Youth Ministry UpdateSynod Assembly 2011

YOU are ENTRUSTED with these responsibilities:

• Live with them among God’s faithful people• Bring them to the word of God and the holy

supper• Teach them the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and

the Ten Commandments• Place in their hands the holy scriptures• Nurture them in faith and prayer

SO THAT:

• Your children may learn to trust God• Proclaim Christ through word and deed• Care for others and the world God

made• Work for justice and peace.

S IMPLE

YOU are ENTRUSTED with these responsibilities:

• Be Mentors (Live with them among God’s faithful people)

• Go To Worship (Bring them to the word of God and the holy supper)

• Teach the Essentials (Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Commandments)

• Read the Bible (Place in their hands the holy scriptures)

• Pray (Nurture them in faith and prayer)

S IMPLE

Young People Believe in God.

But does faith make a difference in their lives? Or is their faith like an old pair of…

Vs.

The Sock Theory

Gym Class = Confirmation?Sunday School?Youth Group?Worship?

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

• God passively watches from a distance.• God wants people to be good, nice and fair.• Purpose of life is to be happy.• God is the cosmic genie…stays in his bottle

until you need a wish granted.• If you’re good, you go to heaven.

Is this life?

Is this what we believe?

It starts with YOU…

• Be Mentors (yes, you may actually have to share your own faith story…)

• Go to Worship (Hmmm…says nothing about dropping the kids off for Sunday school and heading to Starbucks)

• Teach the essentials (umm…how does the Lord’s Prayer start again?)

• Read the Bible (if necessary, blow off dust)• Pray (this helps with steps 1-4…I promise)

A Watered Down Belief…

… we are doing an exceedingly good job of teaching youth what we really believe: namely, that Christianity is not a big deal, that God requires little, and that church is a helpful social institution filled with nice people focused on themselves…

Ouch.

But there is hope.

And it begins with YOU…

Practice Discipleship

• Youth Ministry training – for ALL adult leaders

• Face-to-Face trainings• Webinars• God Talk, Cross Training, Workshops

FREE! FOR EVERYONE!

2012 Synod Journey to the ELCA Youth Gathering

Consequential Faith

This is your missionThis is your calling.For the sake of our young people.

…will you accept?