Over the last few months, I have suggested that we need to rethink a dynamic that is focused on being ‘top-down’, so focused on teaching the Bible that we may have lost sight of the needs and views of the young people.
This shows itself in what we think our role as adults should be. This could also be understood by considering whether we are ministering ‘to’ the young people, or whether we are ministering ‘for’ them or ‘with’ them. Each will suggest radically different approaches.
In this article I want to consider what the environment of our youth ministry says about what is important to us. This is an aspect that we often do not consider; we imagine, ‘so long as I’m opening the Bible with the young people, everything is good.’ When we consider the environment, it is probably only to prevent distractions so that they can listen. Yet the environment speaks loudly and affects critically the ministry which is occurring.
Recently, Youthscape did some fascinating research where they discussed the Bible with non-Christian teenagers in two locations: a school and an open youth club. In the school the young people interpreted Scripture with a moralistic frame, whereas in the open youth club they engaged with the passages far more freely. How do our rooms shape the interpretation of the passage by our young people? Does it suggest that ‘correct’ answers are the only important ones?
Let me give some more examples: if we are teaching on lust and there are pictures of scantily clad people around the room (unlikely perhaps), it will work against the message we are teaching. What does our room communicate? Does it communicate that our young people are important and loved by God, or consigned to the damp basement? Does it communicate that Bible facts are the most valuable thing? Is it ‘their space’ that they can shape themselves?
How about how everyone is positioned? If they are sat and you, as the adult, are standing, what does that communicate about you? If everyone is in a circle with no-one at the head, what does that tell them about whether they are welcome to speak? David I Smith talks about a ‘power spot’ that the adult/teacher retreats to when feeling threatened, usually behind a lectern or a desk.
These are not straightforward questions to answer and there are no rights or wrongs, but it may be that stopping as a team and talking together might open some avenues for change. It may be worth asking the teenagers what they think of the space and whether there are any reasonable changes that could be made.
