case for post-christian youth ministry, The

Group, Sep/Oct 2000 by Lawrence, Rick

After a few minutes of discussion, Stewart asked kids to summarize their discussions-they decided that selfishness fueled all amoral acts. With five minutes left in the session, Bevan and Stewart still had made no reference to God or Christianity.

Then Bevan told kids that the two "absolutes" they'd picked are the same two that Christian writer C.S. Lewis targeted as common to every culture in history. Then Stewart pointed out that laws and punishments had so far not been able to eradicate the world of murder and adultery because they did nothing to change the heart.

"We believe the only way to really deal with selfishness is through a relationship with God," he said. "That's where we're coming from. But it's up to you to make up your own mind about that. If you have any questions, talk to us after this class, or talk to one of your Christian teachers."

And that was that. In a 60-minute class, Bevan and Stewart spent 55 minutes capturing kids' attention, getting them to think, and building authentic relationships. Then they hinted at something deeper behind the whole exercise and invited kids to explore that depth with them.

In a fundamentally churchless culture, the only viable strategy to reconnect kids to God is to shine a spotlight on their beliefs, ask questions they can't stop thinking about, then offer yourself as a safe and trustworthy place to explore the truth behind those questions.

In addition to leading religion classes, Bevan runs a school-based club for girls struggling with anorexia, takes kids on school-sponsored service trips, and speaks about social issues in school assemblies. The first priority is always building long-term relationships, and UK youth leaders seem ready to spend the time it takes to do that. They recognize that kids are so disconnected from God that reconnection to God's people has to be the first step back.

planting youth ministry in the community

I spent parts of several days with Jonny Baker, head of Youth for Christ in London, and Pete Ward, professor of youth ministry at King's College in London, instructor at the Oxford Youth Works training center, and an influential speaker and author.6They and others are driving an approach to UK youth ministry that is outreach-focused, relationally powered, wildly creative, and contextualized to kids' real world.

Jonny oversees six YFC teams, acting as a creative resource for staffers who are planting community-based youth ministries. "In Youth for Christ," he said, "there's been a definite theological shift from youth ministry as a presentation to an incarnational approach. It's a missiological approach to youth ministry." Just as Jesus left heaven. and "took on the form of man," UK youth ministers are innovating ways to go to where kids live, connect with them there, then gather them into a culturally authentic church body.

Many see Pete as the grandfather of this incarnational approach. As a traditional, church-based youth minister, he was frustrated by the church's general lack of impact on millions of British teenagers. So he started pondering new ways to establish a ministry presence in the community-- unchurched strategies for unchurched kids.