Adventures in Book Studying - Episode 1

This week I began leading a book study in the parish on Sustainable Youth Ministry by Mark DeVries. Those of you who know me might find it hilarious that I am leading a book study - since as I informed the group at the beginning of our session, I am not a fan of reading books (with the exception of hymn books of course). Nonetheless, I have made a reading schedule and I even typed up notes from our first session. This is mostly a testament to what an important and easy to read book this one really is. I want to say if you are involved in youth ministry you should read it, but really, I think everyone should read it or at least the headings and random quotes in bold, for example:

If you have a group of twelve kids who don't understand your illustrations and one of them wants to kill you, you have a youth group just like Jesus

-Mark Yaconelli

Clearly I am very excited about this book.

In our discussions on the first three chapters, a number of recurring ideas emerged with respect to youth ministry at St Philip's. First of all, there is the idea that just like stewardship, outreach and worship, youth ministry is something that everyone is called to support in one way or another. In addition, at St Philip's we need to make it clear that it isn't great ideas, on their own, that will create a vibrant and sustainable youth ministry. 

Getting the whole parish interested and involved in youth ministry means overcoming a couple of obstacles. There is a certain perception that children's and youth ministry are the responsibility of parents and staff specifically hired for that purpose. In reality this would be as strange as saying that ministry to seniors is the sole responsibility of their own family members. It is true that parents certainly have a special interest in youth and children's ministry, and inevitably they will be involved at one level or another, but they are not the only group of people who can support this valuable ministry. Another obstacle is the perception that working with youth is a rare and valuable skill that only a few people have and without which they shouldn't be involved in the ministry at all. It takes far more than the ability to relate to and inspire young people to maintain a youth ministry. We need people with talents for planning and organization, managing finances, managing supplies, spiritual direction, choosing a curriculum, teaching, worship leadership, crafts, outdoor activities, cooking, sports, art, drama, music, outreach, fundraising, transportation and of course, recruiting and managing volunteers. While working with young people might come more easily to some than to others, it is a skill like any other that can be taught and improves with time. In addition, interacting with young people, like interacting with old people, is an essential part of Church life.

The other challenge that St Philip's faces is actually the wealth of good ideas people have. In the conversations and meetings that I have with people in the parish, I hear tons of really good, innovative and exciting ideas. Many of them are feasible and people are also very enthusiastic about them. As I hear these ideas, I get really excited as well, thinking about how they would connect the youth with different parts of Church ministry and help them grow into a mature faith. I need to remind myself and we all need to remind ourselves that we can't possibly do every good idea. Most of the good even great ideas that I hear will not be done. And that is a good thing. We need to focus our efforts and invest in a few good ideas or none of them will succeed because our energy will be divided. We also need to remember though, that more important than these good ideas, is putting in place the structures that will support them. In order for our ministry to be sustainable, we need to set goals for our ministry over the short and long terms. We need to develop a vision for what we are trying to accomplish and then choose ideas and resources that will help us realize that vision. Especially now, in the early stages of development of this ministry, our efforts need to be more focused on the long-term planning and development that will make this ministry last. This brings us to one of my favourite quotes from the book:

"I can hear the question you may already be asking: 'With all this focus on investing in the future, what do we do about our youth ministry in the meantime?' 

Here's the best answer: 'Stop gambling, start investing and in the meantime, do the best you can.'"

Stay tuned for my next post on our first youth group meeting and hear more about how we are doing the the best we can in the meantime by giving kids post-it notes to stick on each other.

Guest Post - BCYAYM Fall Conference

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Sarah Stephens, a young member of St Philip's, attended the BCYAYM Fall Conference in Merritt, BC along with youth and youth leaders from across the province (and beyond). The following is her reflection on her time there. 

When asked to summarize the BCYAYM Fall Conference, the first thing that came to mind was “life changing”. On the morning of Friday October 5^th I was sitting in my history class wondering why on earth I was going to Merritt for Thanksgiving weekend with a bunch of strangers; and on Monday October 8^th I was wondering why I had to leave all of my amazing friends behind and go home. 

I met so many incredible people that weekend and I have so many amazing memories although the one memory that stands out for me would be the healing service. The healing service took place on the Saturday in the evening and it is a time where everyone sits in the church and they can talk about troubles they are having, cry freely and pray without feeling judged. As soon as one person started to cry, the church was filled with young adults who were crying due to so many reasons yet they were being comforted by people they had met just the day before. It was truly incredible to see boys who weren’t afraid to cry, girls who weren’t afraid of messing up their makeup when they were crying, as well as boys comforting and not being afraid of girls who were crying. 

The friendships created over this weekend are as true and real as they can be because no one was hiding anything. Most young people feel the need to hide something about them at school whether it be their religion, they sing in 3 choirs or that sometimes it just feels good to cry. At BCYAYM nobody hides anything because as one person put it “we are all crazy yet that’s why we are one big BCYAYM family”. We met real people this weekend not fake people; we met people like us who hadn’t showered in days, slept on the hard ground, woke up cold in the middle of the night and who just wanted to be loved and accepted for who we were. I felt truly accepted and part of the family even though I was brand new and just hours earlier knew nobody. 

The bus ride home, although it was 4 hours, felt like it was over in the blink of an eye because nobody wanted to say goodbye. Even though we all live either in B.C. or Alberta, and we will most likely see each other soon, it felt like we were saying goodbye forever to a friend we had known for a lifetime. This was a truly unforgettable experience and I will cherish the memory of my first but certainly not last BCYAYM Fall Conference for the rest of my life.

  Next year, Sarah and I hope more of the youth will join us at the Fall Conference. If you have questions about the BCYAYM just check out their website.

Building a Sustainable Youth Ministry Together

                 Let us build a house where love can dwell and all can safely live.

                A place where saints and children tell how hearts learn to forgive.

When we sang these words as our opening hymn on Welcome Back Sunday, it was the third time I had sung them that week; at Community worship at Vancouver School of Theology, at the induction of the new priest at St. Mary’s Kerrisdale and then here at St Philip’s. For me, it was a sign; I am definitely in the right place. The words of this hymn describe the Church that I believe in and want to be a part of. A Church that is built of “hopes and dreams and visions” of the life we could have together.

                Now that I am in place here at St Philip’s, I am eager to chip in and help build this house. I have lots of people to meet and activities to plan. But in all our enthusiasm to get things going in youth and young adult ministry, I want to ensure that we take the time to build a ministry that is sustainable. By sustainable I am not referring to ecological sustainability (though this is certainly an important value in my ethical system), but rather a ministry that has invested in a structure and a climate that will keep it going for the next twenty years – irrespective of whether or not any particular staff member or volunteer is still here. In his book entitled Sustainable Youth Ministry, Mark DeVries provides a blueprint for building this structure and creating this climate. DeVries speaks from his experience as a youth minister and consultant who has worked with hundreds of different Churches across North America and across denominational lines who are seeking to build their youth ministries. Based on this experience he presents some of the most common (and often problematic) assumptions about youth ministry. He also provides what he refers to as “the cost per square foot” of a sustainable youth ministry in terms of money, staff hours, volunteers and the size of the congregation. DeVries has found that the following ratios are sustainable in youth ministry:

1. $1000-$1500 per youth (including staff salaries and programme budget) 
2. One fulltime staff person for every fifty youth 
3.  One adult volunteer for every five youth 
4.  The size of the youth programme is usually ten percent of the worshiping congregation 
5.  A youth programme doesn’t usually grow beyond twenty percent of the worshiping congregation.

What is clear from these metrics and in the rest of the book is that sustainable youth ministry requires a significant investment of time, energy and money from the whole community. We have to build this house together so that this is a place where, in the words of that same hymn, “all God’s children dare to seek to dream God’s reign anew.”

                But DeVries also moves beyond the nuts and bolts of these tangible structures to the more intangible reality of creating a healthy climate for youth to grow spiritually. The climate is the most fundamental part of a flourishing youth ministry. More than a vision for the future, more than good communication and structures, more than amazing programmes; the climate will determine whether youth ministry will grow. The good news is that St Philip’s has many of the signs of a climate that will help youth ministry flourish. Just a few of these signs include teenagers who basically run the show for serving, young people involved in Diocesan youth ministry, who care about social justice in their community and want to get involved, a youth delegate to Synod, enthusiastic junior youth who can’t wait to be a part of a youth group, a great number of parents who are committed to their children’s spiritual growth and have been trained to lead Godly play, staff and clergy who care about teenagers and young adults, an entire community that is welcoming and wants to include young people in its ministry and life. All of these signs tell us that there is a wonderful climate to grow youth ministry in this place. We are starting from a place of enthusiasm and excitement rather than desperation and anxiety – this is a great gift.

                The picture below was taken from the St Philip’s Retrospect book, which explores the history of this Church community. This picture shows the building in which we now worship as a very new work in progress. I have included it here as a reminder that the building process is often a messy one. At a glance, things look chaotic and rough, but with a little imagination and hope, a trained eye can see what they will one day become. As we work together to build a sustainable youth ministry we must keep this analogy in mind. Taking the time to lay a solid foundation, to square the corners, to build it right the first time will ensure that we have a youth ministry that lasts. The Retrospect book is a testament to all that this community has accomplished together from generation to generation. If each person contributes to the process of building youth ministry, it can be yet another blessing to add to St Philip’s list. Building this house can bring the whole community together. As that same hymn concludes, it will be: “built of tears and cries and laughter, prayers of faith and songs of grace. Let this house proclaim from floor to rafter: all are welcome, all are welcome, all are welcome in this place.”