case for post-christian youth ministry, The

Group, Sep/Oct 2000 by Lawrence, Rick

What happens when these kids get too old for a youth church? "Well, we feed them into the main congregations [of the Revelation Centre]," says Dan. "We're very much still learning how to do this. We've made some howling mistakes. But we had our first batch go up three or four months ago.... We created abridging' cell group to help them make the transition. That cell can meet in a pub on a Wednesday night if that's what they want to do. It's a bit more their cultural style."

The ministry works because it's led by young people who grew up unchurched, and, therefore, don't feel anchored to traditional church practices or strategies. It's orthodox Christianity wrapped in an unorthodox, culturally savvy tortilla. Underlying the whole thing are five foundational pillars...

#1-"You've got to belong before you'll believe."

Most churches essentially require young people to "clean up their act" and learn to behave like mature Christians before they're welcomed into the fellowship. But the Centre's Roger Ellis says, "It's not the responsibility of the young people to integrate with the older. Those that are older in Christ, more mature, should be the ones that change-do the denying and laying down-- rather than the other way around."

The Warehouse leaders believe kids will come to Christ only after they're welcomed into fellowship with Christians. So their cell groups are a mix of Christians and non-Christians.It's evangelism through close-knit fellowship. Dan says, "Most people belong before they believe. They have to feel a sense of belonging first. They don't go, 'I believe in God; I think I'll join a church: They come to Christ through relationships."

Essentially the Warehouse starts discipling young people before they commit themselves to Christ so they have an idea of where they're headed. For example, Dan says some unchurched kids have signed up for time slots in the 24-7 prayer room. By watching others in the room, they learned what prayer was all about before they fully knew who it was all about.

#2-Young people learn best through experiences.

At a recent Fluid event, Dan and his leaders set up learning stations all around the venue to help kids explore the story of Mary and Martha. The focus was on Mary's deep devotion to Christ. At one station kids were challenged to come up with words that represented blockages in their relationship with God, then write those words on a brick. Afterward they took their bricks outside and used a hammer to smash them to bits. At another station, kids planted seeds in soil while asking God to plant new growth in them.

The month after I left England, the theme for the Fluid service was set to be "Image," an exploration of outer versus inner beauty. The leaders were planning a full-scale runway fashion show to help kids explore the fallacies behind surface judgments.

Dan says, "You've got a fairly illiterate generation here. They get everything spoon-fed to them in visual forms. So as a church, we have to teach in that same style. There's no point in telling them to read books.Imean, I didn't read a whole book until I was 18."