Ministry In My Context

By Adam McLane on July 08 2010

Ask me to describe my youth ministry, and I’d have to admit that it’s very difficult, even for me their youth minister, who’s poured into their lives for more than three years. I could say that it’s multifaceted, ever evolving, somewhat delicate, and amazing to be a part of, but to spell out a clearly defined personality would be an incomplete snapshot at best.

Trinity Baptist Church is a traditional Southern Baptist congregation located in Waldorf, MD, a bedroom community outside of Washington DC.  Waldorf is caught in the crossroads between its southern roots and sudden urbanization. Within the last decade the community has seen rapid growth, fueled by good schools, relatively affordable housing, and close proximity to military bases and government jobs. These have attracted families from the neighboring counties, most of whom are minorities, and short-term residents who’ve come in search of a career boost.

The growth has not come without pain. Many native residents are uneasy with the changes, while some new residents aren’t sure how deeply they want to lay roots. Churches in this area have to make a choice. Either focus inward and minister to the existing families in their congregations, or embrace the new residents and evolving culture of the county. The former is an easier choice, requiring only status quo. The later requires willingness to adjust their approach to reach the community for Christ.  

When I was called to Trinity Youth Group three years ago, I wondered why God would lead me to a predominately white congregation who did youth ministry in a way that seemed almost foreign. I spent the first year as both minister and a student of sorts, learning the culture of the teens that I love and was called to serve. Little did I know that God was preparing Trinity Youth Group for something greater.

Gradually, students from the surrounding community began to show up on Wednesday nights. The church would label the visitors “neighborhood kids” and established members “Trinity Kids”. Before long, the youth group became a reflection of the multicultural community that surrounded it. God’s urging was clear. We needed to reach the teens in the Waldorf community, regardless of their background.

I’ve become convinced that there is no way to live out the Great Commission in the Washington area, without embracing multicultural ministry. While I think it is a worthy thing for all to pursue, for us it’s not an option. In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his followers that they would receive amazing power from His Spirit, to be His witnesses “in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  I may feel led to make my Samaria a few counties away. The ends of the earth could mean Japan or Africa. For my Jerusalem, however, there is no ambiguity. God calls us to be a witness right where we stand.

Just outside the doors of Trinity Baptist Church there is an established neighborhood, of long time residents, who are for the most part white collar Caucasian Americans. There’s a working class townhome community mostly inhabited by recently transplanted Hispanic and African Americans. You’ll also find a trailer park with a racially diverse mix of new and old residents. These are our Jerusalem. Ministry here requires us to be intentional about welcoming this diversity and embracing both the transient and established parts of the community. We also have to understand local youth culture, and how different ethnicities interact within it. That understanding brings about an additional dimension that I’ve found better to acknowledge rather than oversimplify under the pretext that all teens are the same.

By default of the transient nature of the area, and traditional teen milestones (i.e. Driver’s licenses and summer jobs), the ministry is one that is fraught with ebbs and flows. We enter each meeting not knowing whether we will get to speak into a teen’s life for the cherished 6 years or a precious few 6 months. That means there isn’t time for uninspired youth meetings, unprepared lessons, or missed opportunities to connect. We learn to rejoice in the small things, because God is there. A great example of this is the celebration that occurs when a student calls to get a ride to youth group for the first time. This signifies that the student feels a part of the ministry, even when the person who first invited them isn’t there.  Sometimes we shift to mostly neighborhood kids, and other times to mostly Trinity Kids. Occasionally we hit a “sweet spot”, when we are one big happy family. Each brings their unique outlook to the table, causing a dynamic that can only be described as God at work.  

Ministry in that context teaches you to trust God completely. A mentor once gave me a single children’s building block. After hearing all my complaints about my unconventional youth ministry he said simply “Your responsibility is not to build the whole youth, it’s to contribute the one block that God has placed in your hands”. This doesn’t mean that when a youth has been missing for a couple weeks we don’t call to tell them that they are missed or that I ever grow content with a youth who has moved on.  It means that we trust that God is in the midst of the ebbs and flows. I have to trust that he will place another loving mentor in their path with a block of their own to contribute.   

One of the most challenging aspects of embracing diversity has been group ownership. Each student needs to know that they belong in the youth group as much as every other youth. This can be tricky. Once, I inadvertently laidout a worship service that only reflected white culture in the music styles and creative movements. Later that evening, one of the neighborhood kids asked if next time I could “include some stuff that we like”. I realized that even as the culture of the group was changing, I’d held on to the styles of worship preferred only by the Trinity Kids. By simply incorporating diverse worship traditions we were able to communicate that each student is valuable.

It’s important to recognize, however, that change can be hard for anyone. We have to be mindful of the established group even as we are embracing the new reality. It’s sort of like bringing a new baby home from the hospital. An only child is used to having their toys and parents’ attention all to themselves. Suddenly, with the addition of a new sibling, they are asked to share and be more patient.  Diverse ministry requires that we lovingly guide the established youth through this transition, careful to show them that they are just as loved and cherished as they’ve always been. When we change a camp because it’s too expensive for the new members or substitute a favorite worship song for one that is unfamiliar, it will feel like a loss. Encouragement and praise during this time helps to build respect between the groups, and eventually, like new siblings, they find commonality and begin to bond.   

Worship styles, materials and even activities have to be evaluated for their ability to relate to diverse groups. Though this is a delicate balance, it’s important to know that this isn’t a quota system, rather a matter of determining how we can share what God has put on our heart, in a way that the people we serve can understand. Whether that’s a clip from ‘Madea’s Family Reunion’ or a song from Kutlass, so be it.

It would be easy if we could lump students into general categories, but intentional ministry requires assessment of our assumptions and stereotypes. For example, most “neighborhood kids” don’t come on Sundays, so it was assumed that they were “un-churched”. One of my Hispanic students was the first to challenge this assumption. During worship one day, she began to sing the praise song in Spanish. “I love this song!” she said. I was floored. I later learned that she regularly attended church with her grandmother.  As it would turn out, nearly half of the neighborhood kids are like her. We endearingly refer to them as “shared custody” youth. These are typically kids, new to the community, whose parents haven’t found a local church that feels like family.  They may travel an hour or more to churches where they are more comfortable. Distance makes mid-week activities impossible, so the kids come to us for discipleship. Like any blended family this has its’ challenges. We have to be strategic about scheduling events and so forth. Of course we’d love it if they were members at Trinity, but are thankful for the opportunity to speak into their lives. 

Half of our parents are not Trinity members, so this leaves us with a scarce volunteer pool. For nearly my entire time at Trinity I’ve been the sole High School leader for the group. The same goes for my middle school teacher, who was plucked from this very ministry.  Ideal? Nope. Recommended? Not if you can help it.  But God has done more with less. Matthew 9:35-38 reminds even the weariest of youth leaders that Jesus understands. He’d been preaching, teaching and healing all over the place. Despite the disciples being with him, scripture indicates that he was doing all the work, but He never gave up. “He looked upon the crowds and had compassion on them, since they were like a sheep without a shepherd.” It’s at this point that he tells his disciples that “the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few”.  We can’t allow a lack of volunteers to prevent teens from hearing the good news of Jesus Christ. Compassion is a formidable opponent to Burnout.

Trinity Youth Group is far from a text book youth ministry, but one of the best things that God has shown me is that it is not “troubled” either. We are complex, and at times complicated but not troubled. It’s not a thing that needs to be “fixed”. Our ministry isn’t about trying to appease different groups who are meeting under the same roof. Students come to realize that unity in Christ is stronger than anything that makes us different. Multicultural ministry is a strong testimony of the power of being a part of God’s family. To borrow a phrase from David Crowder, it’s a beautiful collision. Not because we’ve glued together the best parts of each individual culture, but because we’ve united in Christ with everything that we truly are. God has put Trinity in its’ place to be a light to the “Trinity Kids”, the “Neighborhood kids”, and the Waldorf community, with all the tension and beauty that accompany that call. Praise God for the work He is doing in us. 

Comments

From Rev. Larry J. Richardson Sr. on July 08, 2010

Enjoyed this article Praised God Continue to do his will.

From youth ministries on July 29, 2010

To make the most of our short time on earth, we should be planners, too. That doesn’t mean we need to figure out our 30 year goal, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

From Greg Lee on August 10, 2010

Ebonie! You Rock! I’m proud to call you a friend and a colleague! I was inspired and motivated by your story…sounds and feels as if we work in the same church, just different cities. You have now inspired me to write of my dream of reconciliation based on multicultural ministry. Now I know why I sat by you in class all those days. Maybe your smarts rubbed off on me!

Good luck after Huntington University! Looking forward to hearing great things about your ministry!

Greg Lee
HU 2012