Chapter Two: The Past History of Student Culture and Ministry
What is our past and how did we get here?
Section Headings: The History of Student Culture (Modernism/Postmodernism) p. 26
The History of Student Ministry (The Three Cycles) p. 33
Learning Outcomes: In this chapter the student will...Look back over the previous 150 years of Western Culture in order
to better understand how the past has affected the present condition of today’s student culture.
Look back to see what God was doing during these times in raising up leaders to reach children and youth for Jesus Christ
as seen in three distinct time periods.
The History of Student Culture
Defining Key Terms: Adolescence
Dictionary.com: The transitional period between and in human development, extending mainly over the teen years
and terminating legally when the age of majority is reached; youth.
The process or state of growing to maturity.
Britannica.com: Transitional phase of growth and development between childhood and adulthood. In many societies’
adolescence is narrowly equated with puberty and the cycle of physical changes culminating in reproductive maturity.
WordNet: The time period between the beginning of puberty and adulthood.
In the state that someone is in between puberty and adulthood.
A period or stage of, as of a society, preceding maturity.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary
The period of __________and __________ development from puberty to the onset of adulthood.
Some Important Preliminaries!
Where and when did this word originate? "The adolescent grows up to become the adult. The words adolescent and
adult ultimately come from forms of the same Latin word, adolēscere, meaning "to grow up." The present participle of
adolēscere, adolēscēns, from which adolescent derives, means "growing up," while the past participle adultus, the
source of adult, means "grown up." Appropriately enough, adolescent, first recorded in English in a work written
perhaps in 1440, seems to have come into the language before adult, first recorded in a work published in 1531.”[11]
Defining Key Terms: Teenager--WHERE AND WHEN DID THE TERM "TEENAGER" FIRST COME INTO CULTURE?
. Adolescence refers to development. However, the term teenager showed up in 1894. If first appears “teen” in 1921.
“teenager” began in 1941. Teenager refers to the identify a specific group. With the advent of the majority of youth now
attending high school, the subsequent baby boom (22 million babies were born between 1946-51), and a nation
becoming prosperous, a new culture was born.
Will this course spend much time on the various aspects of the development of the adolescent?
No. this course will focus on ministering to the adolescent instead of defining the adolescent.
Why should we study the history of our culture?
“...MEN OF ISSACHAR, WHO UNDERSTOOD THE TIMES AND KNEW WHAT ISRAEL SHOULD DO."(1 CHRONICLES 12:32)
Obviously one would recognize that the world an adolescent grows up in will have a tremendous influence on which that
person will become. It is imperative to study the history of our western culture so we can better understand where we
have been, who we are, why we are this way, where we are going, and what should we do.
Starting With Modernism (1890-1945)
While there can be no objective definition to a movement and/or to the movement’s timetable, the following is a
simplistic description of what is commonly understood as the Modernistic movement. According to www.answers.com
many of the given definitions center on the arts. modernism has much more to do with a world view than just a style of
architecture, literature, or art. The following definitions are:[12]
Modernism
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that supports change, the retirement of the old or traditional, and the forward march of the avant-gard
specifically, adherence to the ideas and ideals of the Enlightenment. This is the sense that gives rise to the contrary
movement of postmodernism.”
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: “...In an era characterized by industrialization, rapid social change, advances in science
and the social sciences (e.g., Darwinism, Freudian theory), Modernists felt a growing alienation incompatible with
Victorian morality, optimism, and convention. The Modernist impulse is fueled in various literatures by industrialization
and urbanization, by the search for an authentic response to a much-changed world. ”
Wikipedia: “Modernism describes a series of reforming cultural movements in art and architecture, music, literature and
the applied arts which emerged in the three decades before 1914. The term covers many political, cultural and artistic
movements rooted in the changes in Western society at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth
century. It is a trend of thought that affirms the power of human beings to create, improve, and reshape their
environment, with the aid of scientific knowledge, technology and practical experimentation. Modernism encouraged
the re-examination of every aspect of existence, from commerce to philosophy, with the goal of finding that which was
'holding back' progress, and replacing it with new, progressive and therefore better, ways of reaching the same end.”
Columbia Encyclopedia: “In religion, a general movement in the late 19th and 20th century that tried to reconcile
historical Christianity with the findings of modern science and philosophy. Modernism arose mainly from the application
of modern critical methods to the study of the Bible and the history of dogma and resulted in less emphasis on historic
dogma and creeds and in greater stress on the humanistic aspects of religion. Importance was placed upon the
immanent rather than the transcendent nature of God.”
What Were the Contributing Movements During the Beginning of Modernism? (1890-1945)
Naturalism (Charles Darwin) “Animals, whom we have made our slaves, we do not like to consider our equal”
“To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for
admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been
formed by natural selection, seem I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.”
Humanism (Bertrand Russell) Replacement of God (man is god) “Religion is something left over from the infancy of
our
intelligence, it will fade away as we adopt reason and science as our guidelines”
“ There is something feeble and a little contemptible about a man who cannot face the perils of life without the help
of comfortable myths”
Socialism (Karl Marx) “Religionis the impotence of the human mind to deal with occurrences it cannot understand”
“From each, according to his ability; to each, according to his need” “Democracy is the road to socialism”
Rationalism///Empiricism (John Dewey) take Christian education out and do atheist education instead ‘There is
nothing left worth preserving in the notions of unseen power, controlling human destiny, to which obedience and
worship are due”
“It (modern philosophy) certainly exacts a surrender of all supernaturalism and fixed dogma and rigid institutionalism
with which Christianity has been historically associated”
Psychology (Sigmund Freud) father of modern of psychology-against Judeo-Christian worldview “America is a mistake,
a giant mistake”
“Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires”
Philosophy (Fredric Nietzsche) “I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time”
“After coming into contact with a religious man I always feel I must wash my hands” “ Is man one of God’s blunders?
Or is God one of man’s blunders?”
TWO THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND 1. ALL OF THEM HARD CORE ATHIEST. 2. ALL OF THEM VERY ANTI-CHRISTIAN
How Did Modernism Affect? HOW WERE ALL THESE LOOK AT BEFORE MODERNISM AND AFTER?
SCIENCE, GOVERNMENT, RELIGION, EDUCATION, INDUSTRY, FAMILY
Moving Into Postmodernism (1945-???)
According to www.answers.com many of the given definitions center on the reaction of modernism. Using the previous
resources quoted, the following definitions are:[13]
Philosophy Dictionary: “It is usually seen as a reaction against a naive and earnest confidence in progress, and against
confidence in objective or scientific truth. In philosophy, therefore, it implies a mistrust of the grands recites of
modernity: the large-scale justifications of western society and confidence in its progress visible in Kant, Hegel, or Marx,
or arising from utopian visions of perfection achieved through evolution, social improvement, education, or the
deployment of science. In its post-structuralist aspects it includes a denial of any fixed meaning, or any correspondence
between language and the world, or any fixed reality or truth or fact to be the object of enquiry.”
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: “Any of several artistic movements since about the 1960s that have challenged the
philosophy and practices of modern arts or literature...Postmodernism has also led to a proliferation of critical theories,
most notably deconstruction and its offshoots, and the breaking down of the distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low’
culture.”
Wikipedia: “Postmodernism is a term applied to a wide-ranging set of developments in critical theory, philosophy,
architecture, art, literature, and culture, which are generally characterized as either emerging from, in reaction to, or
superseding, modernism. Postmodernism...was originally a reaction to modernism (not necessarily "post" in the purely
temporal sense of "after"). Largely influenced by the disillusionment induced by the Second World War, postmodernism
tends to refer to a cultural, intellectual, or artistic state lacking a clear central hierarchy or organizing principle and
embodying extreme complexity, contradiction, ambiguity, diversity, and interconnectedness or interreferentiality.”
Columbia Encyclopedia: “...term used to designate a multitude of trends—in the arts, philosophy, religion, technology,
and many other areas—that come after and deviate from the many 20th-century movements that constituted
modernism. The term has become ubiquitous in contemporary discourse and has been employed as a catchall for various
aspects of society, theory, and art. Widely debated with regard to its meaning and implications, postmodernism has also
been said to relate to the culture of capitalism as it has developed since the 1960s It tends to concentrate on surfaces
rather than depths, to blur the distinctions between high and low culture, and as a whole to challenge a wide variety of
traditional cultural values.”
I wanted to provide you definitions that are secular in background and nature. The following are definitions of both
Modernism and Postmodernism as given from Summit Ministries.[14]
Modernism: “A broad and somewhat ambiguous term used to embrace a diverse range of arts, attitudes, philosophies,
and cultural moods which emerged following the 18th century Enlightenment. Epistemologically it is characterized by a
strong belief in rationalism and science as a well as a strong skepticism in both the supernatural and the authority of
religion.”
Postmodernism: “A broad and somewhat ambiguous term used to describe a philosophical and cultural reaction to the
convictions of Modernism (which is sometimes equated with Humanism). Postmodernism is the philosophical proposal
that reality is ultimately inaccessible by human investigation, that knowledge is a social construction, that truth-claims
are political power plays, and that the meaning of words is to be determined by readers not authors. In brief, reality is
what individuals or social groups make it to be.”
While the previous definitions provide an “academic” description, they can appear somewhat wordy and potentially
confusing to the reader. In his book, Beyond Belief to Convictions, Josh McDowell provides some simplistic descriptions
of postmodernism:[15]
TRUTH does not exist in any OBJECTIVE sense.
Instead of “DISCOVERING truth in a “metanarrative” — which is a STORY (such as the Bible) or ideology (such as
Marxism) that presents a UNIFIED way of looking at philosophy, religion, art, and science—postmodernism rejects any
overarching explanation of what constitutes TRUTH AND REALITY
and Truth—whether in science, education, or religion—is created by a specific CULTURE OR COMMUNITY and is “true”
ONLY in and for that culture. Individual persons are the PRODUCT of their cultures. That is, we are not essentially unique
individuals created in the image of God; our IDENTITIES are defined by our culture
All thinking is a SOCIAL CONSTRUCT In other words, what you and I regard as “truths” are simply arbitrary “beliefs we
have been conditioned to accept by our society, just as others have been conditioned to accept a completely different set
of beliefs.” Any SYSTEM or STATEMENT that claims to be OBJECTIVELY true or unfavorably judges the values, beliefs,
lifestyle, and truth claims of another culture is a POWER play, an effort by one culture to DOMINATE
other cultures. To bring these together, previous to Modernism (I will call premodernism) our nation had a SPIRITUAL
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Truth (Values)
Relationships
Marriage LIFELONG DIVORSE COHABITATEWHY?
Family TRADITIONAL TRADITIONAL/BLENDED BLENDEDDEFINITION?
Work COMPANY/LOYALTY TRANSIT ENTREPRENUER/TECH TECH/ENTRY WHAT JOB
Finances DON’T TRUST TRUST SPEND/CREDIT DEBT
Government TRUST DON’T TRUSTTWO WORLD VIEWSANSWER DON’T TRUST
Authority
Let’s put the history lesson into practical sense, keeping in mind our nation still has a combined attitude of modernism
AND postmodernism, especially in education. Enter the fictitious “Lost Larry.” Larry is your basic 16 year old sophomore
at Central High School. Let’s take Larry through ... a day in Central High School. (In the blanks, write your own notes,
considering the content of the topic, what is the world view being taught, and is the subject more modern or
postmodern in content.)
First Period Literature Second Period Biology Third Period HistorY LUNCH!!!(Then consider the potential social drama
of the lunch tables) Fourth PeriodPsychology (__________ Fifth Period Algebra (__________ Sixth Period Health
(__________
Questions to Consider: Now that you have briefly walked through almost 150 years of western history, does the past help
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you see why our culture is where it is at today? __________
Modernism followed with the REMOVAL of God yet still having a SOURCE of “objective” truth, typically to be found in
rational arenas such as SCIENCE(-RATIONALISM) This new period was to bring in an era of utopia.
After two world wars and a global ECONOMIC DEPRESSION, utopia never came. Postmodernism was birthed in much
DISILLUSIONMENT Since God was already REMOVED and modernism did not WORK what is left? Combine this with new
ECONOMIC prosperity, no source of universal objective truth, a lack of moral ABSOLUTES , and the importance of the
INDIVIDUAL This is where our culture is today.
HISTORY OF STUDENT CULTURE
Premodernism: God, family structure, standard of truth being JUDEO-CHRISTIAN values.
Modernism: No God. family structure, standard of truth being RATIONALISM
Postmodernism: Maybe god (which god?), fractured family (what is a family?), standard of truth is SELF and CULTURE
(what is truth?).
So how does this information relate to the header “The History of Student Culture”? I would argue that the younger
generation was mostly affected by the change in world views over the previous 150 years. Some answers are provided in
the PowerPoint and some are not. The answers are to get you started and then you can provide your own ideas to the
blank spaces.
Topics Builders (1920’s-1945) Boomers (1946-1964) Busters (1965-1983)Bridgers (1984-2002)
God REVERE (JUDEO-CHRISTIAN RESPECT REEVALUATEREDIFINE
Church DENOMINATIONAL LOYALTY NONDENOM/ORGANIZED EXPERIENTIAL/RELATIONAL VERY REACTIONA
https://www.coursehero.com/file/77958785/Chapter-Two-The-Past-History-of-Student-Culture-and-Ministrydocx/
What do you think are the implications and effects of Modernism and Postmodernism upon the youth which have been
affected by this world view?
How do you think today’s students view:
God __________ Jesus Christ __________ Salvation __________The Bible __________ Church __________ Christians
__________ People __________
LIfe __________ Property __________
The History of Student Ministry
Much of the material in this section is taken from the book The Coming Revolution in Youth Ministry by Dr. Mark
Senter
III. This is the best work I have read on the history of evangelical youth and children’s ministry. Sadly, the book is out of
print (or you would be purchasing it for this course!).
What are the Three Cycles? Dr. Senter argues that God many times works in waves, or seasons, of time. This principle is
seen in both the Old Testament (i.e. Judges) and the New Testament. As Dr. Senter began doing the research of the
history of evangelical youth ministry in the United States, he began to see such a pattern as well. He noticed there were
three distinct periods of youth ministry, all around seventy years long. He also recognizes six key ingredients to each of
the periods, or cycles. They are:[16]
The cycle started amid a period of RAPID social change.
GRASSROOTS youth ministries started under the hand of the Holy Spirit.
An acknowledged _LEADER emerged in the form of a nationally recognized youth MINISTRY ORGANIZATION
Imitators began using the essential strategy WITHOUT the well-focused purpose. There was a period of STAGNATION
An event OUTSIDE of youth ministry changed the ENVIRONMENT and set the stage for the next cycle.
Questions About Youth Movements
Why Youth Movements Began? Secularization
When Youth Movements Began? Time of Social Unrest
With Whom Youth Movements Began? The Middle Class
(The following material is predominantly from Dr. Senter’s book The Coming Revolution in Youth Ministry. The italics are
my abridged comments. In addition, I have also added some extra material.This is identified with a *.)
The First Cycle (1824-1875)
Rapid Social Change
Social DISLOCATON (Westward expansion of the United States.)
Grassroot Movements Young Men TEMPERANCE Societies (1830’s and 40’s) - to keep the “good” youth from drinking
and negative behavior
Schools - designed to provide young people a place apart from adults where they could meet together; the beginning of
“youth choirs”.
Young People’s MISSIONARY Societies - mostly college students’; raise money, missionary awareness, and prayer.
Local Church YOUTH Societies (1840’s and 50’s) - most were coeducational; Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Brethren in
Christ.
Leader/Ministry Organization(1780) – Started in England by Robert Raikes; goal was to teach working children to read
and behave properly using the Bible as textbook. By 1785 moved to Virginia and by 1790 was in Boston, New York,
Philadelphia. American Sunday School Union started with goal of establishing SS’s across the growing western region;
more evangelistic and discipleship; thousands established; ticket reward system for Bible memory.
(YMCA) Young MEN’S Christian Association (1851) and Young _WOMEN’S Christian Association (1858) - Started in
England and moved to Boston; “inner city” ministries designed to help Christian youth who had moved to the cities for
jobs; provide place to stay and have Bible studies, prayer meetings, teach character, and be trained as SS teachers; also
encouraged young people to bring in lost peers; local churches were involved. William Langdon was the prime leader to
bring about a national movement.
Period of Stagnation
Sunday Schools found it very difficult to provide LEADERSHIP and SUPERVISION of the thousands of schools that were
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Outside Event: The birth of the _PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL (1875).
EVERY PUBLIC AREA (COUNTY) (DISTRICT) HAD TO PROVIDE A PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOL COMBINED W/ MODERNISM
CHANGED FROM BIBLE TEACHING TO A HUMANISTIC WAY OF LOOKING AT STUDIES
(THE YOUTH MINISTRIES ALMOST ENDED UP COLLAPSING)
The Second Cycle (1881-1925)
Rapid Social Change Social _URBANIZATION (Cities rapidly grew; INDUSTRIAL Revolution; 25 million European
immigrants, mostly to cities.)
Grassroot Movements CONTINUATION of Sunday Schools and YMCA/YWCA. Christian church was FRAGMENTING_ over
fundamental DOCTRINE and traditional Christian LIFESTYLE Some DENOMINATIONAL Youth Societies.
Leader/Ministry Organization
Started in 1881 by Pastor Francis E. Clark.
He combined the YMCA concept and the “class meeting” of the Methodists to create his ministry.
SCE was based on accountability of weekly attendance and monthly reporting of one’s Christian endeavor. Clark began
publishing articles on how to get a SCE started. Within 14 years of the birth, there were 56,435 delegates at the annual
convention. (EVANGELISM)
Youth Societies
Many denominations took the SCE program and modified it.
Epworth League (Methodists) - 1889; Baptist Young People’s Union - 1891; Westminster League (Presbyterian General
Assembly) - 1891; Walther League (Missouri Synod Lutheran) - 1891; Young People’s Christian Union (United Brethren) -
1894; among others.
The Epworth meetings would consist of Sunday night meetings which had a missionary/ministry emphasis and monthly
Saturday “sociable.” Many of these youth societies developed summer conferences, raised money for missions,
developed four year (high school) curriculum, and leadership development.
Imitators Without Well-Focused Purpose
Birth of WHOLESOME but non-_CHURCH youth agencies (Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Campfire Girls, 4-H Clubs, Boys Clubs).
Period of Stagnation
Youth Society programs became GENERIC Breakdown of connection between denominational PROFFESIONALS_
and the local church youth society.
Outside Event
The SCOPES MONDY TRIAL (WILLIAM BRYAN THE LAWYER WHO DEFENDED CHRISTIANITY)
Monkey Trial (July 1925). (In reality, this event was the culmination of two colliding world views: the Premodernism
[Judeo-Christian] and the Modernism [rationalism]. Secular education [John Dewey, Modernism], especially in regards
to
evolution became the religion of the day.)*
The Third Cycle (1935-1987)
Rapid Social Change: Social TRANSITION
(Great Depression and World War II; Secularization of Education; War created a “crusade” feel.)
Grassroot Movements
First “YOUTH Pastor” (1932) (Lloyd T. Bryant was first full-time minister to youth at Calvary Baptist Church, Manhattan.
His emphasis was “Training through Participation”).
YOUTH CENTERS_(1930’s) (Lloyd Bryant; 40 in NYC area; started Association of Christian Youth Movement of America;
emphasized weekly evangelistic rallies.)
Live RADIO Broadcasts (1930’s-40’s) (Percy Crawford; Jack Wyrtzen).
City-wide YOUTH RALLIES (1930’s-50’s) Phrase “YOUTH FOR CHRISTR” was being used.
Percy CRAWFORD_ Jack _WYRTZEN_ evangelist crusades called “_WORD of _LIFE ” rallies.
Jim _RAYBURN_ and YOUNG LIFE Campaign rallies. Torrey JOHNSON, Billy GRAHAM
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02-24-2024 06:56:58 GMT -06:00
FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN ATHLETES 1954/66 (DON MCCLANAHAN; ATHLETES MOSTLY OUTREACH)
MIRACLE Book Club - 1933 (Evelyn McClusky; Bible study) (MAINLY CHRISTIAN)
YOUNG Life FOR CHRIST- 1941 (Jim Rayburn; non-denom., non church, mostly outreach) YOUTH for CHRIST - 1947
(Jack Hamilton; Christian growth to point unsaved students to weekend rallies)
FELLOWSHIP of __CHRISTIAN ATHLETES - 1954/66 (Don McClanahan; athletes; mostly outreach)
STUDENT VENTURE- 1966 (Bill Bright; similar to YL and YFC)
LOCAL CHURCH CLUBS (1930’s - 80's) Christian SERVICES Brigade/ PIONEER Girls - 1930’s AWANA- 1950_WORD of
_LIFE- 1950’s LICAL CHURCH GROUPS (1960’s)*
Ministry Resources and Training (1960’s - 70’s)
Youth SPECIALTIES 1967 (Wayne Rice & Mike Yaconelli) GROUP - 1974 (Thom Schultz) SONLIFE- 1979 (Dann Spader)
Christian _COLLEGES/ _UNIVERSITIES* Professional _YOUTH WORKERS_(1980’s) _PARACHURCH Ministries Youth
_PASTORS
MEGA CHRURCH GROUPS (1980’s)*
Willowcreek Community Church o Saddleback Community Church
MISCELLANEOUS CONTRIBUTORS (1970-80’s)* The visible expansion of:
The Christian MUSIC industry-- Large youth CONFERENCES/ CONVENTIONS-- Christian CAMPING
Leader/Ministry Organization (my opinion)
YOUTH FOR CHRIST AND YOUNG LIFE
Rallies began to stagnate and emphasis went to the Campus Clubs
Campus Life philosophy began in 1962. Emphasized peer evangelism. Started the “2 plus 2” (Impact/lnsight)
Both of these two greatly contributed to the local church. Most “youth groups” became program IMITATIONS_of the
clubs. Youth SPECIALISTS
Imitators Without Well-Focused Purpose
Period of Stagnation The rallies came and went. The campus clubs stopped growing.
Outside Event: The Televangelist Scandals. (This affected [or even affirmed] the culture’s perspective on the validity of
churches. Christians (and ministries) were no longer to be trusted; instead, were seen with automatic suspicion.)*
Questions to Consider:
Now that you have briefly walked through almost 150 years of church youth ministry history, does the past help you see
why our church culture is where it is at today?
Do you see where our “family” history has been a contributing factor into where we are today in the church?
Think about this...
“What About the Last Six Decades of Local Church Student Ministry?" Where Are We Since “Hammer Time” (1990)?
Dr. Senter’s book was published in 1992. The following are my thoughts on what took place in the evangelical youth
movement during the 1990’s and I think Stanley Burrell would most assuredly say you can definitely, well, you know...
1. The rise of PROFESSIONAL student ministry (student ministry began to “grow up”).
2.The rise of ORGANIZED student ministry (programs, ministries, events, etc.)
3. The rise of student PARTICIPATION (student missions and ministry emphasis).
4. The rise of student EXPRESSION (SYATP, True Love Waits, student led campus clubs).
5. The rise of student _EVANGELISM (events, personal).
Yet during this time it seemed like the students would come and “watch” the program. The emphasis seemed to be on
organization, big & large events and student observation. If you were involve in church ministry during this era, what are
your thoughts in this regard?
Please allow me to share some of my own story. The Lord was so gracious in allowing me to be born into a family where
both my father and mother had given their lives to Christ in their early teen years and were mature in their faith. They
also knew God had called them both into ministry. They both were extremely involved in their local churches and were
involved in Christian camping during their teenage years. Both of their mothers taught children and youth in their own
churches. While my dad’s father was attending church at that point in his life, my mom’s father was strongly involved in
teaching Sunday School classes as well being involved with Christian Endeavor.
Even before they met both of my parents had approached their senior pastors about starting “youth groups” in their
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this in their own church. When they did meet and wanted to date, the only place my mom’s father would let my dad
take his daughter was to the YFC rallies in Binghamton, NY. Ah, let’s hear it for the late 1950’s.
So when I showed up in 1963, I was born into this ministry minded godly home. My dad was in seminary finishing his
graduate program while mom had just finished her undergraduate degree in Christian Education (today’s youth ministry
degree). They were leading the youth group at their church as they were preparing for the overseas mission work of
church planting. I was born into youth ministry. It is out of many conversations with my own parents, personal
investigating, as well as active in ministry through three of these stages that I began to see the following stages:
1950’s - _STUDENT LED
(Students started their own church groups as they were modeled after parachurch rallies. Many were still participating
in
the parachurch as their “big picture” place of connection and direction.)
1960’s – ADULT SPONSOR Led
(Adults began to volunteer to take the leadership of the “Sunday night youth group.” Possibly many of these leaders
were
the actual students a decade prior.)
1970’s - Youth YOUTH DIRECTOR Led
(Things became more organized and began to take on the Youth Specialties feel. Many churches were utilizing young
Christian college and seminar students who were preparing for “real pastoral” ministry in this role as leader. Stepping
stone mentality.)
1980’s - Youth _YOUTH PASTOR Led
(Churches were now hiring professional staff persons as pastors to students. The ministries were becoming more
organized and more separate from the adult body.)
1990’s - Youth _YOUTH PASTOR Led/ _TEAM Oriented
(As ministries became more organized, the youth pastors added adult volunteers and interns to the team. Students
became somewhat involved in the ministry.)
2000’s - Youth _PASTOR Led/Team Oriented/ _STUDENT Involvement
(With the continuation of the organization, students became much more involved in the organizing, implementing, and
leadership. A greater movement toward relational ministry and emphasis on small groups/home groups.)
Yet I suggest that current student ministry is in a real Identify Crisis!\
CHAPTER REVIEW:
The era of premoderism, modernism and postmodernism has had an effect on our culture.
The history of youth work in this nation is extensive and is seen in three eras of ministry.
What took place in the culture will affect the church.
The question is now where do we go from here.
What are some areas that you learned, stirred your thinking, or are something that is a “takeaway”? __________
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