Since October, the last time I updated this blog, we’ve done quite a bit with our youth group. I just haven’t taken as many pictures or written down thoughts about what was going on. But what we have done has been mostly internal. When I speak of internal vs. external, it just means that our activities, lessons, etc. are either focussed on just the group itself or the opposite: outreach.

In fact, the external has never been our focus at this church. It seems tough, so maybe that’s why we haven’t, but then it seems easy, so I don’t know why we haven’t. I mean, how do you get teenagers to understand the world isn’t just about them?

We’ve done a few events with other churches. So that has at least initiated the idea that Christianity and their spirituality extends beyond our church walls. But we’ve already encountered a slight opposition from some of the teens to do things with people that aren’t in “their little group.” It’s saddening. You expect a willingness and openess from teenagers that you don’t get from some of the adults in church, and then when you don’t get that, it scares you. You begin to think, “How will the cycle ever end? How will we create a dynamic youth ministry that touches lives from every angle if we are finding it hard to change the perceptions and perspectives of even those closest to us?”

Well, I think I know at least one answer: you reach one by one and you just keep doing it.