Recently Bridge St staff member Vicki commented on her positive dealings with a young adult from my former congregation, St. Paul's. Jonathan is nineteen (I think) and has been involved in the courts of the church which is where Vicki met him. She commented on his spiritual maturity and contributions to discussions as an involved Christian. I delighted to hear this because Jonathan is a fine young person, one of a number from St. Paul's. I have known him since he was a sprout and he is one of a group of young people I regard as my spiritual nieces and nephews. Watching them mature as Christians has been one of the honours of my life and I confess that I miss them greatly. I hope similar opportunities unfold at Bridge St.
Well, this week I read an article called Sticky Faith: What Keeps Kids Connected to Church? It explores elements of a book called Sticky Faith: Practical Ideas to Nurture Long-Term Faith in Teenagers. The article and book look at what works in terms of helping young people mature in faith -- to stick with Christianity.
Lo and behold, it is not about entertainment, the big mistake of the past few decades. For some reason we figured that the stuff for youth was supposed to compete with other pursuits. And we lost. Not that there aren't times to have fun, even goofy fun. But what sticks, the authors say, is first accepting what teens already know -- church and faith are not cool. But faith can be relevant and life-giving. Church matters because Jesus matters, so we should talk about Jesus. They also maintain that faith sticks with young people when they develop at least five meaningful relationships with adults of faith. This makes such sense to me because I watched folk quietly mentor and affirm the young people I got to know during the past decade. There have been excellent staff leaders encouraging this to happen.
I would love to hear your thoughts about this. I would especially love to hear from anyone under the age of twenty, but God loves the rest of you as well!
4 comments:
Whew! So glad you added that last sentence! ;-)
I have a Sticky Faith curriculum book by these authors that I found quite meaningful and reassuring. It is easy to become discouraged when programming for Sunday School and Youth Groups because there will always be "funner" and maybe easier and more comfortable ways to spend their time ( same for adults).....As a church though, we are more than a "social club" ( yet community is so important to our faith experience) Our time together does have to be about more than self perpetuation and attraction strategies. We are in the business of transforming lives....which requires a little more than movies and floor hockey.
I recall my CGIT leaders today with fondness and gratitude. I sensed their strength as women of serious faith and I looked to them as role models. As I did my Youth leader....they were all parents, not necessarilly the youngest,hippest,funnest adults in the crowd...but somehow their presence and example in my life were inspiring and comforting.
Sticky Faith authors speak to the role of parents in this faith formation process also. I am grateful to my parents
for not letting me make all the choices in my young
life...sometimes they did know better than I, where I
needed to be.
Im sorry i didnt see this till today! Ive been sick at home so theres been no need to keep my phone on me (which is how i read this blog). I agree that being a part of a faith community, while certainly entertaining, is relevant because it shows how christ works through us together to build strong communities.
And the adults are absolutely vital for youth to grow in the church.
Thanks to all of you. Better late than never Jonathan! I'm glad you feel that adults have been positive role models in faith. Interesting that you know Sticky Faith Laura, as does our son Isaac, who is minister of children, youth and young adults at a church in London.
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