Almost Done!

I'm a fairly happy pastor this week because I'm almost done with a project I've been working on since November.  It's a rundown for the synod, describing our youth ministry success.  I thought this would be a fairly simple project but it turns out that the roots of our youth ministry run deep into evangelism and our foundation theology.  Describing what we do doesn't cover it.  You have to understand the whys and hows in order to see the Spirit.  The kids themselves have let me know that.  More than one has come up and said, "I didn't think I'd like to do [insert name of youth event here] but it was totally fun and now I come all the time!"  As it turns out, what we do almost doesn't matter.  The events are just different ways of expressing the same love.

The problem is that churches haven't always been in the business of seeing or conveying that love.  We should have been.  We lost something when we drifted away from that purpose. In forcing us to re-learn how to be people of faith our youth have, in a sense, restored us.  That's one of the reasons it's important not to view youth ministry as a bag of handy tricks.  Another reason:  the same principles used in good youth ministry transfer to all of our other ministries.  The endpoints look different because youth are different than other community members.  But really, what is Theology on Tap but youth ministry for adults, plus a few beverages and minus the board games?  It's the same Spirit, the same process.  In opening one small door in what was an isolated, marginalized corner of our faith world we actually flooded the whole place.  Who would have known?

Nobody would have if the goal was to do "youth ministry".  When we began to do real ministry, evangelical, "Good News" ministry with youth...that made all the difference.  Once the Good News gets loose there's no stopping it.

It's been my task to try to explain this.  It's not easy building the layers of understanding you need to operate evangelically in your everyday life.  It's taken plenty of work to put it understandable form.  I hope I've been able to do so adequately.  I'm down to the last few pages and editing.  It should be done by this time next week.  Let's see how it goes.

--Pastor Dave (pastordave@geneseelutheranparish.org)