Youth Ministry

HESTORFFYM

2K: YOUTH MINISTRY FOR THE M

ILLENNIAL GENERATION

As we in youth ministry struggle to find a wayto care for kids and families in a culture out ofcontrol, Sam Hestorff has given us a timelygift. YM2K is a great book – clear, real, to-the-point, and theologically solid.

—CHAP CLARK

Associate Professor of Youth, Family, and Culture

Fuller Theological Seminary

Sam Hestorff has put together an excellentresource helping us rethink youth ministry tothis unique generation of students.Statisticians tell us that this generation ofteenagers is the largest in US history since theBaby Boomers, some sixty million strong—and they think and act like no generationbefore them. YM2K can give your ministry,your leadership team and your parents practi-cal tools to minister to this age group.

—DAVID BURROUGHS

President, Passport, Inc.

Sam Hestorff (D.min., Fuller Theological Seminary) has been involved in youth ministry for sixteen years inboth full- and part-time capacities. He is the president of rethink ministry (www.rethinkministry.com) andhas served as the Minister to Students at Bayshore Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida, for the past eleven years.

They are called the millennial generation, and as this generation enters our youthprograms, youth leaders are finding themselves caught in the place where modernchurch programs collide with postmodern needs. Tensions exist between the needs

of students and parents and the expectation of the church. Ideally, effective youth ministrieswill find ways to bridge the gap between the worlds through dialogue, education, andcommunication. However, society and religion have burned many of those bridges with themillennial generation, so how do churches shift to meet the demands of this new paradigmin youth ministry?

YM2K: Youth Ministry for the Millennial Generation by noted youth minister and conferenceleader Sam Hestorff flows from a deep passion for youth ministry and a sense that in orderto be significant to a postmodern generation of students, youth ministry has to be rethoughtand refocused. Through this honest and earnest discussion of the need for change to tradi-tional youth ministries, you will find freedom and a renewed sense of creativity to bring themessage of Jesus Christ to this unique and wonderful generation of teens.

Introduction

They are called the millennial generation, born roughly between the years1982 to 2000, and it seems that every expert has an opinion as to who theyare and what defines them. The media portrays them as a lost generation,more interested in shooting each other than learning how to make the worlda better place. Religious rally speakers talk about a next Great Awakeningemerging from this generation. Just when you think that you know who theyare, you meet another one who is completely different. They are as unique asthe sand pebbles on a beach. Some are clean-cut, others have tattoos andpiercings, some are seeking a deeper spiritual meaning to life, and still otherslive lifestyles that would seem outrageous. William Damon, a psychologist atStanford University, tells us that “today’s teens may have less in commonwith each other than those in generations past.”1 However, despite all oftheir differences, some common identifiable trends are emerging fromwithin this adolescent culture.

As the first fully postmodern generation is entering our youth programs,youth leaders are finding themselves in a place where modern churchprograms and postmodern needs collide. Tension exists between the needs ofthe students and parents and the expectations of the church. Ideally, effectiveyouth ministries will find ways to bridge the gap between the worlds throughdialogue, education, and communication. However, society and religionhave burned many of those bridges with adolescents, causing the task ofyouth ministry to shift. No longer do kids respond to the call of the churchfor its people to gather. Like the shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to findthe one, the task of youth ministry is to take the risk of entering into whatChap Clark describes as the “world beneath,” a place where our kids havebeen left alone in search of an identity.2

The following pages will identify these generational trends and explainhow they are affecting youth ministry. It will offer practical suggestions toaddress the very specific needs of this postmodern generation of teens.Admittedly, some of these trends will seem extreme and will not fit the bio ofyour youth ministry. However, the purpose of this book is not to label ageneration but to help youth leaders begin the process of understanding theculture in which they have been called.

Perhaps you are asking, “What makes this guy the expert?” I couldattempt to impress you with credentials and references, but the reality is thatthese things are not what makes one an expert. I could brag about years inministry and youth group size, but that would not paint the true picture ofwho I am. I, like you, am on a journey wrapped up in the call of God, ajourney that we have termed “youth ministry.” I have done great thingsalong the way but have also failed miserably. Most of my students couldquickly share stories about how I let them down or how a program just didnot work out.

This book simply flows from a deep passion for youth ministry and asense that in order to be significant to a postmodern generation of students,we have to rethink youth ministry. It is my hope that through the pages ofthis book and the stories of my journey with adolescents you will findfreedom and a renewed sense of creativity to bring the message of JesusChrist to this unique and wonderful generation of teens.

NOTE1 William Damon as quoted by Sharon Begley, “A World of Their Own,” Newsweek,

May 8, 2000, 52.2 Chap Clark, Hurt (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2004), 54.

viii YM2K: YOUTH MINISTRY FOR THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION

CHAPTER ONE

All AloneYoung people are often left to find their own way to adulthood.

—DAVID ELKIND, TIES THAT STRESS

Adolescents are not a tribe apart because they left us, as most peopleassume. We left them.

—PATRICIA HERSCH, A TRIBE APART

Contemporary American parents delegate many of their obligations tosuch institutions as high school, and they abdicate much of their influ-ence to their children’s peers and the culture at large.

—THOMAS HINE, THE RISE AND FALL OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGE

In a couple of years, I am going to turn my children over to you to shapeand mold them.

—DAVID NASSOR, ADDRESSING YOUTH LEADERS AT THE

NATIONAL YOUTH WORKERS CONVENTION 2005

“I don’t understand why I feel so alone.” These haunting words were spokenby a fifteen-year-old student who seemingly had everything going for her.She was president of a school service club, deeply involved in two sports, anactive member of youth group. She had a lot of friends, yet she still felt thatshe been left to navigate the journey of adolescence on her own. This student

may have felt alone in her world, but she is certainly not alone in her senti-ments.

Following the Columbine school shooting, a writer for Newsweekexpressed that “in survey after survey, many kids—even those on the honorroll—say they feel increasingly alone and alienated.” Furthermore, accordingto Chap Clark, “Of all the issues that trouble adolescents, loneliness ranks atthe top of the list.”1 But although students are verbally expressing theirloneliness, professionals in the world of adolescent psychology and sociologycontinue to profess that students are “flourishing and resilient”2 and “aredoing better than ever.”3 Many adults I have spoken to across the countryfeel that students today have nothing to complain about because they haveeverything they could possibly want.

Still, the question remains: Why is there disconnect between what theexperts are saying and what teenagers are feeling? Why do students feel alonewhen they have everything? The answer: Because Western culture has learnedto equate being busy with happiness. We have learned to treat children likelittle adults, filling their schedules with endless opportunities. We haveconvinced ourselves that schedules and day-timers are the way to help kidsgrow up. After all, it is the way of the adult. The busier we are the moresuccessful we must be. But the reality is that “adolescents need adults tobecome adults, and when adults are not present and involved in their lives,they are forced to figure out how to survive on their own.”4 Students maylook mature on the outside, but they still need adult guidance to help thembecome healthy, mature adults. They may have lots to do, but millennialstudents still feel that no one is there for them. As Barbara Kantrowitz andPat Wingert suggest, “Teenagers may claim they want privacy, [but] they alsocrave and need attention and they’re not getting it.”5

Of all the issues that postmodern adolescents struggle with, alienationand abandonment rank at the top. In 1998, the New York Times labeled thisgeneration as the “Autonomous Generation,” suggesting that, as KendraCreasy Dean describes, “today’s adolescents have few adults or institutionswho are prepared to ‘be there’ for them until the end of the age, or until theend of high school for that matter.”6 Patricia Hersch, in her book A TribeApart, suggests that this generation has spent more time on their own thanany other generation. In fact, a recent study by the Sloan Foundation reportsthat the average American teenager spends about three and half hours aloneevery day.7 A similar study, jointly conducted by Passport, Inc., and

2 YM2K: YOUTH MINISTRY FOR THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION

Professional Ministry Consultants, Inc., found that on the average, studentshave nine hours a week with “nothing to do.”8

In trying to identify the sources of abandonment, two have emerged:parental and institutional. This chapter intends to take a closer look at eachof these sources of abandonment and help youth leaders find ways to addressthis emerging trend with their students.

Warning Before You Read On

The following section is not intended to offend but rather to educate. It mayat times seem to cross the line into the controversial. However, it is writtento help open the eyes of an adult world that has gradually pushed studentsaway to navigate their own way to adulthood. It is written to remind youthleaders that we are working with a generation of students who describe theirteenage experience as lonely and that, at times, we are guilty of contributingto this sense of loneliness. Although my words may come across as harsh andaccusatory, it is my desire that those reading them will be able to lower theirdefenses and search their own hearts so that students of the millennial gener-ation will discover that there are adults who care for them.

Parental Abandonment

“‘Will you be there for me?’ is the cry of an era,”9 suggests Kenda Creasy Deanin her book Practicing Passion. It is a cry that began with Gen Xers, who werefirst introduced to surrogate parenting through after-school programming,the emergence of “latchkey,” and full-time youth ministry in the 1970s. It isa cry that has grown louder with this emerging generation of students whoselives have become so busy with after-school activities and little parentalinvolvement.

As parents have become busier—with two-income families, jobs withbigger expectations, and other out-of-office responsibilities and priorities—it has become a necessity for parents to shuffle off their children toafter-school programming (ironically, this has increased the busyness andstress of parents, rather than alleviating it). In some instances, rather thanover-scheduling their children with activities, parents are simply leaving theirchildren at home alone with “nothing to do” and no boundaries. DavidElkind suggests, “Our new family styles make it next to impossible for themajority of parents to provide the kind of childrearing that goes along withthe image of children as in need of parental nurture.”10 As a result,

ALL ALONE 3

postmodern students are growing up all alone without the “full helping ofsecurity, protection, firm limits, and clear values. . . . As a consequence,postmodern young people are often left without the social envelope ofsecurity and protection that shielded earlier generations.”11

Michelle, a seventeen-year-old student being raised by her mother, neverceased to amaze me with the stories she would share with me. She told methings that I would never confess to anyone, let alone my youth minister.Most of our conversations left me speechless. She was able to speak openlyand honestly about her life story, the struggles she was facing, and the poorchoices she continued to make. She told me how she felt alone in a darkworld.

After many sessions with Michelle, I asked her where she thought theroot of her problems could be found. She looked me straight in the eye andexclaimed, “My mother does not give me boundaries.” With tears welling upin her eyes, she continued, “I just wish she was more interested in being mymother and not my friend and had given me boundaries.”

To me it was a simple problem with a simple solution. The three of usneeded to sit down and create some boundaries. When I shared my idea withMichelle the tears in her eyes dried up and she boldly said, “It’s too late forher to be a parent now.”

Michelle’s story is just one example of how parents can contribute to thesense of abandonment that students are feeling. However, many parents areunable to recognize their contribution to this emerging trend of abandon-ment. They are quick to give a list of the ways they are present for theirchildren:

• “I go to all of his football games”• “I drive all of my children to every practice”• “I have never missed a concert or recital”• “I have sacrificed my time to be a chauffer”

Although many parents have made room in their busy schedules toprovide a taxi service for their children, that does not replace the nurturing,love, and boundaries that adolescents need. Cheering on your child—whether from the sidelines or the chairs of the recital hall—does not providethe sense of safety that an adolescent desires. Unfortunately, the postmodernhome has become a railway station, with parents and children pulling in and

4 YM2K: YOUTH MINISTRY FOR THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION

out as they go about their busy lives. This is not what families are supposedto provide.

The family is designed to be a place of protection for children. It is aplace to help children on their journey toward becoming healthy adults. It issupposed to be a place of support and guidance. Ultimately, it should be aplace to help students discover their identity. However, as we have seen, forthis emerging generation of students there has been a shift in culture whichhas affected family priorities. As Chap Clark has written, “the culture itself isno longer as attentive to the needs of children and adolescents as it once was,and therefore, the young work hard at finding out how to make it on theirown.”12

David Elkind, professor of child study at Tufts University, suggests, “Inthe modern nuclear family these binding sentiments were largely child-centered in the sense that they gave preference to the well-being of childrenand required self-sacrifice of parents. In the postmodern permeable family,however, the sentimental ties have been transformed and are now more likelyto be adult-centered to the extent that they favor the well being of parentsand adults and require self-sacrifice from the young.”13

Today, the home is no longer a haven or place of protection. The familyhas “evolved to the point where we believe driving is support, being active islove, and providing any and every opportunity is selfless nurture. We are aculture that has forgotten how to be together.”14 It is, as suggested, a railwaystation, and the people suffering the most are children whose needs havebeen set aside in order to meet the needs of their parents.

The parental agenda has overshadowed adolescent needs, leaving kidswith a sense of abandonment and little direction. This sense of abandonmentwas best articulated by author Michael Thompson, who researched adoles-cent boys. He heard clearly the number-one complaint of almost every earlyadolescent: “My parents do not give me enough freedom.” His comment didnot surprise me; we have all complained at one point that our parents didnot give us enough freedom. However, he found that, unlike previous gener-ations, the number-one complaint of a college freshman was, “My parentswere not there for me.”

I do not think that parents are intentionally abandoning their children.In fact, I believe that most parents feel they are doing what is best for theirstudents. They have been affirmed by their peers for keeping their studentsbusy and involving them in the best programs. Additionally, they have been

ALL ALONE 5

convinced that if their child is not actively involved in many programs aswell as a well-rounded student, they will not get into college.

Youth ministry has also contributed to parental abandonment. ChapClark notes that a well-respected youth ministry expert suggests, “Whenchildren reach adolescence, they want to make their own choices andcommitments, to be set free.” Although his thoughts in one sense are correct,Clark contends, they have been “greatly exaggerated, misunderstood, andmisused in the name of youth ministry.”15 We have encouraged parents tosimply drop their children off to our youth programs and promised that wewould nurture and guide them into spiritual maturity. However, there isnothing further from the truth. Healthy spiritual formation can only takeplace when there is a balance between what is taught in the home andpracticed in youth ministry. To take parents out of the picture forces adoles-cents to navigate their spiritual journey on their own. As a result, studentssimply drop out of church when they are on their own because they werenever given the foundation needed to make informed spiritual decisions.Although they may have had fun in youth group, many were left alone tomake foundational decisions on faith and spirituality.

If adolescents are feeling alone and abandoned, it is time for parents toslow down their hectic lives and ask themselves, “Is this what is best for mychild?” Parents must begin to set boundaries for children. This can onlybegin by setting boundaries for themselves by clearing their own schedules inorder to make time for their children. They must understand that they needto say “no” to the many activities provided for students because qualityfamily time is far better than any program a student can get involved in.Parents must relearn the art of being together, rather than trying to fill timewith structured activities or simply leaving their children alone. Until thishappens, adolescents will continue to cry the haunting words, “I feel allalone.”

Institutional Abandonment

Adolescence, the term coined by psychologists and sociologists to describethe short time period between childhood and adulthood, is a concept thatwas developed in the early twentieth century. By the 1920s, adolescence hadbecome an accepted subculture of society. Youth programs with a commonpurpose, “to nurture emerging adolescents by providing systems, structures,and activities to help them grow into adulthood by means of the smoothest,most productive transition possible,”16 began to emerge. One such organiza-

6 YM2K: YOUTH MINISTRY FOR THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION

tion was the school system. According to Thomas Hine, “The purpose ofhigh school was largely to indoctrinate youth with middle-class standards.”17

High schools were designed to help students smoothly transition into theadult world by teaching the social and academic skills needed to survive.Teachers were mentors, and homework, rarely a burden for students, wasassigned to “encourage students to spend time assimilating the informationthey had received in class.”18

As adolescence became recognized as a process more than an event, newopportunities arose for students both within the school structure and out:dance, sports, music, and drama, to name a few. During this same timeperiod, youth ministry began to emerge within the church structure andwithout. All of these organizations began with the students’ best interest inmind, though there has been a subtle shift over time. Chap Clark suggests,“Organizations, structures, and institutions that were originally concernedwith children’s care, welfare, and development have become less interested inindividual nurture and developmental concern and more interested in insti-tutional perpetuation.”19

One such example of the “perpetuation of the institution” was the devel-opment of standardized testing. Although standardized tests were firstdeveloped for the purpose of offering equal learning opportunities, they havebecome the backbone of institutional abandonment in the school system.With this system in place, everything that is done in school is directed atgetting students to pass a test. A grade is given to each school based on thepercentage of students who pass this test. If a school does not have a certainpercentage of students pass, the school receives a bad grade. When a badgrade is given, schools do not receive the funding they so desperately need inorder to nurture students in the overcrowded school system. Teachers, there-fore, are no longer able to mentor students because they are concerned thatif students do not pass, their jobs will be eliminated. Homework is no longerassigned to help students assimilate the information; rather, it has become aburdensome extension of an already over-scheduled day. I have yet to meet ateacher who thinks that this is a good system, yet the officials who evaluatethis process continue to think that this is a good idea. As a result, studentshave simply become a means to get funding and to perpetuate a system thathas subtly abandoned them.

Many students have said to me, “I certainly hope that high school is notthe best years of my life, as my parents told me.” They are afraid that if thisis the best the world has to offer, they certainly do not want to become

ALL ALONE 7

adults. Ironically, the school system was designed to provide the smoothesttransition into the adult world. Instead, t is creating fears of furtherabandonment and rejection.

Youth Ministry Abandonment

It is easy to point the finger at other institutions for abandoning millennialstudents, but youth ministry is just as guilty. The church growth movement,which began in the 1970s, has convinced us that churches that do not havelarge numbers are not in favor with God. Although most churches will notadmit it, numbers have become the evaluation tool for effective youthministry. Therefore, to suggest that our numbers are low puts our jobs atrisk. Evangelism, then, has become a way to increase our organizationalnumbers rather than the kingdom of God.

Frankie was a sophomore in high school who was dealing with typicalparent/child issues and just wanted a place to talk about it. He felt that hisyouth minister was the best person to talk to. When he tried to schedule anappointment, his youth leader told him, “When you find time to show up tomy Bible study on Friday nights, I will find time to meet with you.” Howmany students have learned through our ministries that you only matterwhen you increase our attendance? I am certain that God did not intend forchurch to be more concerned about perpetuating themselves, yet this is thesystem we have put in place for the millennial generation.

Another way that youth ministry has contributed to adolescentabandonment is the youth leader’s non-commitment to longevity. Theaverage tenure of a youth leader is two and a half years. Although this isbetter than the eighteen-month myth, it still means that most students willexperience approximately three youth ministers during their time in theyouth department.

Because churches tend to not put as much effort and energy into findinga good match for the mission and vision of their church, they settle for youthleaders who simply “love kids.” When the honeymoon period ends, someyouth leaders respond by simply dropping out and leaving the studentsbehind, leaving them with a resentment about faith and church: “The truthis, despite the gospel’s claim that Jesus will be with us always, young peopleusually assume—correctly—that the church will not be.”20 Yes, youthministry has abandoned God’s children.

8 YM2K: YOUTH MINISTRY FOR THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION

Youth Ministry Response to Abandonment

In her book Practicing Passion, Kenda Creasy Dean shares the story ofEugene Rivers, a Boston pastor who reclaimed a Boston neighborhoodtyrannized by drug dealers. She describes how Rivers and his colleagues were“evangelized” by crack cocaine dealers who “reached out to Christians,”inviting them into crack houses and introducing them to drug dealers, guns,and the drug game. One young heroin dealer told Rivers, “I’m going toexplain to you Christians, who are such good preachers, why you are losingan entire generation. Listen. This is really all about being there.”

“What do you mean?” Rivers demanded.The heroin dealer coolly replied, “When Johnny goes to school in the

morning, I’m there, you’re not. When Johnny comes home from school inthe afternoon, I’m there, you’re not. When Johnny goes out for a loaf ofbread for grandma for dinner, I’m there, you’re not. I win, you lose.”21

There is only one suggestion I have for youth leaders; do not forget theteachings and example of Jesus. He taught us the importance of leaving themany in order to find the one. He exemplified the importance of “beingpresent” with people. To make just one student feel loved, cared for, andnurtured is greater than any massive youth event we could ever create. Untilwe begin to see students as unique and wonderful creations of God whodeserve our individual attention, they will continue to feel abandoned by thechurch.

NOTES1 Barbara Kantrowitz and Pat Wingert, “How Well Do You Know Your Kid?,”

Newsweek , May 10, 1999, 38.2 See William Damon, Deanna Kuhn, and Roberts S. Siegler, eds., Cognition,

Perception, and Language, vol. 2 of Handbook of Child Psychology, 5th ed. (New York: Wiley,1998); Rune J. Siomeonsson, ed., Risk, Resilience, and Prevention: Promoting the Well-Beingof All Children (Baltimore: Brookes, 1994).

3 Chap Clark, “Entering Their World: A Qualitative Look at the Changing Face ofContemporary Adolescences,” http://ayme.gospelcom.net/jym_article_php?article_id=21.(Accessed April 19, 2006.)

4 Chap Clark, Hurt (Grand Rapids: Baker Books), 42.5 Kantrowitz and Wingert, 38.6 Ann Powers, “Who Are These People, Anyway?” New York Times, April 29, 1998.7 Cited by Barbara Schneider and David Stevenson, The Ambitious Generation:

America’s Teenagers, Motivated but Directionless (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999),191-94.

ALL ALONE 9

8 Unpublished survey conducted Summer 2005 by Professional Ministry Consultants,Inc. and Passport Youth Camps.

9 Kenda Creasy Dean, Practicing Passion (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Co.,2004), 77.

10 David Elkind, The Hurried Child, 3rd ed. (Cambridge MA: Da Capo Press, 2001),xvi.

11 David Elkind, Ties That Stress (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1995), 8.12 Clark, Hurt, 42.13 Elkind, Ties That Stress, 38.14 Clark, Hurt, 46.15 Wayne Rice, Junior High Ministry: A Guide to Early Adolescence for Youth Workers, rev.

ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1997), 86, as qtd. by Chap Clark, “The Changing Face ofAdolescence: A Theological View of Human Development,” in Starting Right: ThinkingTheologically About Youth Ministry, ed. Kenda Creasy Dean, Chap Clark, and David Rahn(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), 53.

16 Clark, Hurt, 45.17 Thomas Hine, The Rise and Fall of the American Teenager (New York: Avon Books,

1999), 243.18 Clark, Hurt, 45.19 Ibid., 49.20 Dean, Practicing Passion, 74.21 Ibid., 74. This story was reprinted in Eugene Rivers, “New Wineskins, New Models

and Visions for a New Century,” in An Unexpected Prophet: What the 21st Century ChurchCan Learn from Youth Ministry—The 1999 Princeton Lectures on Youth, Church andCulture (Princeton: Princeton Theological Seminary, 2000), 87.

10 YM2K: YOUTH MINISTRY FOR THE MILLENNIAL GENERATION

Youth Ministry

HESTORFFYM

2K: YOUTH MINISTRY FOR THE M

ILLENNIAL GENERATION

As we in youth ministry struggle to find a wayto care for kids and families in a culture out ofcontrol, Sam Hestorff has given us a timelygift. YM2K is a great book – clear, real, to-the-point, and theologically solid.

—CHAP CLARK

Associate Professor of Youth, Family, and Culture

Fuller Theological Seminary

Sam Hestorff has put together an excellentresource helping us rethink youth ministry tothis unique generation of students.Statisticians tell us that this generation ofteenagers is the largest in US history since theBaby Boomers, some sixty million strong—and they think and act like no generationbefore them. YM2K can give your ministry,your leadership team and your parents practi-cal tools to minister to this age group.

—DAVID BURROUGHS

President, Passport, Inc.

Sam Hestorff (D.min., Fuller Theological Seminary) has been involved in youth ministry for sixteen years inboth full- and part-time capacities. He is the president of rethink ministry (www.rethinkministry.com) andhas served as the Minister to Students at Bayshore Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida, for the past eleven years.

They are called the millennial generation, and as this generation enters our youthprograms, youth leaders are finding themselves caught in the place where modernchurch programs collide with postmodern needs. Tensions exist between the needs

of students and parents and the expectation of the church. Ideally, effective youth ministrieswill find ways to bridge the gap between the worlds through dialogue, education, andcommunication. However, society and religion have burned many of those bridges with themillennial generation, so how do churches shift to meet the demands of this new paradigmin youth ministry?

YM2K: Youth Ministry for the Millennial Generation by noted youth minister and conferenceleader Sam Hestorff flows from a deep passion for youth ministry and a sense that in orderto be significant to a postmodern generation of students, youth ministry has to be rethoughtand refocused. Through this honest and earnest discussion of the need for change to tradi-tional youth ministries, you will find freedom and a renewed sense of creativity to bring themessage of Jesus Christ to this unique and wonderful generation of teens.