A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 7 - What Then?

So if you don't have a Youth Group - what then?

What do you do to minister to young people?

Lets start with the elements of a youth group ministry - what are the things that most people are looking for in a youth group?

1) friends/peers

2) teaching on the Christian life

3) fun (nights and events)

4) trips (youth camp, mission trips, six flags...)

5) worship

Am I missing anything?

First a simple question - MUST we have a youth group in order to have all of the above for students?

At New City we see ourselves as a church of house churches that gather together on Sundays for worship and celebration. For us that means that the majority of church life happens in our "house churches" which we call Missional Communities. These communities should be made up of a diverse group of people - various ages, stages of life, socio-economic positions, and even races. This community is the BEST place for the body to enjoy and participate in all of Scripture's "one anothers" - be at peace with one another, love one another, serve one another, be devoted to one another, build one another up... Though we don't do it all that well YET, our MCs will be diverse and will include youth/students. So is it possible that a few families with children of similar ages could get together as a part of one of our MCs? You know, so that young people/youth/students had time together with their peers/friends during the week when the MC met? And could the MC plan something that those students would enjoy for the 3rd week's 'get out of the house' night - you know something fun? And - when the MC is discussing the sermon from the past week and helping the community apply the gospel to life as they learn to walk the Christian Life, could students not be included by asking specific age related questions? Then - sometimes - depending on the subject matter - maybe the younger crew could be separated from the older and have some direct and intentional youth/student teaching - could that be possible?

And that is just in the MC

Add to MC life some other activities and events - like:

Second Sunday brunch - following our Sunday gathering for worship and celebration we head to Washington Park where we listen to music, have a picnic lunch and hang out with friends. The little kids love running around the park and playing in the water. The bigger kids and adults get to talk with friends/peers and enjoy the day.

Fourth Weekend Fun events - these are new - so far we have had 2. The first was skating! Oh yeah - old school roller skating! The kids loved it - the adults loved it. More fun with friends and peers. This past Sunday we went to the Amerson Water Park. The littlest played on the play ground with mom, dad, and their pee wee friends. Bigger kids (of all ages) threw the Frisbee, the football, baseball, and hiked - some to the pond, others to the River. This was yet another opportunity for students/youth to hang out with friends, have fun, and still be a part of the community of New City.

Yeah - but what about Mission Trips, Youth Camps... Several years ago we started a partnership with missionaries in Mexico. They were border missionaries so we stayed in Texas and crossed the border each day. It was an awesome partnership - one that extended to another church, and another church! When we went that first year our whole family went - in fact several families went. Our kids interacted with the Spanish speaking Mexican kids, they worked with us during the day, and in the evening they helped and participated in VBS in Mexico. It was great for all of us... and we did it as a community, a family - and not as a youth group. YES - it is possible.

It is also possible for MCs to take off to Six Flags, or for our Fourth Weekend Fun be a trip to White Water.

AND - there are always PARENTS! Parents could call up friends of their kids and take them all bowling - or swimming - or whatever. Kids could hang with kids - go to a concert, the mall, riding horses, and whatever else their kid finds fun with their friends! Take 4 in your car and have your friend take 4 in their car... and we still don't HAVE TO HAVE a youth group!

SO - without a youth group our students/youth get

1) friends/peers

2) teaching on the Christian life

3) fun (nights and events)

4) trips (youth camp, mission trips, six flags...)

5) worship

In addition they learn from others in an intergenerational environment that many studies show is better than segregated learning. They learn life from all ages. They see the struggles and victories of families, of single adults, of rich people, and poor people - people of all ages. They also get to be a part of the community that is the church. In that community they enjoy and practice the "one anothers" and they have an opportunity to serve and be served in the whole body - not as a church within a church that consists almost exclusively of other students. They have an opportunity to discover their own spiritual gifts and to use them for the good of the body.

Am I missing anything? Did I leave anything out?

I recognize that this is different - but different can be better.

I also realize that we are not there yet. But maybe this series of posts is the start.

** My next post will be on Orphaned Kids - What about those kids whose parents don't participate in church?

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 6 - Foundational Philosophies

Every solid building has a solid foundation. The foundation is the underlying base and support on which the building stands. The foundation also serves to tie all of the parts of the building safely together - strengthening the whole. Without a foundation walls and supports move and over time a building crumbles and falls apart. Jesus said that a wise man builds his house on a foundation of rock - it is strong and a building on it is not easily shaken. A foolish man builds on a shifting foundation like sand, because when the stream beats against that house, the foundation washes away and the house is destroyed.

The ultimate foundation for the church is the Gospel of Jesus Christ - but that is not the foundation I am referring to in this post. I referring to the foundational philosophies of ministry for nccd - the underlying base principles on which our ministries (and methods) are built. Let me share a few key foundational philosophies:

1) Parents are the primary teachers of children. Most of you reading this likely agree with this principle which is a clear teaching in Scripture. Because we believe this to be true, nccd will not take on the parents' responsibility to teach their children. Instead we will support parents in teaching their children and we will strive to equip parents to teach their children.

2) Community serves as the basis for making and maturing disciples. We were created for community. Community provides strengths for our weaknesses. In community our strength serves the weaknesses of others. Jesus gathered his disciples into community; he taught them in community; and he sent them out as a community. The New Testament epistles seem to show that the first churches followed the model established by Jesus - they too gathered into community, learned in community, went out (and served) as a community. We see community as a major means of extending the gospel to our city, of gathering believers and not-yet believers together, and as the primary place for discipleship. Therefore, rather than providing a list of events and programs for our people to choose from, we schedule little and push hard for people to be involved in a small community of people at new city known as a Missional Community.

3) We are BIG "M" missional and little "a" attractional. That is, we major on our people understanding that they are called to be missionaries, and equipping them as missionaries to live the life of a missionary - a life of making disciples and teaching those disciples (The Great Commission). We DO believe that people should be attracted to us as we look more and more like Jesus, but we don't focus on being the biggest/best/most fun/entertaining church that attracts people with a BIG A Attraction. (more on that here and here and here)

Since youth/students are a part of the church then these philosophies form the foundation youth/student ministry just as they do for adult ministry...

* If we want the next generation to be missional, then we must train them to be missional and the way to do that is (in part) by NOT doing BIG A Attractional youth ministry. Leading adults who grew up as attracted consumers to be a missional community is a tough! Wouldn't it be foolish to perpetuate this difficulty by raising up attracted consumer students that would one day need to be taught about missional living?

* If we want the next generation to be contributing members to the community now and in the future - shouldn't we make sure they are a part of the community now? And if community is the best place and the biblical model for advancing the gospel (making disciples) and for teaching disciples then why would we want our children/youth/students NOT in community?

Clearly there are other philosophies. The purpose of this post is not to say that there is only one way to do youth ministry or to say all other ways are bad. The purpose is to help you understand the foundational philosophies that lead us to do the things that we do - and don't do.

My next post will be on our vision for just what this ministry could look like.

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 5 - Oxymoron or the Future?

The following article by Christine Ross can be found at youthsource.com:

Intergenerational Youth Ministry: An oxymoron or the future?
Christine Ross
One generation shall commend your works to another and set forth Your mighty deeds. Psalm 145:4

Research of 400 youth group graduates' faith journeys being conducted by Kara Powell, executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary, indicates that "youth involved in intergenerational relationships in church are showing promise for stronger faith in high school and beyond" (p. 43, 2009). According to Powell, intergenerational youth ministry is not an oxymoron; rather, it is the future of youth ministry.

This article will consider key reasons why recent youth ministry practices focus upon separating the generations, key reasons for bringing the generations together, and how to introduce an intergenerational philosophy into your congregation.


Why Separate Age-Groups?
Several factors contribute to the age separation prevalent today when Christians gather for Christian education, fellowship, service, or worship.

Kara Powell attributes the rise of segregating youth from other generations to the success of the para-church organizations in the mid 20th century. Congregations observed the success that groups like Young Life or InterVarsity had in attracting youth and followed their youth focused model of discipleship (2009).

Australian Christian educator Allen Harkness (1998) believes that modernist and post-modernist trends have facilitated individualistic and person-centered Christian education rather than Christian education which focuses upon integrating the faithful into the greater community of believers.

The baby boom of the 1950's and the tumultuous 1960's drew attention to the differing values of youth and adults. The "generation gap" became an accepted way of life, and society responded to the gap by separating the generations in order to reduce conflict created by differing life-styles and beliefs.

Educational theories certainly play a role in separating the generations. Public and private school educators as well as those trained to be congregational Christian educators are well versed in Jean Piaget's cognitive development theory which provided the foundation for Lawrence Kohlberg's moral development and James Fowler's faith development theories. Each of these theories is based on the premises that humans develop in stages generally related to the cognitive abilities possible for their age, and that persons will best develop in settings that focus on the needs of their age or stage. During the 1970's and 1980's these theories were widely practiced, and age-separation in the public and private sphere increased in order to better serve each persons at each stage.

Church growth theory may be another contributing factor to age-separation. Donald McGavran, Win Arn, C. Peter Wagner, and others espoused the idea that evangelism to homogeneous people groups, or people with similar cultural or life-style characteristics, provides fewer obstacles to acceptance of the Gospel. Thus, church plants focusing on young adults or upper-income Koreans are both examples of this principal. Multi-generational or multi-ethnic congregations are examples of the more difficult heterogeneous outreach method.

Why Integrate Generations?
Two-thirds of the pastors, Christian educators, youth ministers, and lay leaders I interviewed for my dissertation (Ross, 2006) believed that the generations have a lot to offer one another. Bringing the generations together melds energy and wisdom, provides more opportunities to share spiritual gifts, makes life more meaningful and purposeful, and enhances spiritual growth for all involved.

Dr. Holly Allen, Professor of Christian Ministries and Director of the Child & Family Studies Program at John Brown University, compared children who attended churches where they participated in an intergenerational small group and worshiped with their parents in an intergenerational worship setting with children who attended Sunday school, children's church, and some type of other mid-week gathering, but did not participate in any intergenerational setting. The comparison revealed that children involved in intergenerational settings had a wider faith-vocabulary than did children from non-intergenerational settings. The most significant differences were that children from intergenerational settings referred to prayer more often and described God in more personal terms than did the non-intergenerational children (Allen, 2002). Intergenerational relationships certainly seemed to enhance the spiritual development of the children in the study.

Certainly, Piaget's and others' cognitive development theories enhanced the learning experiences for countless children, youth, and adults. However, educators often neglect to balance their age specific educational methods with practices that allow people of different stages to interact, which even Piaget believed was needed to enable an individual's developmental advancement. And, in emphasizing cognitive development theories we often ignore social learning theories like those of Lev Vygotsky, which challenged Piaget's theory that learning had to develop in successive stages. Vygotsky observed that higher mental functions developed through social interactions with significant people in a child's life, particularly parents. Vygotsky would say that persons learn to be members of their community as they actively participate in that particular social community, learning alongside those who are further ahead in the journey (Allen, 2002).

The apprentice model of learning a trade by first watching an expert, then attempting the work under the guidance of the expert, and having so understood/internalized the work that they are able to do it themselves in their own way is a present day example of Vygotsky theory in action. Allen (2002) suggests that Vygotsky's socio-cultural learning theory better aligns with Christian faith formation than cognitive development theories. If novice electrical journeymen, doctors, and DCE students learn best by fully practicing alongside experienced mentors, then perhaps Christian faith-formation occurs best when younger Christians interact with practicing Christians further along on the journey. The apostle Paul certainly modeled such an approach with his child-in-the-Lord, Timothy (Acts 16:1-3; I Corinthians 4:17; 2 Timothy 1:5-7 etc.).

Another recurrent reason for providing intergenerational interaction is its Scriptural basis. Old Testament Israelincorporated children into community life (Deut. 6:7; 12:7; Joel 2:15) and the New Testament church followed the multigenerational practices. Parents bringing children to Jesus (Luke 18:15-17); Lydia and the jailor being baptized along with their households (Acts 16:15, 33); the youth, Eutychus, who fell out of a window while listening to Paul preach late into the night (Acts 20:7-12); and Luke's report of children praying for Paul's voyage together with adults (Acts 21:5-6) all indicate that children were taught to practice the faith within the day-to-day activities of the faith community. Intergenerational ministry leaders believe that theological themes such as "the family of God," "the body of Christ," and "the community of believers" (Romans 8:14-17; Romans 12:4-6) are best taught and fully practiced when all generations of the faith-community gather together.

People really do enjoy intergenerational activities! Written and verbal evaluations by the members of an intergenerational mission trip included the following comments:

"Our family learned to pray aloud together" (40ish Dad).

"I learned about the interests of the children in studying the scriptures and also the wealth of knowledge of the older generation. I think this was helpful in understanding how persons of other generations have a lot to contribute" (high school girl).

"It encourages a greater unity amongst church members" (70ish male).

"Now I look forward to going to church because maybe I'll see the other team members and get to talk to them" (junior high school girl).

"I remember thinking 'I wonder how this is going to work; how well we'd mix.' I remember a few of the meetings at first were a little tough between all of us because we all wanted to be leaders. Now I feel like I have the adults' respect because they've seen me work on the same level as them" (high school boy).

Every team member indicated that they would attend future intergenerational service opportunities, and other intergenerational activities offered by their church.

How to Introduce Intergenerational Faith Formation
Remember the fable of the tortoise and the hare? When introducing intergenerational to your youth and greater congregation, follow after the tortoise be slow and steady!
First, read and talk about intergenerational ministry until you are convinced it is a viable model of faith-formation for the 21st century. If you are not excited about its potential to enhance your ministry, don't do it. Although you do need to start out slowly, "half hearted dabbling" will only convince you that it's impossible for youth and adults to bridge the generation gap.

I define intergenerational ministry as intentionally combining the generations together in mutual serving, sharing, and/or learning within the core activities of the church in order to live out being the body of Christ to each other and the greater community.

What this means for practicing intergenerational ministry is that you will not introduce a new activity to your youth/congregation, but choose a common youth activity and adapt it to include church members of other generations. For example, do you already plan several youth servant activities during the year? Choose one event this year and invite fifth graders through adults to participate. If you pray in small groups beforehand, intentionallycreate intergenerational small groups to pray together. If the group will divide up to complete the service tasks,ensure that there are at least two generations within each small group. De-brief afterwards in groups of more than two generations asking each person to share what they learned, how they experienced God, and one thing they learned from or about someone of another age from serving together.

Do you typically have a "youth-led service" every fifth Sunday of the month? Once this year plan an intentionallyintergenerational service instead. Form a planning team that includes members of each generation (I've had mature 7 year olds on planning teams), with a parent of infants/nursery school aged children representing the youngest members of the faith family. The team will plan the worship together working to ensure that there will be something that members of every generation will be able to participate in and enjoy. Be sure to evaluate afterwards in preparation for making the next intergenerational worship an even more enjoyable opportunity for the various generations that make up the family of God.

Conclusion

When Leadership Journal (Powell, 2009) asked youth ministry leader Dr. Kara Powell the question, "Is the era of age-segmentation over?" she unequivocally answered "yes." To learn more about Kara and other Christian educators' experiences with intergenerational ministry and to glean ideas regarding how to integrate intergenerational faith formation into your youth ministry peruse a few of the recent writings noted below.


Allen, H.C. (2002). A qualitative study exploring the similarities and differences of the spirituality of children inintergenerational and non-intergenerational Christian contexts. Ann Arbor, MI: Proquest Information and Learning Company. (UMI No. 3049645).

Bolinder, G. & White, J.E. (1999). Two pastors in a demographic debate: Should the Church target generations? Leadership Journal, XX, 104. Retrieved June 4, 2007 from http://www.ctlibrary.com/le/1999/spring/9l2104.html

Glassford, D. (2008). Fostering an intergenerational culture. In. H. Vanderwell (Ed.), The church of all ages: Generations worshiping together. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute.

Issues in Christian Education. Ministry Among the Generations. vol. 41, no. 2. Seward: NE.

Harkness, A. G. (2000). Intergenerational and homogeneous-age education: mutually exclusive strategies for faith communities? Religious Education, 95, 51-63.

Powell, K. (2009, Summer). Is the era of age segregation over? An interview with Kara Powell. Leadership 30 (3), 43-48.

Martineau, M., Weber, J., & Kehrwald, L. (2008). Intergenerational Faith Formation: All Ages Learning Together.New London, CT: Twenty-Third Publications.

Meyers, P. (2006). Live, Learn, Pass It On!The Practical Benefits of Generations Growing Together in Faith. Nashville: Discipleship Resources.

Menconi, P. (2008). The Intergenerational Church: Understanding Congregations from WWII to www.com. Littleton,CO: Mt. Sage Publishing.

Rendle, G. (2002). The multigenerational congregation: Meeting the leadership challenge. Bethesda, MD: The Alban Institute.

Ross, C.M. (2006). A qualitative study exploring churches committed to intergenerational ministry. Ann Arbor, MI: Proquest Information and Learning Company. (UMI Number: 3237443).

Vanderwell, H. (Ed.). (2008). The Church of All Ages: Generations Worshiping Together. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute.

Strauss, W. & Howe, N. (1991). Generations: The history of Americas future, 1584 to 2069. New York: Quill, William Morrow Publisher.

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 4 - Why Do They Go?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it... but if it is - FIX IT!

Albert Einstein once said, "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results."

By far, the most widely followed model for reaching youth/students and training them in the Christian faith is the model of a Youth Ministry, or Youth Group. Most church youth groups have a leader - the Youth Minister who is most often a paid staff member of the church. The Youth Minister recruits parents who help with teaching Sunday School classes for youth and putting on youth events. Youth ministry is a combination of fun events, fun trips, teaching, and service projects a couple of times a year. Most of these models are ATTRACTIONAL in that events and fun trips serve as the primary means to woo in the students. Successfully wooed, students are told about Jesus and taught about the Christian life either from the Youth Pastor in a lecture or monologue, or by a teacher in a small group setting with age related peers. Youth ministries serve up a constant mix of fun and exciting events with dash and splash of teaching.

So how is it working? We can't base our opinion solely on our individual personal experience when it comes to Youth Groups because not everyone has shared that experience - some have had GREAT experiences, while others had horrible experiences. So we turn to research...

LifeWay Research reported that 70% of 23-30 year olds who had attended church regularly, stopped attending church regularly between the ages of 18 and 22. OUCH! That means that only 30% of our young people stuck with the body of Christ after high school. A 30% retention rate is MISERABLE. Would you send your children to a school with a 70% drop out rate? That is largely what the current model of church youth ministry has produced - a 70% drop out rate. Over an 18 month period, the Youth Transition Network held open forum discussions with over 500 high school students from across the country and interviewed 140 college students about their transition from high school to college. Here is a snippet of what they found:

The story that has emerged from these sessions, which has been confirmed by taped follow-up interviews, has a similar pattern. It goes like this:

“We entered the youth group with a moderate faith. We enjoyed the program and the leader and found it fun to be involved in our youth group. Yet the messages we heard were primarily focused on sin avoidance, which we perceive as sin intolerance, leaving little room for failure.”

“Then we discovered that the subculture among the upperclassmen was unhealthy and alluring. The obvious hypocrisy of seeing the upperclassmen singing and going on mission trips and, yet, leading this hidden life was disillusioning.” (In the sessions they define this as an intentionally deceptive dual life, one that youth leaders and parents often have no idea is occurring, according to the students.) “Eventually we gave in to the subculture, resulting in guilt and a sense of being unacceptable to God.”

In these sessions high school students consistently said that they cannot share their failure with parents or youth leaders. Parents will punish them and they have seen such information leak into their youth ministries, resulting in significant social ramifications for students within the church.

Once participating in the subculture in their youth ministry, they find it hard to escape because it keeps pulling them down. They helplessly try to extract themselves from the situation by themselves, while being told they should be able to avoid sin. The level of defeat that results, leads many we have encountered to say that, they “never feel successful in their faith”. In our sessions we have asked the students to estimate the percentage of students from their own youth group that are leading this intentionally deceptive dual life. At Urbana, a national mission conference, high school seniors started their estimates at 75% and ranged to 95% as they reflected upon the students in their youth groups!

For the full article click HERE.

I admittedly do NOT have all of the answers, nor do I pretend to be an expert on youth ministry. I don't know it ALL - but I do know this when it comes to youth groups. It is broke. It needs to be fixed - not band aided, not dressed up, not called something different - it needs a complete over haul. We need to be honest about the failure of most youth ministries. We need to open our eyes to the ineffectiveness of a model that produces a 70% drop out rate. And we need to RE-THINK reaching and shaping young people as members of the body of Christ.

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 3 - Who Is The Church?

This is the third post in a series of posts related to Youth Groups (or the lack thereof) and New City Church. In the first post I attempted to demonstrate the fallacy of the notion that students need more time with their peers. In the second post I wanted to show that studies show there are numerous benefits to intergenerational learning and in the context of community intergenerational learning may actually be superior to peer group learning. In this post I want to pose the question: Who is the Church?

At what point does a believer become a member of the local body? I don't mean here member in the technical sense of "membership" or "partnership", but rather at what point does one become a part of the body. Are believing youth/students a part of the body of the church?

OR - Is there an age at which believing students become a part of the body?

Most people define the Church in two ways - the VISIBLE Church which is made up of all professing believers - those who say they are followers of Christ and are seen in their various assemblies (local bodies). The INVISIBLE church is made up of those who are truly believers. Jesus taught that there would be tares mixed with the wheat (unbelievers with believers) until judgment, when He will separate the two. In both, make up is determined by belief - either professing belief or true, genuine belief. If we apply that definition to New City Church, then we would say that NCCd is made up of believers... all believers... believers of all ages.

Youth Groups typically segregate congregations. There is the Youth Group and the adults. The Youth Group learns with the Youth Group, participates in fun activities with the Youth Group, takes mission trips with the Youth Group, hangs out with The Youth Group, travels with the Youth Group, and on and on and on.

If a group of believers is segregated from the rest of the body that is the church, both the group and the body suffer. In I Corinthians 12, Paul writes about spiritual gifts and explains that every member of the body is given a spiritual gift - (7) Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. Notice that last phrase - the gift, which is the manifestation of the Spirit's presence in a believers life is given for what? for the common good of the body. In Ephesians 4 Paul again talks about the functioning of the local body of believers where he writes, From Him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Every member in the body does its work and together the members build up the body in love.

Are youth/students members of the body or not?

If so, how or where do they contribute to the good of the whole body by being segregated into a youth group? Some may respond by saying that they use their gift for serving and building up the youth group, which in turn is good for the whole body. The problem with that is that segregation in the body really creates a church within a church. They may in fact work for the good of the youth group, but that is not the same as the common good of the whole body.

So, how and where can youth/students serve the New City Body as they are incorporated into the body? At least a couple of our youth/students play fairly regularly in our bands, some are aids to those teaching the younger kids on Sunday mornings, some help with set-up and tear-down every week, some help serve at the donut and coffee bar, some have helped watch the littlest ones during MC gatherings, a few have attended and participated in MC discussions and even more are regulars at MC fun nights, one of our young guys often helps with sound and has run our Sunday morning sound by himself more than once (and does a great job). Our MCs also are to have quarterly service projects throughout the city - those projects are to be set up so that nccders of all ages can serve the city. In short, at New City, we are structured through MCs so that youth/students can serve the body (the entire body), for the common good of the body anywhere they are gifted and able. Because we do not segregate the youth/students from the rest of the body, they can be genuine contributors to the whole body.

We believe that there will be other benefits as well. Such as:

Young people will see and learn life from parents and other adults

Young people will develop gospel-centered relationships with adults (young and old) that they can utilize for all areas of life (school, future employment, marriage, family...) for as long as they live,

Young people will grow up serving and contributing to the body

Because young people are a part of the whole body, they will be less likely to feel "lost" when they graduate from student ministry and therefore are more likely to continue as a part of the body as opposed to disappearing from church life until having children of his/her own (as an estimated 80-90% do)

Benefit Show Coming May 1 to the 567

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One - Part 2

In the first Post I really wanted to address the "NEED" kids felt and parents expressed for time with peers. The reality - there isn't a NEED - a want, yes - but not a need. Almost 40% of a Middle Schooler's waking/available life is spent with peers.

So we come to the second post, and a second often heard claim: "Youth learn better when they are in a peer group."

There are studies that suggest that this is an accurate and true statement... when it comes to lecture style teaching of specific subjects, like math or science. However, there are other studies that show there are TREMENDOUS benefits to all age groups in intergenerational learning as well. For example, this US Gov site lists the following benefits:
For the Community
• Strengthens Community: Intergenerational programs bring together diverse groups and networks and help to dispel inaccurate stereotypes. Sharing talents and resources help to create a unified group identity. Children, youth, and older adults are less alienated while the community recognizes that they are contributing members of society.
• Maximizes Human Resources: Intergenerational community service programs tend to multiply human resources by engaging older adults and youth as volunteers.
• Maximizes Financial Resources: When groups representing young and old approach local funders, those funders are more likely to respond positively because they can see broad-based community support. Intergenerational programs can save money and stretch scarce resources by sharing sites and/or resources.
• Expands Services: Intergenerational community service programs can expand the level of services to meet more needs and address more issues.
• Encourages Cultural Exchange: Intergenerational programs promote the transmission of cultural traditions and values from older to younger generations, helping to build a sense of personal and societal identity while encouraging tolerance.
• Inspires Collaboration: Intergenerational programs can unite community members to take action on public policy issues that address human needs across the generations.
For Youth and Children
• Enhances Social Skills: Interaction with older adults enhances communication skills, promotes self-esteem, develops problem-solving abilities, and fosters friendships across generations. Positive attitudes are developed regarding sense of purpose and community service. Additionally, youth involved in mentoring programs have been show to be almost one-third less likely to hit others.
• Improves Academic Performance: Intergenerational programs increase school attendance and performance. Students tutored by older adults made significantly greater gains in achievement test scores than other students.
• Decreases Drug Use: Youth involved in intergenerational mentoring programs are 46% less likely to report the initiation of drug use, and among minority youth that statistic increased to 70%.
• Increases Stability: Children and youth gain positive role models with whom they can interact on a regular basis. Older adult volunteers help to provide children and youth with consistency through mentoring and in child care facilities that average a 25-35% turnover rate.
For Older Adults
• Enhances Socialization: Older adults remain productive, useful, and contributing members of society. They increase interaction with children and youth and engage more with one another to prevent isolation in later years.
• Stimulates Learning: Older adults learn new innovations and technologies from their younger counterparts.
• Increases Emotional Support: Intergenerational programs afford older adults an opportunity to participate in a meaningful activity. This decreases loneliness, boredom, and depression while increasing self-esteem. Older volunteers report more enriched lives, a rejuvenated sense of purpose, and increased coping skills for their personal struggles.
• Improves Health: Helping contributes to the maintenance of good health, and can diminish the effect of psychological and physical diseases and disorders.

This site states the following as one of the lessons learned from their study- "Lesson 1 - The multidimensional policy and practice analysis of EAGLE demonstrates that the benefits of intergenerational learning are many, such as: uniting segregated generations and building better understanding; encouraging active citizenship and social participation, and encouraging cross-generational working."

So when it comes to math, English, Science, and History it may very well be true that peer group learning in a lecture setting is the best way for youth to learn. BUT studies indicate that when it comes to learning as it relates to community, health, and participation in community - the benefits of intergenerational learning exceed those of peer learning. And, since the Church is an interconnected, interdependent community – reason would seem to say that intergenerational learning seems to be the best route for all ages to participate in – it is a win/win/win – strengthening adults, youth, and children as well as fostering a greater sense of community and unity. Perhaps that is why God instructed the church through Paul in Titus 2 that older men should teach younger men about living the Christian life, and older women likewise were to teach the younger women about life issues. The entire context is not age segregated learning, but intergenerational learning within the community of the church.

So - do kids learn better in peer groups? In some things yes. In all things no.

A Culture of Youth Groups and A Church Without One

New City Church downtown doesn't have a Youth Group. We live in a culture that highly values church Youth Groups. Most people have never questioned church Youth Groups, they simply assume that these groups are good - are best for kids. After all, most churched people grew up with some kind of a youth group AND every 'real' church has one. In fact, not having a youth group is often interpreted as a sign that a church doesn't care about kids (and THAT's a bad sign).

I want to share some posts as I think and re-think the Youth Group questions. The thinking and re-thinking comes as we continue to have questions about NCCd not having a youth group and on the heels of one family leaving NCCd and another close to leaving over the same issue. I want to say up front that I believe we have freedom within Scripture to have a youth group or not, and that neither is RIGHT, and either can be WRONG. I also would like to remind everyone that all Youth group experiences are not the same - yours may have been great while others were horrible - or vice versa.

So, I will begin a series of posts with the numbers...

I have heard many times that youth "really enjoy an environment with their peers." "They need a time to be together with people their own age."

I cannot argue that kids need time with their peers.

I would not argue that kids enjoy hanging out with other kids their own age.

HOWEVER - I would ask, "How much time with peers is enough?"

Here are some conservative numbers on peer to peer interaction:

Hours in a day 24 x 7 = 168 p week

Hours of sleep 8 x 7 = 56 p week
Available Hours p/day 16 x 7 = 112 p week

School Hours: 8am – 3pm 7hrs x 5days = 35 or 31% of available hours

CONSERVATIVELY - A child in school spends roughly 1/3 of their waking hours with their peers

One study shows that the average middle school child spends another 5-6 hours per week in extracurricular activities such as sports, band, etc. These events are by and large peer related events and activities as well, pushing the percentage with peers to 36%.

If we also consider travel to and from school as well as time to ‘get ready’ (for school, activities, bed…) as UNAVAILABLE time – figuring VERY conservatively at just 1 hour per day would change the #s as follows:

56 Hours of sleep
7 hours of ‘getting ready’
105 Available hours

40 hours of school and extracurricular activities with peers

38% of the average Middle Schooler’s waking life is spent with his/her peers.

** Consider that # and this One - According to one source - in 2000 the average time PER WEEK that a married father spent caring for his children (time that they were his primary focus) 6.5 hours. (or 6% of the child’s 105 waking hours of availability)

S0, How much time with peers is ENOUGH?
Just "by the numbers" is time with peers a valid argument FOR a Youth Group? Or, Is it simply more time separated from parents and the diverse Gospel Community of the whole body?

Music @ New City

It seems that every week at nccd gets better and better as far as music goes (maybe the preaching will catch up one day!). Below is a low quality, short recording of a song that Josh Maloy (singing) wrote... he and all of our band crew are amazing... God amazes me.

Another Look at the New Space

Come Help out at the new 567!

This Saturday - April 3 - 8:30am-2:30pm

Tipping? Maybe. A Changing City

The Tipping Point: Small changes may have little effect until they build up to critical mass, then the next small change may suddenly change everything. this is the tipping point.

Typically no one knows when the tipping point is reached until the tip has occurred and I think it is far too early to say that we have tipped when it comes to downtown Macon. BUT we maybe tipping.

In the midst of the worst economy that our nation has seen in decades, there are exciting signs of growth and exciting new businesses in the works. I know - many would point out that other businesses are closing - like Macon Pizza, and that a couple of downtown businesses are teetering. This is true. But there are always businesses that open and close - who often should not have opened to begin with. Opening a new business is tough and more businesses fail in the first five years than succeed. Some of our downtown startups were destined for failure. You can't open a restaurant that serves mediocre food and provides terrible service and expect to survive. Neither can you open a store or shop that you like, but that doesn't really appeal to the market you are in and expect success.

So what makes these new businesses different? They are a good fit for the culture and context, and each is different.

> Cherry Street Cycles, for example will be the only downtown cycle shop (if Mercer is intown). We are in a culture that enjoys biking and in a city that can bike year around.

> The Rookery - I know the Rookery is not new - but it is! The Rookery has new owners. The new owners did a complete overhaul of the old building and it looks and SMELLS great. They strengthened the menu and added specialties that few places offer. They have also strengthened their service and the quality of the food served. And the old Rookery is completely new, and doing GREAT.

> The 567 is leaving a 1600 square foot facility capable of holding shows with around 100 in attendance and is moving to a 12,000 square foot facility capable of having standing room only shows for 600 or more. And the 567 makes that move as more and more it passes up potential big shows, and more and more packs out its small space. On top of that, the 567 will offer new business incubator space and more!

> The Iguana - I know it doesn't have the best reputation! The Iguana closed, but I hear a new venue will open in its place and serve as a weekend music venue. Some of you are saying - WAIT A MINUTE! Another music venue!?!? YES - thankfully so. The 567 will play a different style of music than the Iguana, or the Capitol Theater, or the Humming Bird. Each has the potential to reach a different audience. More diversity in music will mean more diversity in people coming to hear the music - and just MORE people!

> A New Brew Pub is also in the works. It will be located near the Rookery and the 567. The new pub would serve all the regular beers, plus some micro brews, AND It's Own Brew! So it won't be like any other bar downtown. A stand out, specialty pub - nice.

Add to these new businesses the young businesses now in place, like DolceVita, Killian's and it appears that we might just be tipping. I know it is too early to say - but i think it is happening, and it is happening in the hardest economy we've seen in quite a while.