Subscribe to the NetworkThe Program Problem
I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
My working definition of youth ministry “programs” has always simply been: The stuff you do.
It seems as if there is a fairly strong resistance to programs in many circles of youth ministry today. Yet, by my definition this means they are against doing stuff, which I know isn’t true.
So….is my working definition wrong?
Are youth pastors really against “doing stuff”?
If youth pastors aren’t against “doing stuff”, but they are against “programs”, what then are they doing, and what do they call it?
Is what they call it, just another word for “programs” or is it really something different, better, etc.?
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Programs are important as long as they help you minister to your youth better. There needs to be a purpose behind them. I have found programs to be great opportunities for you to have shared experiences with your youth so that you can develop stronger relationships with them and spur them on to Christ.
For me, I don’t find the word ‘programs’ offensive or evil. I think the word gets push back when it is viewed as an end in itself. i.e. A youth ministry’s purpose is the event and/or program itself. Or, at times, the ‘program’ begins to consume and rule you rather than it being one of many tools you use to reach youth with the hope of Jesus Christ. (Or you just continue running the same program without putting new thought into it….and it becomes the ministry….and it is just warm, milky toast – easy to digest but not satisfying.)
Our “programs” (and if it were up to me I would use the term ‘gathering points’ – that could be one-on-one up to a large gathering/event) should serve the underlying purpose God has for our ministries. So for me it is more a matter of focus, priority, and perspective on using any ‘program’ as one of the tools in your tool box in serving youth and creating environments and opportunities for them to experience the risen Christ.