It means that we need to give young people a place and time to question their faith, to explore what it means to follow Jesus in their own lives. This can be done through Bible study, worship, and studying the lives of Christians and other faithful people. It means providing opportunities to serve the church and the world through mission projects, local community projects, and teaching Christian education. It means helping young people talk about their faith, within the church and talking with young people outside the church.
It means that we need to build programs that will allow young people to answer such questions as Who am I? Who am I in this community of the church? Who is Jesus Christ to me? It means talking about faith, love, friendship, relationships, hunger, peace, sexuality. It means doing things together, being together, working on projects together: retreats, mission projects, and other service. It means listening to young people as they raise issues that they want to explore, meeting them on their own terms.
It means that we need to realize that partnership means that both adults and young people have responsibilities for youth ministry, but not necessarily the same responsibilities. Adults are partners with young people to provide help to get events and programs planned, to share their faith journey with young people, to provide a point of view as a person who has experienced things that young people are experiencing and knows how to live through them. Being a role model for young people means being willing to share with them, not lecture to them. Young people involved in youth ministry are taking on new and more adult responsibilities. It is one step on their faith journey. They count on caring adults to struggle with them, to help them look for answers, to show them how faith is part of one's whole life, not just a Sunday thing.
It means that what happens in a youth group or youth ministries program is connected with what happens at school, at home, around the world, and in the congregation. You should expect help and support from your clergy and lay leaders, your diocese, your province, and the "national" 5 Youth Ministries Office at the Episcopal Church Center. You should engage parents in parts of the youth ministry program. Talk with school teachers, principals, and the local librarian for program ideas. Call your diocesan youth coordinator, provincial youth ministries coordinator, and the Youth Ministries Office at the Episcopal Church Center for help, guidance, and resources. (For additional information on support and resources, see Part VIII of this handbook.)
It means that youth ministries happens wherever young people are involved. This means that young people who just come to Christian education or sing in the choir or serve as acolytes are as much a part of youth ministries as the young people in the youth group. Young people are called to witness to their faith and invite other young people to be part of the community of disciples. Young people who are excited about their faith and their congregation are good witnesses to God's love in Jesus Christ.
At the provincial and national level this means that we work hard to be sure that African American, Asian American, European American, Hispanic American, and Native American young people and adults, as well as members from our church who live outside the United States, are part of events and design teams and take part in the committees of our church.
5. Though the term "national" church is popularly used, it is important to note that it is somewhat of a misnomer; the Episcopal Church in fact includes dioceses and congregations who are located outside the United States. Also, while the term "national church," frequently refers to the offices, such as the Youth Ministries Office, that are located at the Church Center, it is important to remember that the "national" Episcopal Church is comprised of the Executive Council, and the General Convention, as well as the offices at the Episcopal Church Center in New York.
© 1996 The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society PECUSAThis article is from Handbook for Ministries with Older Adolescents, a publication of the Ministries with Young People Cluster
of the Episcopal Church Center, New York, NY. Permission is granted for congregational use and use by diocesan youth coordinators. You may order this resource from Episcopal Parish Services.
