NEXT

T H E F U T U R E O F YO U T H M I N I S T RY AT T R I N I T Y

NEXT

WHY ARE WE HERE?• To discuss ideas to effectively transition our youth

from Children’s Ministry into Youth Ministry, in order that they have a meaningful and positive church experience during their teen years while they are still under the care of their parents in the hope that they leave Trinity with a strong, personal faith in Jesus Christ that will endure through the transition to adulthood.• Because we care about each other and each

other’s children!• Because a great opportunity is laid out before us

in this new facility.

WHERE WE’VE BEEN• Staff Re-alignment (Summer 2011)• Structural Re-assessment (Summer-Fall 2011)• Sessional Conversation (Fall-Winter 2011-2012)• Congregational Research (Winter 2012)• Surveys

• Congregational Conversation (Winter 2012)• Sunday School Gathering

• Parental Conversation (Spring 2012)• Implementation (Summer 2012)

SOME THEOLOGICAL CONTEXT

Is youth ministry biblical?• Dt. 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.• Israel is the corporate people of God and “you” is

that corporate people addressed individually.

SPHERE SOVEREIGNTY

• Sphere sovereignty is the notion that God has given specific rights, privileges and responsibilities to a given sphere that cannot righteously be impinged upon by another sphere.• This view is contrasted by the enlightenment

idea (Rousseau, Hobbes, Locke---all non-Christians) of individual autonomy which insists that the individual has the right to make any and all determinations by himself and is the ultimate authority in all things.

SPHERE SOVEREIGNTY

God Almighty

The Church

The Family

The Civil

We embrace sphere sovereignty because normally the Bible structures God’s fundamental dealings with people thru one of these three spheres

(ceremonial, civil, moral law) beginning in Exodus.

SPHERE SOVEREIGNTY AND YOUTH MINISTRY

• Your children are under your (the family’s sphere) and in that regard neither the state nor the church can dictate to you regarding the particular’s of how to raise them.• But because of the doctrine of sphere

sovereignty, neither can the family expunge the church’s God ordained role in providing spiritual nurture to children whose parents have “covenanted” to submit to the spiritual authority of the church much in the same way as citizen’s have “Covenanted” with the civil authority not to violate its good and righteous laws.

CHALLENGES

1. Lack of Organic Christian School Foundation Since Trinity does not have a Christian School our students have spread out into numerous and divergent school settings, therefore diminishing the organic level of social interaction among parent’s and children.

INVESTMENT IN ENDURING RELATIONSHIPS

Family

Church

School/Work

Acquaintances

The closer to the

center, the more

enduring the

relational opportunity

The modern tension is what

the priority should be in

the middle two concentric

circles. Does church go next

to family or does

work/school, and why?

CHALLENGES (CONT)

2. Lack of Agreement among Parents regarding the Importance of Youth MinistrySome parents had good experiences, some had bad experiences and some had no experience with Youth Ministry. This has led to widely varying opinions on the necessity and importance of involvement in the home church’s youth ministry with some families investing heavily and some investing little.

SOME ANECDOTAL OBSERVATIONS

SOME ANECDOTAL OBSERVATIONSPastor or Pastor’s Wife (11)

Elder/Deacon or Wife or Ministry Leader (14)

CHALLENGES (CONT.)

3. Child FreedomSome parents are uncertain about whether it is appropriate to require their children’s attendance in the home church’s youth group. Others are uncertain about the age that a child should be given freedom to determine their own choice of a church home. Some give this freedom from day one, others don’t give it till graduation.

4. Facility LimitationsNot having a facility of our own has made it difficult to cultivate of sense of ownership and place for our youth and children.

MAY 6!

CHALLENGES (CONT.)

5. Critical MassThe size of the group, in the minds of some, limits its ability to engage in the types of activities expected. Additionally, since the group is smaller, it is more difficult to hide from interpersonal difficulties.

6. Busy lifestyles Because time is limited, some have chosen to prioritize involvement in the local church’s youth ministry below involvement in other activities (sports, school, family social time, etc).

MOTIVATION

• As the youth/children’s ministry goes, so goes the future growth of the church. If our youth group/children’s ministry is stunted and participation and energy is low, it will be next to impossible for the church to grow.• If kids aren’t nurtured in a meaningful,

relevant and personal faith, the chances of them remaining involved in church/faith into the next stage of their life are only 3 in 10.

THE REALITY• One out of ten young people who grow up with a Christian

background lose their faith in Christianity—a group described by the research team as prodigals. In essence, prodigals say they have lost their faith after being a Christian at some time in their past.

• More commonly, young Christians wander away from the institutional church—a pattern the researchers labeled nomads. Roughly four out of ten young Christians fall into this category. They still call themselves Christians but they are far less active in church than they were during high school. Nomads have become 'lost' to church participation.

• Another two out of ten young Christians were categorized as exiles, those who feel lost between the "church culture" and the society they feel called to influence. The sentiments of exiles include feeling that "I want to find a way to follow Jesus that connects with the world I live in," "I want to be a Christian without separating myself from the world around me" and "I feel stuck between the comfortable faith of my parents and the life I believe God wants from me."

WHAT DO WE DO?

•We pray•We have faith•We act

PLANS

1. Combine 5th and 6th grade into a ministry called “NEXT” (Better names?)

2. Develop Unique SS Curriculum This curriculum would be designed to specifically help these kids transition to JH. We would also train a team of teachers (parents, current youth, pastoral staff, sem. students) to actively engage the kids in relevant, personal study of scripture and biblical truth.

PLANS (CONT)

3. Connect current youth leaders We would connect our current youth staff to the NEXT ministry by pursuing pre-discipleship relationships with kids in gender based groups and enabling participation in NEXT Socials.

4. Host quarterly (??) staff planned, parent engaged socials for NEXT kids and their friends (i.e.)Half night lock-in; Six Flags; Cardinals games; Paint ball; etc.

PLANS (CONT)

5. Do Annual Service Project/Local Mission Trip with NEXT kidsSomething simple, but something that the kids can own and take seriously.

6. NEXT Small GroupEncourage parents of NEXT kids to form a limited tenure small group to help build closer parental relationships (criteria: kids in 4th-6th grade), and encourage families to bring their kids to this small group on a regular basis.

INTERACTION