Sunday evening service is a source of conflict through out the entire Church as we know it. It is no different at Cedar Creek. There are those who believe that there should be no Sunday evening service at all. They believe that this time should be reserved for "family time" or rest. On the other side of the spectrum, there are those who believe that there should always be Sunday evening service and that it should always be in the sanctuary as traditionally it has been for ages. Before we dive into this topic, I think that it is very important to remember that we are all Christians and that we are commanded to love one another. That being said, I will now divulge my opinion on the matter. You are forewarned.
Youth ministry is a different bird. As in other realms of life, if you are going to attain your goal, then you must do so by whatever means necessary. In the case of youth ministry, the goal is to be a mere tool which God can use to win souls and disciple Christians. Getting back to the topic, I think it is extremely important to be in God's house as often as possible. Maybe this is because I absolutely adore the concept of God's love for me and I consider it to be the least that I can do to show up at Church. This is beyond the fact that I am paid staff and expected by check writers to be at the services. I do not like the fact that people sometimes take the church concept too lightly. To me, there is nothing more important in life than our responsibility to Christ. If you really want to have "family time" have it at church. What better place is there at which to have your family? Now before you hang me, I realize that issues conflict, and I have no problem with that. Things such as work, vacations, emergencies, and accidents do happen. It is to be expected. Enough of that, I think you get the drift.
Being a youth minister, you are often times caught in the middle on issues between the youth group and "big church." There are generational gaps that will, for various reasons, never be bridged. It is the job of the youth minister to keep Christ at the center of all debates while keeping dissension and disagreement to a minimum. I'm getting to the meat and potatoes, hang with me. At Cedar Creek, the youth group historically does not attend Sunday evening service. They just won't. Since I am adamant about twice Sunday worship, I have tried it all. I have tried bribing them with trips to ice cream parlors and restaurants. It may seem shallow to some, but do not forget the time they would spend in corporate worship before hand. Before you get all worked up, it didn't work. None of it worked. You can't push a chain. If they don't want to be there they're not going to come. Me being the analytical type, I wanted to know why they didn't want to be there. It wasn't making sense at first. I knew at least some of them truly loved The Lord. Then it hit me... They weren't feeling reality. Today's coming generation won't fake it. If they feel someone else is faking it, then they're out. We get mad because they won't come to church on Sunday night when it is our own fault. They see our lukewarmness and disengage. Skeptics are going to claim that they are choosing things of the world instead of church, which might be the case for some. However, this is just an avoidance of of the truth. Lord help us.
I've come to the conclusion that I have a couple of options here. I can abort Sunday night ministry and blame it on the pagan culture, or I can adapt. Ok extreme conservatives, I didn't say "succumb" or "yield", I said "adapt." Even though it is looked down upon by some, I have started a Sunday night youth service. To be honest with you, I catch some flak from some of the older members. Nonetheless, it is going good. God is working, and (as much as I desire to please everyone) it is His approval that I seek. We still have a long way to go. We are probably running around one quarter of our numbers of a Wednesday night, but it is quality. I would rather minister to 15 in a small group or "destination unknown" setting as to sit beside three in a Sunday evening corporate worship setting. I know God is working in our group and I am very appreciative. Again, I would never want to inhibit the "us verses them" theme, because we are all in this together. If I had it my way the sanctuary would be packed three services a week with all ages of God's people enjoying true worship in unity. Until then, I've got to do what needs to be done.
Sorry for the long post, thanks for reading.
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