Kim Shockley, Coordinator for Pathways of Spiritual Leadership
Youth ministries in many congregations have felt a profound impact from COVID resulting in a major disruption of what used to work and a significant change in the future landscape for youth ministry. Yet, we sense that God is on the move, so 2022 will be an exciting year of listening and retooling the Young People’s Ministry Council to come alongside our youth, youth workers, and congregations more broadly. Leadership will be expanded from across the Susquehanna Conference.
Focused teams are being established to strengthen Youth Workers and Congregational Youth Ministry, Youth Discipleship, Young People in Mission, and Equipping Youth for Active Leadership Now. We will be focusing on deep listening and sharing of stories about what is happening and promising possibilities that are growing. If you want to learn more or help YPMC and its work in the coming years, don’t hesitate to contact our co-chairs: Alex Raser (rasergirl2@outlook.com) and Ryan Craig (ryan.craig@millgreenumc.org), or staff liaisons: Kim Shockley (kshockley@susumc.org), or Kevin Witt (kwitt@susumc.org)
On February 25-27, our Young People’s Ministry Council (YPMC) sponsored a “Rest and Renewal” retreat for youth workers at Wesley Forest. Kenda Creasy Dean, professor of youth ministry at Princeton Seminary, came to stir our imaginations about refreshingly new avenues for youth ministry. She spoke passionately about the centrality of love and the many forms it can take in re-imagining youth ministry.
We used a wonderful game, Ripple Effect, to identify real challenges our youth and youth ministries are facing, then broke them down into specific impacts and repercussions. Next, we gave attention to very concrete ways we could bring love to these specific situations and how that might change the form youth ministry can take. Many of the emerging opportunities shared in dialogue with each other did not depend upon a congregation having a typical “youth group model” to implement.
During our retreat we offered a meditative walk in the woods and spiritual direction conversations. In these deeply reflective times, an idea was born in Brien McChesney, the youth director at Lake Winola UMC. He is feeling a call to develop a process for how local churches can “reboot” or start new youth ministries. We could easily provide coaches to walk alongside congregations as they do this work. These are the kinds of ideas directly from leaders in local churches that become sparks of inspiration for collaboration and the work of the Young People’s Ministry Council as we journey and explore together.
When I arrived home from the retreat, I had a message from our SUSUMC Cabinet that one of the offerings of Annual Conference 2022 will be in support of new initiatives that will certainly arise as the restructured Young Peoples Ministry Council forms and does its work. I immediately saw the potential of linking these funds to Brien’s idea and other ideas that will come forth! God is on the move in this!
Send us your ideas and possibilities so they can be in the mix as we discern God’s lead. Your gifts to the Annual Conference offering and many other forms of support will be needed in discovering new ways to build relationships of love with young people in our communities. Whatever you can contribute to the joint effort - talent, time, inspiration, or financial gifts will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for supporting your youth locally and beyond. We are all in this together!
