Southwestern Conference Youth Ministries Team Meeting
Nov. 19, 9 am @ First Lutheran Church
Meeting minutes
Present: Ian Eastman (SW Conference), Tara Eastman (First), Ann McKillip (St. Tim's), Jason Wood (St. Tim's)
Regrets: Mike Felsman (Tri-Church), Jennifer Spacht (Bethel)
Devotional... Ian opened with a devotional from 1 Samuel 3... The group discussed how we, like Eli, can help "the Samuels" in our lives listen and respond to God.
Mission... We discussed changes to the Conference Youth Ministries Team. In the past, we defined ourselves as a committee that put on 3 annual events. Now we are setting our sights higher--on fostering a more "faith asset-rich" culture for youth around the conference on many different levels.
(For more information about "faith assets" please check out Luther Seminary's Exemplary Youth Ministry website: http://exemplarym.wordpress.com/about/ or get a copy of the book "The Spirit and Culture of Youth Ministry.")
Fostering assets in our churches...
There is no such thing as a magic bullet in ministry. There is not one person or event in isolation that will foster Mature Christian Youth. We brainstormed all the ways churches can foster young people:
Youth ministries - provide opportunity for fellowship, service, and spiritual growth. When done right they can engage youth and help them discern their purpose and a voice in the church.
Churches - How would our churches look if everyone looked at themselves as youth ministers? Other adults can learn youth's names and say hello, pray for youth, and engage them in ministries. Youth can participate in worship, Christian Ed... What would it look like if youth were included as decision makers on councils and committees?
The Conference Youth Ministries Team can provide a 4 session workshop on being an "authentic, available, and affirming" adult. This is suitable for Sunday School classes or a one day workshop. Interested churches can contact Ian for details.
Families - Martin Luther wrote that parents are called to be "the bishops, apostles, and priests of their own homes." There is a great opportunity to help parents foster faith formation in the home. Vibrant Faith and Faith Inkubators are two Lutheran sources of materials.
Visibility - We can highlight stories about our youth and the "faith asset framework" in our newsletters. We can acknowledge youth in sermon illustrations and prayers. (The team is going to work on some suggested prayers to submit for worship around the conference.)
Youth Ministers, Sunday School teachers, Confirmation teachers - We can lean on each other for support and ideas about "what's working", we can learn about best practices, we can help each other clarify roles. We can open events to other churches.
Upcoming Events...
Santa's Secret Shoppe
Saturday, December 10 8:30 am - 1 pm
Immanuel Lutheran Church, 556 East Second St., Jamestown
Ian has submitted promotional material about this around the conference.
We talked about the 3 events that we will put on in 2012. We want to maintain a balance of fun, service, and spiritual growth.
Jason suggested bringing in a band for a weekend retreat like Captive Free. Tangled Blue and Lost & Found were also suggested.
We also talked about doing a laser tag/games event at the Gateway center in February. The Gateway could be an ideal location because human services agencies are located on the same site.
Bethel Jamestown has a good thing going with Captive Free. St. Tim's periodically does overnighters. SLYM does a lot of service projects in the community. LCLC has some great retreats. Might we do a schedule to space these things out and provide maximum cooperation and publicity?
Tasks...
Ann will get us a contact with St. Mark's.
Jason will check on the costs and schedule of Youth Encounter. We want to stay clear of November, as Bethel Jamestown already hosts them annually at this time.
Tara will check on the availability of the Gateway Center.
Ian will circulate a schedule of the upcoming conference youth meetings. He will write a draft of prayers regarding youth.
(Note: The Southwestern Conference Youth Ministries Team is open to young people in grades 9 - 12, plus interested adults. Please circulate these minutes to youth, Sunday School teachers, Christian Ed committees, etc.)
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