By Kenny
I am about to head into fulltime youth ministry at the end of this school year. I have given a good amount of thought to what ‘missions’ should look like in the context of my ministry. Truthfully, I haven’t given much thought on how to cultivate ‘missional’ students until this class. Going to New Orleans or Ensenada or Haiti to help build, or rebuild homes or to run VBS for the kids of those communities is one thing, but to in still in my future students a passion for becoming missional is something that I am having to think hard about.
Middle school students, in all their hyperactive glory, are simply a different species of human. Sure they resemble humans, occasionally even speak like humans, but in reality they are unique creatures. Don’t get me wrong – I adore middle schoolers and believe they have a deep capacity for profound thinking, but their world is so different than the one where we non-middle schoolers live. Yet they have an equally important mission field! There are those students who are not surrounded with a supportive family. There are those students who don’t have someone to eat lunch with. And there are those students that simply do not smell good. All these kids who have been ostracized for one reason or another crave the love and attention that any person on this planet craves. It is these kids that Jesus would hang out with and it is these kids that provide an opportunity for their peers to act missionally.
Do we try to get our students to a point where they risk social scrutiny and become like Jesus? Do they have responsibility as Christians, despite their age, to start living missionally? I never want to compromise the Gospel message and therefore feel compelled to teach about putting oneself out there, to prepare for some persecution and be willing to take some risks. What is a good balance in this teaching? Please comment and give me some guidance in this area!
-KH
Kenny,
I have been thinking more about this issue and I realized that there is another consideration… If we treat middle schoolers as if they were not capable of living missional lives, it may be more difficult for them to transition from a more comfortable and non-missional Christianity to a missional Christianity! This would be a serious problem and should be carefully considered.
Blessings,
Jeff
great post kenny. unfortunately the status quo for middle school ministry seems to be the exact opposite of your thoughts. but your optimism is spot on – these students can rise to your expectations.
we’ve also had some success with teaching them some ‘missional’ concepts – concepts such as contextualization, cultural distance and ‘person of peace.’ granted it takes more creativity when you teach on this… but… they are not too young to learn these ideas and execute on them.
Kenny, I love your post because I got started on the road to getting the whole missional thing by working with middle schoolers.
I believe that reflecting on what this looks like with middle schoolers actually tells us a lot about how we talk about being missional with adults. It’s blatantly simple – when I was a youth minister my job was incredible, I got to speak into moments of ungrace by talking about the most basic teachings of Jesus like “So Jesus says to do to others what we would want done to yourself. You just punched Jimmy in the face, is that what you would want done to you?”
There’s all kinds of issues with where they are at developmentally, but I’ll tell you. They get that most basic of teaching better than many of us because they don’t have years of that engrained in them.
Keep at it man!
Yeah that’s tough. personally i am cautious to the idea of teaching kids to live missionally simply because i think a lot of times leaders attempt to equip kids when what they really need is someone to foster them in their faith. i think it’s very easy for us to see the kids who seem to get it and decide to make them leaders or teach them about ministry rather than solidifying their belief. But a lot of times those kids aren’t ready at all for that kind of call even if they say they want it. But i guess that needs to be gauged from kid to kid too.
Thank you both Kirsten and Jeff for your input. I will definitely remember what you both have said and keep that in mind as I try to love these middle schoolers the best I can while instilling in them a passion for living missionally!
-Kenny
I admire your passion for middle schoolers! Many shy, no, run away from them. Your questions regarding their responsibility to live missional lives deserves a resounding yes! There is no one on Earth that cannot be used as God’s beloved servant! In middle school I was kicked out of my Mother’s home for being a Christian… I would never consider going back and doing anything differently. My Mother has changed dramatically since that event and we are now on semi-normal terms, but more importantly God used me as an awkward yet determined middle school kid to speak more than I could have ever understood at that age through my steadfast decision to follow Christ. I wholeheartedly agree with Kirsten, treat them like disciples and with the help of God, they will stand up and shock us all!!! Look at what Zach Hunter was able to do…
Jeff
Kenny, finding a way to reach youth has been a passion of mine for many years. Kids, including middle-schoolers, are marginalized in churches. Even more than that, they have little to no expectations placed on them, which is why it isn’t surprising that many youth are confused about their identity and end up living regretful lifestyles. In a very confusing stage of life, the church oftentimes continues that confusion because it has failed in large part to relate an understandable and applicable gospel. Some minor “guidance” I can offer from my very limited experience is to treat the youth with the respect they deserve. They aren’t children anymore, and they are trying to find their way in life in the process of becoming an adult. Place higher expectations on them than their teachers or parents do. Use big words in youth group messages. Challenge them to memorize scripture and to share their faith with their friends. Ask them questions that you haven’t figured the answers to and discuss those questions with them, fully expecting an answer. Youth won’t act missionally in this world until they are treated like beings worthy of the Kingdom of God, just like any adult Christian walking the earth.
Kirsten