7 IDEAS FOR CULTURE-SAVVY MINISTRY

Group, Jan/Feb 2004 by Truett, Heather

How youth leaders are using skateboarding, the martial arts, and even mall-crawling to reach kids who'd never darken their doors otherwise

Do your students talk openly with you and your adult leaders? That's one of the key questions in youth ministry. Tennessee pastor Tim Meadows says, "The openness by which these kids can talk about anything makes for a high-impact ministry." So what's the best way to open their doors to deeper conversations? Well, a frontal assault strategy rarely works here. We need something more subversive.

I think the best conversations (and the deepest openness) happen when our attention is diverted from conversation as the point of the encounter. That means our best opportunities to connect more deeply with kids will happen when we're focused on something else. . . together.

Our goal is to find out what makes young people relax and have fun, then relax and have fun with them. And as we're having fun together, we're talking. That's exactly what my husband and many other youth leaders are doing.

1. Ministry by Nintendo-On Monday afternoons at our church, you'll see a few guys sprawled on a couch, controllers in their hands, staring at a screen. Oh, and there's one older guy right there in their midst, working his thumbs furiously on a controller. That would be their youth minister-my husband Corey. Every Monday a few boys appear in his office and they spend a good chunk of the afternoon together battling controllers and wills.

This little cell group has developed a deep bond. When the kids realized they wouldn't be scolded for their interest in video games, they did something amazing-they invited their youth pastor into their secret world. And that's the open door Corey was looking for-one of those hard-core video gamers committed his life to Christ last week.

2. In Defense of Self-Defense-Alabama youth pastor Randy Williams took advantage of teenagers' interest in self-defense classes by inviting a Christian Tae Kwon Do expert to teach at the church.1 Randy's goal was to draw kids who wouldn't normally get involved in a church-based activity. By the end of the class, one of the boys had committed his life to Christ. When Randy's senior pastor contacted the boy's parents about having him baptized, the conversation led to them also committing their lives to Christ.

3. Skater-Friendly Zone-Some churches have signs warning kids not to skateboard on their sidewalks. But at Alabama youth minister Lee Dymond's church, they're determined to reach the skater kids in their community.2 So every Tuesday evening Dymond and his team set up street ramps, grind rails, fun boxes, and other skateboarding equipment in the church parking lot. And the kids show up in droves. Dymond says they use this makeshift skate park to "earn the right to talk to the kids one-onone." There are no flashy posters-that doesn't fit the skater subculture. They have a brief devotional but no "invitation time." The goal is to establish and build relationships... ones that will lead to deeper conversations.

4. Chick Flicks and Mall-Crawling-The key to reaching young girls is to make them feel special. They crave time that's clearly devoted to them. One Tennessee youth leader regularly plans Chick Flick nights-he and a couple of female adult leaders escort all the girls in the group to a female-friendly film, then go to dinner together.

We have a high school girl at our church who's offered to take our junior high girls shopping at the mall. Maybe that doesn't sound cutting-edge, but shopping is a definite attention-grabber for young ladies. If you're a female youth minister, consider a rack-diving expedition with your girls.3 Share your own insecurities about clothing, and offer them tips on dressing modestly. But mostly use the time to lay the groundwork for relationships. Consider following up the trip with a slumber party, complete with makeovers. I think you can learn a lot more about your girls at a shoe sale than you'll ever learn at church.

5. Out of the Salt Shaker-Often, your ability to connect well with teenagers will depend on where you're doing the connecting-your turf or theirs. Alabama youth pastor Mike Taylor says he'll do "anything other than hang out at the church on my turf."

There are a million ways to get to know your students away from your church. Tennessee youth leader Jared Black says he tries to include his kids in his everyday life. "If one of them is hungry, then five of them go to McDonalds," he says. "If one of them needs some socks, then five of them go to Wal-Mart. [So] if I need to return a movie to Blockbuster, I'll do it with a student or two." Kentucky youth pastor Andy Woods says, "I don't believe it was an accident that Jesus sent the disciples out two by two."

6. Road Rules-MTV's hot show Road Rules has inspired youth leaders to add an attention-getting twist to their group excursions.4 Kids at two Alabama churches in the same town signed up for trips not knowing where they were headed or what they'd be doing. The theme for the first group's trip was fun-they ended up at Universal Studios theme park and a couple of baseball games. The other group was more mission-minded-they helped build homes in a Habitat for Humanity project, served at a local church in a town along the way, and volunteered with an Atlanta food bank. Every morning the kids in each group got a new clue about their destination for the day. And the secretive nature of the trips helped generate conversation and community.