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mrstickball on 23 August 2011
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sapphi_snake said:
mrstickball said:


A youth pastor is someone that usually runs the youth group at a given church. I guess Europe doesn't have these, so I will explain:

In America, many churches have what are called youth groups. Its essentially the members of the church between ages 12-20. As the youth pastor, I am responsible for teaching Bible Studies to the kids once a week, and planning activites/events for them through the month. Generally, these are activities that are either community driven (such as feeding the hungry at a local soup kitchen, or a back-to-school event where we give out food & school supplies to the poor), or activity driven (attending a Christian concert, going to various sporting events, essentially things that are fun that some youth may not be able to afford that we pay for, and so on).

Additionally, I am responsible for a youth service we have once a month. We do these on Sunday nights, which are essentially a youth-driven version of a regular Sunday morning church service. Heavy metal/rock-driven praise & worship vs. traditional worship, a message, then food & games after service.

That is it in the nutshell. In the US, you generally have pastors over childrens, youth and adult ministries, with the adult pastor being the one that generally is the head of the church, with childrens/youth playing supportive roles.

Eventually, my goal is to build a youth center in our community where everyone can come to, free of charge, and enjoy activities such as mini-golf, arcades, basketball, and concerts in a Christian atmosphere (e.g. no cursing, drugs, alcohol, or smoking).

What is the purpose of a youth group? What is the purpose of organizing those activities, and what connection do they have with religion? Why are there special services for youth? How exactly can something like 'heavy metal/rock-driven praise and worship' work? Do people normally do drugs on mini-gold courses? How well do they pay you?

Over here Protestants are equated with people parto of cults/sects, and the non-religious activities the churches have (mainly those aimed at youth) are seen as conversion ploys and 'corrupting' young people.


The purpose of a youth group is to disciple and train youth to become Christians, and continue doing so through adulthood. Many churches have youth groups because the issues youth face are different than that of adults. Because of the differentiation, youth can learn in a different environment and be ministered to at a different level and in a different way. The way you conduct a service for a 60 year old person is generally a lot different than that of a 15 year old.

The purpose of organizing activities to help the poor/needy is to follow the commands of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, the book of Acts shows that the disciples were heavily involved in caring for the needs of their community - the rich sold what they have and gave to the poor, the farmers gave their food to the hungry, and so on. Much of this ministry can be summed up in Matthew 25 in the parable of the sheep & goats.

The fun activities are there merely for social purposes. Having events where Christians can get together and have fun build up their relationship(s) with other believers and ensure that they have strong bonds with those of the faith, thus building themselves up. Alternatively, it ensures that they have activities once in awhile that are designed to show that you can have a lot of fun as a Christian.

How does heavy metal/rock praise & worship go?

Well, here's how it works:

Instead of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7vZ-hPc-B0


We play this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hG9z-Z3szc

 

Do people do drugs at mini-golf courses? Actually, yes. In my town they do. My town is rather small - about 13,000 people. We have 1 movie theater, a Wal-Mart and a bowling alley or two. If you are young, you hang out at one of the three places, and the bowling alley is pretty big on drugs and other activities that are illegal. My goal would be to provide them an atmosphere that they can be at free of such things.

I do not get paid anything for my position. It is 100% voluntary. At the church I go to, the senior pastor also refuses a salary. He only gets a small stipend a month for living expenses. 90% of every dollar that the church gets is distributed to their bills, and our ministries. We house a clothing shelter, a food pantry, and a homeless shelter.

Protestant churches in the US aren't viewed with the distain in your country, and ours are (generally speaking) flourishing, which is why we have much higher church attendance rates than in Europe. Furthermore, I don't know how one could view feeding the poor as a 'corrupting activity'.



Back from the dead, I'm afraid.