I'm sure I'm not the only person who has this issue: What do you do when the young people ypou're dealing with are undoubtedly interested in faith and what it may mean to them, but have no interest in attending church because of the stlye of church service?
In Portlethen, we do have a monthly evening service lead by myself, Linda and some of the youth, but I'm not interested in creating a seperate "youth church". I want to encourage the church and the young people to connect with each other, but that barrier of stlye is in the way. I took some of the young people to Souled Out and they connected with the music so easily and willingly. Sure, they weren't keen on the speaker, but it was more to do with how long people were speaking for rather than what they were saying.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that Churches should change their style completly for yonug people, ut throw them a bone at least! How can we exect young people to connect with us if we don't make an effort to practice church, especially services, in a way that they can begin to relate too.....
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I think the first issue is 'what is church?'. Singing, speakers and prayers aren't the only way to do it. Have a look around at what people are doing with new models of church that engage people and all their senses, that allow space for quiet and discussion and that aren't all about the 'worship' leader.
The second would be 'what's wrong with youth church?'. Is there any real reason why young people can't be in 'church' without adults? It seems to me that older people are quite happy to have a version of church that suits them so why not have one for young people?
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