How do we approach the business of youth ministries in our congregations? It has been an almost automatic assumption in the collective consciousness of most of our congregations that "youth ministries" is merely a fancy way of saying and meaning "youth group." When pushed to it, the broadest definition of youth ministries in a congregation might include something from the Sunday school program, the acolytes, a confirmation class, perhaps some involvement with a music program, but mostly it means the youth group.

That is the underlying model that we seek in the call for youth ministries and it is the hidden (and sometimes not so hidden) expectation of vestries when the call goes out for a youth program in a congregation. It's what's remembered from earlier eras: it's specific, highly visible and, when visible, easily measured. Everyone can tell right away whether the youth program is succeeding by the numbers on Friday night or Saturday or whatever. There is a subsequent trickle-down theory that is the final proof of a youth program-the number who start to show up regularly at Sunday worship. This is real youth ministries: teens at church, visible for all to see. In spite of our loyalty to this particular approach to youth ministries, it is an approach with serious limitations and shortcomings, especially if it becomes the whole of youth ministries.

In studies in both the United States and Canada, it is clear that young people today are not enthusiastic group-joiners. Only one in three young people in the U.S. is interested in belonging to a group,2 and only 11 % identify a youth group of any kind as an activity that they receive a great deal of enjoyment from.' So if we have 30 young people in a congregation, only 10 or fewer are even interested in
belonging to a group. What about the other two-thirds? How does the church include them in its ministry?

The reality is that not only are they not likely to be group-joiners, but they are also not likely to be participants in other congregational programs---acolytes, choirs, Sunday school, etc. Yes, one or two perhaps, and during a confirmation program a reluctant, parent-pushed handful more will appear. But provide these youth an optional exit point and most of them will disappear, some never to reappear.

All of these programs are based on the same assumption---youth ministries only happens when we can gather youth together around a church facility based event: one that has to be regular to be significant. It is a "gathering" model of program.

There is a wide variety of formats. Some congregations opt for youth contact programs: low on teaching Christian education, but high on social activities, sports, entertainment, outings and so on. Others opt for the more serious content approach: Bible study, social justice issues, discussion groups, Christian education, etc. Still others opt for blends of these two and others work to involve youth in the planning and delivery of these programs. There is nothing wrong with these efforts, but they are limited by the number and sort of youth they attract.  As well, they have a time restriction---the amount actually spent with young people.

A very popular and successful youth program is likely to have two hours a week contact for the average participant over the nine months that most congregational programs run. That totals only 72 contact hours per year. Assume this average youth attends church 36 weeks of the year as well and also assume some other additional hours for planning or special events. Being generous, we may get the contact hours up to 180 hours per year: not a significant influence in the context of 1,0001,500 hours of television per year, or 1,000 hours of school. And this is the profile of a committed involved youth. The church must extend its reach. Our youth ministries must not be trapped into limiting so much of our time and energy into gathering activities. We must broaden our perspective to include within our understanding of youth ministries other kinds of programs---non-gathering ones.

The church can begin to play a significant role in the guidance and counsel of youth the pastoral care of adolescents. This is a vital piece of youth ministries that often brings us into contact with youth who are not participators because they are marginalized by their circumstances---their wounds, their disconnectedness, their troubles, as well their race, ethnicity, or culture. It means youth ministries has to enter their world--- beyond the safety of the program office. And these youth are often accessible through their friendship groups, their fringe participation in gathering programs or by meeting them in their environments.

People involved in congregational youth ministries have to venture into the important places of youth culture---for coffee and donuts, for burgers, to watch sports or cultural events, to talk, to listen to music. And the church must become inclusive of youth by making small adjustments that make it clear that youth count and are connected. For example, mailing copies of newsletters addressed not to parents or to parents and children, but to the youth by name; by taking an ad in the school yearbook/annual; or by mailing birthday cards or noting other significant achievements or days. And we have to reduce negative messages---like providing youth beverages at coffee hours (soft drinks as well as coffee, for example); like ensuring nametags for youth if adults have them; like not giving them the worst jobs (i.e.., clean-up or set-up); and not relegating them to tend the children downstairs at events.

In addition, youth ministries programs need to face and address some of the family issues: parent program workshops to educate parents to assist their communication with their own children around the issues of adolescent development, sexuality, drugs, relationships, perhaps even joint youth/parent workshops on these topics---education for all based on dialogue and interaction. This provides an incredible opportunity to connect youth to the life and community of faith around some of the concerns that are central in their daily lives. Faith in context, not simply in church. These need to be short-term (four to six weeks maximum) and might best be staged in homes or somewhere other than the church facility.

Once these doors open, the possibilities multiply: connections between seniors and youth in a variety of ways, a variety of short-term courses on youth issues or family concerns, prayer ministry of older members for youth, homes open to youth who need a time away or who need refuge or shelter because of crises in their own homes, shared meals - a ministry of hope and contact.

To summarize -there are three components in this approach to youth ministries: the traditional facilities and organized, program-based "gathering" activities, i.e., Sunday school, acolytes, music, youth night or youth group; second, the "non-gathering" activities, i.e., guidance and counseling, community-based one-on-one contact, mailings, etc.; and thirdly, family/parent programs. This type of programming requires a team approach and needs coordinating. It is not a one person performance, but based on a community of care, it builds a community that reaches out and includes youth with a variety of interests, concerns and willingness. You are with us because we are with you, not because you have come to our special place and we can count you.

It is a ministry that is built on trust---in God and in God's love for the young people of our communities and also on the principle that a well-sown seed produces life sooner or later. Our job is to scatter and sow. God makes growth happen.

It is a liberating and challenging ministry because it calls a whole congregation to care and to reach beyond itself. It will require volunteers and vision. It will require energy and commitment. And it will produce life for any congregation that is willing.