Postmodern Youth Ministry

Today’s world in the midst of enormous change—much has been made of the technology revolution and the rapid rate at which the amount of information available to us is expanding. Post Modern Youth Ministry opens the door for youth workers, pastors, and the church at large to contemplate the [...]
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Today’s world in the midst of enormous change—much has been made of the technology revolution and the rapid rate at which the amount of information available to us is expanding. Post Modern Youth Ministry opens the door for youth workers, pastors, and the church at large to contemplate the church today and how post-modernism is affecting their youth ministry. Post-modern thinking began in universities, but it quickly has trickled down to broader culture. Many within the church have seen the changes wrought by post-modernity and are crying, "Iceberg, dead ahead!" Unfortunately, like the Titanic, it's too late to turn the ship. People today are living in a post-modern world, and, in the church, they can either bury their heads or face the winds of change—and learn to adjust and adapt to the changing times. The post-modern world opens up a wide array of opportunities for the Christian church—it’s unholy matrimony to Western Culture is over, and it has to compete in a vast marketplace of religious ideas. This can only serve to make the church stronger. Plus, the advent of post-modernity has brought a boom in 'spirituality'—God's poll numbers are higher than ever! While the church must not embrace post-modernism like she did the Enlightenment, this new world offers great avenues for the proclamation of the gospel. Youth workers could—and should—lead the way in this new world. First, most of them are less beholden to the Enlightenment ideals of rationalism than their Baby Boomer bosses. Second, the students they are working with live post-modernism—even if they don't understand it now, they will in college when they take Philosophy101! And third, youth workers have always prided themselves on having one hand on the Bible and one ear on the cultural railroad tracks. The first step for youth workers in working with youth in a post-modern world is to deconstruct everything they do and why they do it. Youth ministry has become professionalized and institutionalized over the past two decades. Youth pastors, volunteer youth workers, and church leaders must question everything. Only then will they be able to construct culturally appropriate ministries that will be relevant in a post-modern world. Author Biography: Tony Jones (M.Div., Fuller Theological Seminary) has been involved in youth ministry for more than a decade and has written a commentary, “Liberated by Reality,” on the shootings at Columbine High School. He is currently minister to youth and young adults at Colonial Church in Edina, MN.