Is Youth Ministry Killing the Church?
Is Youth Ministry Killing the Church?
Many blogs, not just this one, noted their own top-ten postings in year-end reviews. The number one selection for the Christian Century was posted a year ago and asked Is Youth Ministry Killing the Church?
Pastor Kate Murphy, of Hickory Grove Presbyterian in Charlotte, NC, wonders if we been “unintentionally disconnecting kids from the larger body of Christ… ministering them right out of the church. . . The kids I’ve previously pastored never sat around a table with adults at church-wide fellowship events — they had their own program options. They’ve never worked side by side with other members to put on a neighborhood vacation Bible school—they were off on their own mission trips.”
It is an article worthy of noting, including the comments it solicited.
D. Scott Miller
D. Scott Miller is the dean of Catholic Youth Ministry bloggers which is a polite way of either saying that he is just plain old or has been blogging for a long time (since 2004.)
Scott recently married the lovely Anne and together they have five adult young people and also grandparent three delightful kids (so, maybe he is just plain old!) Scott presently serves at Saint John the Evangelist in Columbia, MD as the director of youth and young adult ministry.
He has previously served on the parish, regional, diocesan, and national levels as well as having taught within a catholic high school. He is one of the founders of RebuildMyChurch and has returned to posting regularly (keeping regular is important to old guys) at ProjectYM.
D. Scott Miller
D. Scott Miller is the dean of Catholic Youth Ministry bloggers which is a polite way of either saying that he is just plain old or has been blogging for a long time (since 2004.)
Scott recently married the lovely Anne and together they have five adult young people and also grandparent three delightful kids (so, maybe he is just plain old!) Scott presently serves at Saint John the Evangelist in Columbia, MD as the director of youth and young adult ministry.
He has previously served on the parish, regional, diocesan, and national levels as well as having taught within a catholic high school. He is one of the founders of RebuildMyChurch and has returned to posting regularly (keeping regular is important to old guys) at ProjectYM.
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Many blogs, not just this one, noted their own top-ten postings in year-end reviews. The number one selection for the Christian Century was posted a year ago and asked Is Youth Ministry Killing the Church?
I feel that this is absolutely absurd. Our children need to feel they have a place to go and belong in this world filled with violence, tragedy, sex and drugs. They need a place to go to know the love of Jesus. If we don’t provide a Jesus filled environment for them, who knows where they will end up. Yes, our youth should be a part of the church as a whole but programs should also be provided specifically for them. Where would some of us adults have ended up without our youth group? Kate Murphy must have been deprived of such a situation as a child. I feel sorry for her if she did not get to experience the intimacy of Jesus within a church’s youth. Let’s not take this away from our children. Let’s not forget that Jesus is the one who said “Let the children come to me.”
Wow, you’ve been doing some back-reading as you commented on an old post. I hear what you are saying, but invite you to take a look as well and recent additions to the same arguement http://www.dscottmiller.com/2011/12/07/the-kids-table/
as well as this video from the same source… http://vimeo.com/33564282