out of this attentiveness. The liturgy includes:

Ritual. Whether it's lighting a candle or singing a song, the team acknowledges that it's gathered in Christ's presence.

Check-in. The team takes a few minutes for each person to tell about his or her activities and concerns.

Community check-in. Team members offer affirmations or concerns about the ministry that are left over from the previous gathering.