Thoughts on Enroute: Transformational Youth Ministry seminar

Today we took all of our sucker, I mean “dedicated”, youth ministry volunteers to Montgomery Evangelical Free Church (the second best MEFC) for the Enroute: Transformational Youth Ministry training seminar.  Our fearless leader, Tim Ghali, and I went through this training at the EFC Eastern District conference back in October and thought it was very well done, very well presented, and something definitely worth having our volunteer staff be a part of.  We heard through Eric Couch that he was hosting a training day at his church with this, and so we trekked over there at 7am.  This was after having Junior High Fusion the night before, and then Sunday School tomorrow morning…needless to say, I’m pretty spent right now and I haven’t even made it to Sunday morning yet.  So why am I blogging now you ask?  Well, the World Baseball Classic is on, and Italy is playing Venezuela and I wanted to watch so I figured I’d do something constructive while I watch. 

 

Here are some thoughts on the Enroute “curriculum” that stuck out to me throughout the day.  This being the second time around, I knew what was coming but certain things grabbed my attention this time. No offense to Mike Harder who presented this at the EFCA conference, I thought he did a great job, but I got a lot out of it going through it a second time with Gary Osborne.  A 9am-4pm day is hard to sit through, but to make present material for 7 hours and make it interesting and applicable and meaningful—that’s talent.

 

A quote from Chris Folmsbee (who actually helped create this new Enroute curriculum) coming from Network Magazine,

“At its core, transformational youth ministry is the ongoing, holistic process of guiding students toward becoming like Jesus.  It is a process of shepherding students through a journey of the spiritual life that fundamentally begins with a shepherd-student relationship, progresses with and through shared spiritual discovery and growth and ends only when the shepherd-student relationship ceases to remain.”

How true—it is very much an “ongoing, holistic process.”  Very little else in life is like transformational youth ministry, in trying to lead students into a life to become like Jesus.  I appreciate his language of “shared spiritual discovery” because it shows that, while as a youth pastor I have a hand in teaching them about Jesus and faith, the student also has a hand in teaching ME.  Through their questions, through their conversation, through doing life together with them they teach me just as much about who I am and who Jesus is.  Gary Osborne asked what our ROI (Return on Investment) is in youth ministry, because, while we’re not in ministry for our own gain, there are definitely fruits that come from youth ministry—one large one being a part of someone’s spiritual journey and watching that process take place.

 

A second quote is a prayer that comes from Frederick Beuchner from his The Hungering Dark,

 “…Be present especially with the young who must choose between so many voices. Help them to know how much an old world needs their youth and gladness. Help them to know that there are words of truth and healing that will never be spoken unless they speak them, and deeds of compassion and courage that will never be done unless they do them.  Help them never to mistake success for victory or failure for defeat.  Grant that they may never be entirely content with whatever bounty the world may bestow upon them, but that they may know at last that they were created not for happiness but for joy, and that joy is to him alone who, sometimes with tears in his eyes, commits himself to love to thee and his brothers.  Lead them and all thy world ever deeper into the knowledge that finally all men are one and that there can never really be joy for any until there is joy for all.  In Christ’s name we ask it and for his sake. Amen.”

Read that again.  Seriously, read it again and read it slow.  For those in youth ministry this is so important.  I love how he says, “help them never to mistake success for victory and failure for defeat.”  So much of this world tells them that if they are successful they have it made, and if they fail they are utterly defeated.  But this is not the case, and they need to know that and hear that.  Maybe not said bluntly all the time, but lived out in the lives of the youth pastors and volunteers as well.  They need to know they have a place in this world and they have a big place.  They all have so much potential, and they certainly have so many voices that are grabbing for their attention.  It reminds me of the Switchfoot song “Twenty-four” off their Beautiful Letdown album.  Foreman sings, “and You’re raising these twenty-four voices / with twenty-four hearts / with all of my symphonies / In twenty-four parts / But I want to be one today / centered and true.”  How true is this for the youth today, and how true is it for all of us! With so much going on in life, how can we even hear what God’s trying to say to us—how can we be “one today, centered and true”?  For that, how much more important is it for us in youth ministry to guide the youth to understand this. 

 

In my scatter-brained attempt at recapping some of the things that grabbed my attention today, I hope this made some sort of sense.  There was a lot more I could say about what was discussed today, but that would make this very long and you’d probably get bored reading it all.  After both times going through this curriculum it has given me renewed appreciation and excitement for youth ministry and made me realize why I am in youth ministry for this time in my life.  I also must say, it was a pleasure driving back home with Gary and sharing dinner with him—what a humble, down to earth guy and there’s always something to be learned from someone who’s a youth ministry “veteran.”