Because of the Internet I can meet more people face to face.

I don't think we're doomed -- the Internet just becomes an extension of communicating in relationships. People thought the same thing you're saying when the telephone first became popular. It never made face-to-face communication obsolete, just became an extension of it.

I agree, I did a bad job of explaining in detail. What I am thinking about is your community as in your city's teenagers and how they function. If the church can serve as a tool to help them function, then they can also be available to bring them into a biblical community.

"we have to rethink this idea of community because it is becoming so fragmented." I'm not sure online communities should force us to rethink community as much as it should force us to define Biblical community and teach that to our kids.

Insightful! I haven't seen Juno yet, but I want to just for the messages it may subtlety suggest about teen pregnancy, as you suggested.

You got it man. To good not too!

I have a similar post here: http://timschmoyer.com/2006/09/12/knowing-god-relationship-not-ritual/

Thanks for plugging this, Brian!

Kinda subjective, but I guess these kinda things always are.

I believe community is biblical. We read much more about people living in community with one another than we do of the Church having big services and conducting programs. Even if one would say that it was merely cultural, it could still be argued that it was right. Looking after one another, loving one another, supporting one another, and discipling one another are the very things we have been called to do. Again, I have no problem with the Church having services, programs, etc. I love the Church. I am simply wondering if there might be a better, more biblical way to do it. It has been quite a journey for me, and I welcome further input.

My question is can we even begin to live as they did in the NT church and was the community they lived in Biblical or just cultural? Love to hear your thoughts...

I think you are right in that Growth does not occur unless there is change. We must find ways to create change constantly in our ministries. I currently serve in a church in St. Charles, MO where we had not changed things for several years and it became evident that it was time to start making some changes and we did and things started moving again. I think that plan and simple, change creates momentum. Great thoughts! The new Rev. magazine that just showed up yesterday is all about changes, check it out. studentministry101.com

Interesting, I hadn't thought of it that way before, but you're right: growth cannot take place without change. The fact that something grows immediately means that it's changed.

This is how I found the church I attended when I lived in Nashville.

Even though it's long it's worth reading the whole thing, a great example of the heart of a youth leader and the unexpectedness of ministry.

Pretty long, but the example at the end is worth skimming to.

The postcards we send are one of the simplest ways our leaders make an impact on their students. We like to turn pictures of events into postcards and send them to the students who attended.

I'm so glad I found this site. Their expertise has helped us navigate some tough problems kids in our youth ministry were facing. We had a girl who was cutting and we didn't know what to do to help her. I strongly recommend this resource to anyone who has kids that struggle with emotional problems. We are currently looking into bringing a Conversations Conference to Florida.

some great questions that I think most us are afraid to really ask or make happen in our ministries.

I think some of the stuff would only need to be done if you were not in regular meetings with your senior pastor or the department head. However, there is some value in communicating and connecting with your senior guy when you can. I think that I would suggest more of a relational approach to getting along rather than a systematic approach to getting along. Go out to lunch, share stories and just create a natural relationship.

Good idea! I recently read in a leadership book that a particular ceo spends the last 15 minutes of every day writing notes to those he had encountered that day who said or did something that he valued. It works wonders for him and should be something that we think about doing.

Thanks, Grahame!

If you take this whole discussion and put it in the context of living in Nashville, it can get even more convoluted and complicated. So many of the worship team players are either pros or wannabe pros, and so many churches have producers or artists in the congregation that it can be a pretty weird dynamic. A worship leader who's a friend of mine sang a song a couple months back by a well-known (can't remember who at the moment, but it was somebody like Jennifer Knapp) only to see her in the congregation after the service!!! That's a little off-topic maybe, but a funny dynamic still.

I totally agree that even though it felt weird to have them singing the song it was awesome. I could only think that for once the church had to sit back and go they did not just do that. First, Dolly flat out sings about Jesus and David A. is continually hitting that arena, now they all sing a song acknowledging that God even exists. It was incredible for me.

you are absolutely right! I have only had to let two leaders go...it is never fun but it is often the most leadership thing to do. At both times the Pastor gave me full authority of all things that pertained to the student ministry...however I did seek the counsel of the youth team out, without gossipping, hopefully. WE often want to be liked instead of lead properly.