Beyond Youth Ministry in a Box

Is the church training young people to do hard things?

“Our point here is that youth, popular culture, and the electronic media, largely under adult supervision, have interacted in such a way that young people have been reduced to passive consumers of culture. Most youth do not significantly shape culture around because they are too busy consuming the prefabricated electronic visions from Vancouver or Hollywood. In this situation we cannot reasonably expect youth to contribute much to wider society—they neither know how nor are inspired by personal experience. Imagine, by contrast, a home or school or church that genuinely encourages young people to interact with adults to determine what media products they will listen to and watch. To put the matter more directly, consider how young people might mature if they acted in and on the world rather than simply consumed it. Some adults might think this is a rather chilling suggestion. Potentially at least, it threatens the alleged sanctity of adult society. However, once we concede the fallenness and limitations of adults, what is at stake becomes still clearer. And so does an important lesson: youth must have freedom as well as resources and support in order to contribute meaningfully and lastingly to North American culture.”

From Dancing in the Dark, Quentin Schultze and other writers, p. 11 [Eerdmans, 1991.]

I still come back to Sunday worship; I want to keep beating Paul’s order about this for our instruction and training. First, worship (Romans 12:1-2); then, next (Romans 12:3-13:8): giftedness, service, ministry, contribution to society, peacemaking, honor and duty in civics, and genuine love for others.

Where will our young people be trained to do hard things? In and through a faithful public worship service.

Maybe the author can be paraphrased a little, “to put the matter more directly, consider how young people might mature if they acted in and on public worship rather than simply consumed it…youth must have freedom as well as resources and support in order to contribute meaningfully and lastingly to North American public worship.”

G. Mark Sumpter