YOUTH MINISTRY EJOURNAL
SEARCH
YOUTH MINISTRY EJOURNAL ARCHIVE
|
YouthWorker eJournal -- March 11, 2008
 |
| |
 |
|
|
 |
| |
|
More People Leave the Faith of Their Youth
|
|
| |
|
The United States is a land of spiritual seekers, more eager than ever to shed the religion of their youth to explore new avenues of faith or, in some cases, discard traditional belief altogether.
So says a new, comprehensive study of America's changing spiritual landscape from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Researchers interviewed more than 35,000 adults and found that America is growing increasingly secular – confirming a trend that other polls had previously uncovered. But Pew's study went into greater detail to see just how these changes manifest themselves, and it found that more than 25 percent of Americans have left the religion they grew up with for another faith or, in many cases, left religion completely. For instance, more than 31 percent of Americans grew up Roman Catholic. As adults, less than 24 percent of Americans claim adherence to the Catholic Church – an attrition rate of 7.5 percent. Rates of Judaism and Mormonism are dipping, too, while Buddhism and Islam are growing. Atheism has seen significant growth: While only about one-half of a percent of Americans were raised atheist, about 1.6 percent of respondents now say they don't believe in a supreme being – a more than three-fold increase.
If one takes into account folks moving from one Protestant denomination to another, the rate of spiritual swapping increases to 44 percent.
The United States is still overwhelmingly Christian: 78 percent of Americans say they adhere to that brand of faith, compared to the 16 percent who claim no affiliation (which includes atheists, agnostics, and folks who said they didn't adhere to any particular religion). The bad news is that, if all the respondents had stayed committed to their childhood faith, the number would’ve been well above 85 percent.
(Associated Press, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life)
|
|
|
| |
|
Remembering Larry
|
|
| |
|
Larry Norman died Feb. 24.
Some of you are saying, "Larry who?" The rest of you are mourning the passing of a troubled musical genius who did more than any other individual.
Larry released his first recordings in the 1960s, and by 1972 he had released two monumental albums that still rank among the best five Christian albums of all time: Upon This Rock and Only Visiting This Planet.
During the 1970s he helped launch the careers of other artists like Randy Stonehill and Daniel Amos. He continued to record and perform during the 1980s, but in the 1990s, and later, he was increasingly limited by health issues and his fractured relationships with nearly everyone who had ever worked with him or tried to be his friend.
Whether or not you know his work, Larry Norman battled to give us the kinds of contemporary Christian music we now accept as normal. The next time you sing or listen to music with your kids, thank God for this amazing musician.
|
|
| |
|
Kids: The Brand |
|
| |
|
The March/April POP CULTURE issue of YouthWorker Journal is being studied now by thousands and thousands of youthworkers.
The issue contains lots of smart people saying lots of profound things about music, movies, TV, games, and more. One of the more intriguing articles is Tyler Wigg Stevenson's piece on branding.
Here's part of what he says:
"Kids in today's churches face the historically novel and existentially staggering task of inventing themselves. They have to create identities in a society where there is a dizzying array of options open to them. This singular fact of existence in a consumerist society will have concrete effects on patterns and behaviors of living, both in and out of the church."
For more, check out The March/April POP CULTURE issue of YouthWorker Journal.
[you can subscribe here]
|
|
|
 |
| |
Grapple: Preteen Sunday School, Winter 2007-2008
Group Publishing, Inc.; 2007; 80 pp. and a DVD; $89.99 (10 kids), $109.99 (25 kids), $129.99 (50 kids), $149.99 (unlimited kids)
www.group.com
|
|
| |
The upcoming March/April issue of YouthWorker Journal contains recommendations and reviews of 80+ new books, curricula, videos, and CDs. Because we just saw some of you at February's National Youth Ministry Conference in Cincinnati, we thought we would share with you a review of a recent Group curriculum product from that issue.
The Grapple curriculum is a 12-week Sunday School plan for fourth-sixth grades that seeks to integrate young people’s hunger for community based on online experiences with Bible study.
In addition to a typical Sunday-morning lesson guide, complete with games, activities, openers, and several video illustrations and countdowns on a provided DVD, it also comes with a personalized Web site. Kids can log on during the week to a Grapple page, where they can interact with each other on a forum, vote on the following week's games, play several video games, and receive announcements and Bible studies from the teachers. Teachers also can download lessons, handouts, and Clip Art easily for reproduction.
I really like the format, and it certainly appeals to the age group. I do wish the Web page could be personalized more and that kids and teachers could choose their own screen names, but those are minor issues. Other than that, it’s a great product and a great use of current trends to keep kids thinking about Sunday school all week long!
—Reviewer Matthew McNutt is Youth Pastor at Boothbay Baptist Church in Boothbay, Maine.
|
|
 |
| |
|
|
The YouthWorker eJournal Survey: Kids in Jail
It's official. Now more than 1 in every 100 Americans is in jail or prison, which is more (numerically and percentage-wise) than any other country.
What about your group? Have any of your kids ever been sent to jail or prison? If so, how did your group respond?
Let us know and we'll report back next time.
Have any of your kids ever been sent to jail or prison? If so, how did your group respond?
We studied Matthew 25 as a group as we prepared to visit them in prison.
We pretty much swept the whole thing under the rug and ignored it.
Other departments of our church/ministry deal with jail visitations.
Our kids are sinless, so they never get into trouble or wind up in jail.
Go to youthworker.com to participate in this issue's survey.
|
|
| |
The YouthWorker eJournal Survey Results: How Do You Handle Teen Pregnancy?
Last time, the movie Juno was in the Oscar-related news, so we asked how you address teen pregnancy in your group.
Here's what you told us:
How do you handle teen pregnancy in your group?
We don't really have a plan for addressing teen pregnancy. 54%
Our church has a plan in place to minister to pregnant teens and support them through their pregnancy. 18%
Whenever one of our kids has become pregnant they have drifted away from our group. 13%
Teen pregnancy is not an issue for us because our kids don't have sex! 13%
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
[To subscribe to Youth WorkerJournal, click here]
Thanks for joining us for this issue of the YouthWorker eJournal. See you next time. And I'll be seeing some of you at Group's national conference in Cincinnati.
Sincerely, Steve Rabey, YouthWorker Journal editor, and our entire crew
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
 |
|
SUBSCRIBE
|
|
Sign up now for a
1-year subscription to YouthWorker Journal (the Professional Resource for
Youth Ministry).
That's 6 great issues for only $39.95
- a savings of over 15% off the
newsstand price!
|
| |
|
SPONSORED BY
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|