Keeping It Real

Youth ministry. I wonder what comes to everyone's mind at the mention of the noun. Well, for the Christian community, change would be a common retort. "When you're young, you want to change the world. When you're old, you want to change the youth."

In the past five years or so, Patrick, Trish, Paul, Kevin K, Deej, Jess, Brandon and myself have been a part of our church's youth ministry. Having been blessed by it at some point in our lives, the bunch of us shared a conviction to guide our young people in the same way we were guided.

We started with a group of twenty, which soon doubled. A regular Sunday morning meet would commence with a short time of singing-- songs of worship. Yeah, Christians like to sing too. Games and icebreakers used to be part of the programme but has since been an empty slot filler. After games, we'd either have a talk or break in to smaller discussion groups to study the Bible and pray.

Over the years, changes have reshaped the ministry. I won't go into the details of the changes.
Nevertheless the youths have had an indomitable desire to keep on meeting weekly. We've done several makeovers to the programme, weaving an inconsistent pattern in the ministry. I find it hard to chart progress. But despite the many changes, the group is growing.

What's the deal? I personally feel trapped in a morass of ambiguity as to where we should move and how we should do so. Firstly, we're called to a mandate to know and obey God. Without that in perspective and action, nothing else really matters. No use running attractive programmes without that as a basis. Secondly, knowing and obeying God also results in a need and burden to tell others about Him. Society isn't getting any better. Most people think they've figured life out when they really haven't. If people aren't kidding themselves, they'd agree that they're empty.

And here we are sandwiched in between these two realities - the mandate to Draw close to God and tell others about him; and the condition of society. The youth ministry, smack in between. Tomorrow, we're going to discuss our direction. Divine wisdom very much needed.

I'm in a cyber cafe right now sparsely surrounded with gamers and loud sounds from their cyber artillery. This is youth culture.

Where do we move?

(post your comments)

ps. Heya non-Christian friends, yeah, this entry gives a preview of my burden for our young people. If you're wondering, nope, we're really not out there to convert people into Christianity. That's really not our job. We just want to make a difference in society and in people's lives, because it makes God happy. And hopefully, if people are moved by it, they might at least realise that God is real and do something about it. Just keeping it real.