What's wrong

[Ron Davis]

You would think that there would be enough youth workers participating on Naznet that this forum would be one of the busiest. How many youth workers would care to identify themselves.

Ron Davis
Youth Pastor
Republic Church of the Nazarene

[Jenny Mitchell]

Can I qualify as a youth worker? I'm a senior pastor of a small church, but dealing with kids and teens is a major focus of my ministry. I lead a midweek kids' program and kids' quizzing, plus coach teen quizzing and do all the youth pastoring...:fav01

[Ron Davis]

Can I qualify as a youth worker? I'm a senior pastor of a small church, but dealing with kids and teens is a major focus of my ministry. I lead a midweek kids' program and kids' quizzing, plus coach teen quizzing and do all the youth pastoring...:fav01

Sounds to me like you qualify.

[Christine Kelly]

I work with the teens at church. I teach their Sunday School class, and occasionally work Wed. NYI. I hope this forum picks up.

[Brian Hammons]

Ok, Christine, Jenny, and Ron. . .it's up to us. We'll settle the land here in the youth worker's frontier and create a place that will draw others.

I am a public school teacher / turned youth-CE pastor / returned to public school. Even though I no longer have a central role in ministry, I love what I do, and cannot believe I actually get paid for doing it.

Here lately there are a couple of things that have really caught my attention.

#1. Teenagers' earlier physical maturity versus a later/delayed social/emotional maturity. In a church setting, how do you deal with it? Do parents play a greater part of the solution or to the issue itself?
#2. Many teens I see, both in and out of the church, lack a sense of pride in their abilities and potential. Wrapped up in this are issues like plagiarism and cheating. Apathy abounds. My questions are much the same. How do you deal wtih this in a church setting? Do parents play a greater part of the solution or to the issue itself? Are teens mimicking their parents in this regard? I am really worn out from busting our school's "church kids" for things like dress code violations, cheating, skipping, etc.

Ron, Jenny, Christine. . .what do you folks think? These are some of MY issues. What are the big issues for teens these days?

[Ron Davis]

Here lately there are a couple of things that have really caught my attention.

#1. Teenagers' earlier physical maturity versus a later/delayed social/emotional maturity. In a church setting, how do you deal with it? Do parents play a greater part of the solution or to the issue itself?
#2. Many teens I see, both in and out of the church, lack a sense of pride in their abilities and potential. Wrapped up in this are issues like plagiarism and cheating. Apathy abounds. My questions are much the same. How do you deal wtih this in a church setting? Do parents play a greater part of the solution or to the issue itself? Are teens mimicking their parents in this regard? I am really worn out from busting our school's "church kids" for things like dress code violations, cheating, skipping, etc.

Ron, Jenny, Christine. . .what do you folks think? These are some of MY issues. What are the big issues for teens these days?

I came to the conclusion some time ago that I was spending too much time trying to achieve what was essentially behavior modification or as Brian McClaren puts it, "sin managment". I think that is why we see so many teenagers walk away from church after high school.

When we take the "sin management" approach we become simply another voice among many telling them what to do.

I actually have a lot more to say on this subject but I do not have the time right now to fully develop my thoughts. So maybe my brief contribution here will get some of you to start thinking about what and how we are ministering to our teens.

[Harmen Meijer]

I think there is something wrong in communication. Adult communicate with teeners but don´t relate to teeners. If our believe is to have a relationship with God and Jezus, than adults have to show that by having relations, also with teeners. In a relationship with people we show how we are related to Jezus Christ.

In 2002 I was president of the NYI Koog (NL). The youthworkers team want to have an Alhpa-course for all the NYI members. Because we found a lack of believe in Jezus and a lack of knowledge in the Bible.
But we had a lack of leaders. We share our problems with the teeners. Short after that four young people 17 and 18 of age and want to help. At that time we had a large NYI of 60 members. But after we gave leadership to that young leaders the NYI is bursting out. And there are a lot of teeners serving in the church.
Why?
I think, because we talked and prayed together, we shared problems:basic04 and joy;) . We cared about each other. Young people become friends of older people.
I work like this.
First I try to find a little place in the hart of a teener. Than I pray that Jezus will join me in that little place in that very special hart of that special teener.
I was president for four years and I served them with washing cups, cleaning toilets, silend prayer, hart to hart conversations.
When I see my garden I know I worked hard, but God gives growth.
When I see NYI members I know I worked outstanding hard, but it is God hwo gives new life.

Harmen

[Ron Davis]

It is been a while but I too have used Alpha with teenagers. We had a band that played, served dinner and everything. The surprise result was one of the band members decided during the course of Alpha to go home and get rid of all his music cd's that would not be pleasing to God.

Since then I have found another program called Quest. It does a better job of specifically targeting teens. You can find it at www.quest-series.com (http://www.quest-series.com)

[Mark Doble]

Mark Doble - Youth leader - Cedardale Church of the Nazarene, Pefferlaw, Ont. Canada

Peter Teolis as well at my side.

Along with out fearless leader, Heather! Heather is a guitar rocking Mom... :eek:

http://www.ils.net/~cedrdale/

[Mike Schutz]

I am a senior pastor, but lead the Philadelphia District IMPACT team (a worship band and drama ministry).

I guess I still want to think of myself as a youth worker in order to keep the streak alive. I started working with a youth group when I was a sophomore at ENC, back in 1975. So that's 32 years.

Our district NYI President reminded me that not only am I the oldest person on the district council (by at least 10 years), but there are teens on the district whose parents came to the altar when I spoke at teen camps back in the 1980s.

This means that I am almost as old as Gary Sivewright (don't tell him I said that)! :basic05