Here's an excerpt:
Studying the current state of seniors and the type of students youth ministries are developing today, the College Transition Project received responses from high school students around the country for wave one of the milestone study.
Surprisingly, the top reason students go to youth group is because of their youth pastor. According to the responses received, 162 of which were usable, 68 percent said it is "very true" or "completely true" they go to youth group because they like their youth pastor. The second most popular reason was "I learn about God there," which was followed by 58 percent who said "It's fun."
Other reasons listed as "very true" or "completely true" by at least 50 percent of the students included "I feel comfortable there," "I've always gone to church/youth group," "It's a place where I can learn to serve," and "It feels like a real community."
Some youth workers expressed ambivalence about the top reason students listed but they also raised the question if it's possible that the students have become "too dependent" on their youth pastors.
"Interestingly, seniors' connections with their friends at youth group don't rank as highly as many would have guessed," noted the report. "By average score, seniors ranked the options regarding community and a sense of belonging seventh, eighth, and tenth."
The least likely reason students listed was that their parents make them go or that they feel guilty if they don't go.
Props out to Josh Griffen for discovering this article. Click Here For The Full Article.
1 comment:
I'm always very intentional NOT to build a youth ministry that's focused around me because otherwise, whenever I'm gone, it'll all crumble. So, I base the community aspect of the youth group on adult leaders and student relationships with each other. The problem is, people see that and say, "Isn't this your job? Why am I doing this?" The paradigm shift will take a while.
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