We asked four youth workers what transitions they felt are the most critical in the lives of youth. Here’s what they said…

Fred Odouyoye: I think there are a few segments of transition that are critical in the lives of youth. However, the time period that sticks out the most to me is a student’s transition into the adolescent years. I’m always intrigued by Luke 2, when I read about a 12-year-old Jesus who has gained entry to the temple courts and received the compliments of the council and the scholars. In this moment, I have to ask myself, “What type of youth ministry discipleship has taken place for a 12-year-old to have that level of Christian maturity to engage in such rich dialogue?” Even in this biblical story, we see the equivalent time when most students are seeking to identify who they are, while separating themselves from the habits of others (e.g., friends, family, peers).

Paul Turner: Fred, you make a great point about youth ministries not taking as much time with kids before they hit their youth programs. I have volunteers who have their kids in the youth room pre-service before they go to their classes. To be honest, it can be a little annoying while we’re preparing for the evening, but I have to remember these kids one day will be in this youth ministry whether I am. So, I try to be as welcoming now as I will be when they turn 13. I also like to pop my head into the children’s service on Sundays to say hello and just be visible. Silo ministry impedes the transition process in many churches.

Darren Sutton: I think all of adolescence is a transition—the whole thing is critical and an exercise in slowly transitioning from being decided for in everything to learning how to decide for themselves.

Christina Robertson: When I think of transitions, I think of moving from point A to point B. In youth ministry, the obvious ones are when they actually move from one room or youth group to another on what many churches call Transition Sunday. The less obvious transitions come at different times. These sorts of transitions are individually based on life experience and development. There is the cognitive transition of when a student goes from knowing the Bible to questioning the why of the Bible or the So what? We get a glimpse of this transition when a student is in a small group and questions why God would allow an entire generation of people to die in a war or flood. This is a moment when their interest in God moves from knowing about Him to a desire to know Him and what really makes Him tick!