John Bowersox

Youth Ministry and Corporate Worship

2009-11-18T06:20:00.000-08:00

I've already spent some time highlighting the fact that the church is losing young adults in great numbers as they enter college and beyond. In reality, they probably lost them prior to them even leaving or they never really had them in the first place. Yes, they never had them in the first place. Even churches with strong youth ministries are making the same tragic mistake. They are allowing their kids to choose something other than corporate worship.

I've seen churches that have so many ministry opportunities for their children and youth that they can grow up in the church and never attend it. In the current paradigm, they grow up going to children's ministry, then they get into middle school and high school and attend another program that takes the place of church. The fortunate ones, end up finding a college/young adult ministry when they leave home, and the ones who don't probably won't be a regular attender of church for the rest of their lives. The ones who go to college and find a ministry must make the same choice after they graduate. In reality, it is possible for our students to have never been a consistent part of the corporate worship of the CHURCH until they are around 22 years old.

Why is it important for students to be a part of corporate worship? When they have to make the choice for themselves, they won't have to choose the foreign and unknown. If they've all ready been there and all ready developed the discipline of being there they will be much more likely to go again. Right now the paradigm is to tailor everything to our students and then pull the rug right out from underneath of them when they graduate. There are some churches who are so stuck in 1995 (some in 2005) that they keep their students out intentionally because they know their services aren't designed for those kids. There are other churches who are knocking it out of the park during their services but still offer something else for teenagers thinking they are offering a necessary program. If we want young adults to be active in the CHURCH in the future they need to be active in the CHURCH now. CHURCH is the necessity.

to be continued...

What matters and what doesn't

2009-11-08T08:39:00.000-08:00

As I look for a new church to serve, I've been thinking about the things that matter to me and the things that are important in finding a new church home.

What matters:

The Gospel- it needs to be held in the highest regard, the gospel has to be plainly evident
Simply philosophy and simple practice- i'm a simple guy, too many churches do too many things
To be viewed as more than a youth pastor- I love the church, not just youth ministry
Opportunity for my wife- she's got talent and personality and to contain those is...well...dangerous ;)
Successful at reaching young adults- we want a place that is reaching 20-30 somethings, rare these days
Living in 2009
Willingness to make changes
Location- I love to be outdoors hunting, fishing, and shooting my bow, but my wife needs to be near civilization. Has to be a nice balance.

What doesn't:

Facility
Weekly attendance
Worship style- reverence and meaning are more important
Salary- obviously I need one, but we don't live above our means and we want the right opportunity more than a certain amount of money.
Budget- I've operated with no money and I've operated with tens of thousands. Ministry happens under both.

Reading material...

2009-11-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

Here are a few books that I've recently read, enjoyed, are on my "to read" list, or are my favs:

No More Christian Nice Guy by Paul Coughlin
Simple Church by Thom Ranier
The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

Bonfire Youth Ministry

2009-10-21T07:51:00.000-07:00

I think we've all heard stories of the kids who have had that experience around the bonfire. They've been at camp for a week and get caught up in the emotion of it all and have that moment where it all comes together and they accept Christ. God uses those experiences and I don't want to discount them.

However, there are some youth pastors who do ministry as if they are trying to set the world on fire. They are pros at creating the bonfire experience. Their time is spent trying to create a unique, high impact experience (organized) when in reality the most valuable thing they could create is shared experience (organic). In my opinion, this is one of the ways youth ministry has to change. Our churched kids are growing up in an environment where their spiritual experiences are manufactured. These manufactured, high impact experiences have a beginning and an end. They have a high and they have a low. For youth ministry students this is all the more true because these manufactured experiences end when they graduate high school. All of a sudden they are out on their own, making their own decisons, deciding for themselves if they wan't to go to church and what are they looking for in order to make these decisions...a bonfire experience. Shared experience, no matter how big or small, is what will keep our kids grounded in the church. I've found that by allowing for more shared experience the unique, high impact or bonfire experiences just happen.

What does all of this mean? I think that it means youth ministry needs to be more of a slow burn. Kids, youth pastor, and volunteers need to be living a day to day life together and find the bonfire experiences in the shared experiences of life. Their relationship with Jesus needs to be functioning day to day and not just whenever their is a church activity. It is the youth pastors job to keep the fire burning. I think their needs to be less emphasis on big missions trips and big activities and more emphasis on big relationships. Relationships that can find a bonfire experience while camping with some guys instead having to manufacture one at camp. My point is that kids are not always going to be able to go to camp, but they will be able to camp with the guys. If this is the experience our kids have while in youth ministry, it will be the experience they look for or even try to create when they graduate.

On my iPod

2009-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

A few things on my iPod...
Ryan Adams
Counting Crows
Brad Paisley
Old Crow Medicine Show
Kings of Leon
Regina Spektor
Robbie Seay Band
The Fray

The Future...

2009-10-19T16:03:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last 12 years working with teenagers, and to my surprise, I have enjoyed it more and more as time went on. I had always thought that as time progressed I would lose relevance and lose passion for teenagers. God has definitely worked on my behalf on both accounts. However, my overarching passion is for the church. God has given me insight and discernment in many areas of the church world. While I am most actively seeking a youth ministry position, I am also seeking opportunity to use my abilities in making the church a better place. I believe that the ways that God has gifted me administratively and creatively will be a unique asset to the church who is willing to acknowledge and use those abilities.

Philosophy of Youth Ministry (part 1)

2009-10-19T15:59:00.001-07:00

My passion is to develop lifelong disciples of Jesus Christ. The key to that being that they begin their relationship with Jesus as a teenager and continue it through college and onto adulthood. There is a crisis in the American church in that the vast majorities of students who attend church in their teenage years are dropping out of church as they enter college. A recent Rainier Research statistic discovered that 70 percent of young adults drop out of church by the time they are 22. That number jumps to 80 percent by the time they are 30. What is wrong that is causing this exodus? In my opinion, it is the lack of consistency in the lives of our churched youth.

Until recently, the average term of a youth pastor in the United States was only 18 months(there has been a slight upward trend). An 18 month term means an 18 month relationship. Assuming students are in youth ministry from the sixth grade, they would have 4.67 youth pastors in their seven years in youth group. This is hardly a model of consistency.

It is my desire to find a church home that is willing to invest consistency in the lives of their teenagers. Yes, invest consistency. It isn't about money and it isn't about programs. It is about the consistent relationships that are formed between the church and these kids. The kind of relationships that they can take to college and return to when they graduate. If the church is nothing but a revolving door, our kids will sneak in and sneak out of it. But if the church is a relationship...if it is a reunion of relationships...if it is consistent and models Christ's relationship with us, they are much more likely to be consistent in their relationship with the church and with Jesus Christ.

In part 2 I will write about the importance of corporate worship in the lives of teenagers.

Welcome!!!

2009-10-17T14:14:00.000-07:00

The purpose of this blog is for churches and pastors to learn a little bit about who I am. I am currently seeking a ministry that can use my abilities and skills. I have been in youth ministry in some capacity for the last 12 years. I know that my gifts are not just confined to youth ministry and I am looking forward to ministering in whatever capacity God might have.