postmodernism

[tedzki]

I would just like to ask how postmodernism is affecting the way we reach young people today. Is there really a big difference? Or are teens basically the same in whatever generation??

[Ann]

Hello tedzki Welcome
In every generation and with every individual the Holy Spirit knows exactly how to touch and convict of the need for Christ. Each person is as unique as a snowflake and God has a perfect plan for each of us. That includes kids who have been influenced strongly by postmodern culture as well as kids with very traditional values. At the same time the basic truths of God's word are eternal and unchanging. And every human being ever created has a need for love and an empty place inside that just isn't comfortable until it is filled with Christ no matter what else they try to fill it with or what they put on or listen to or say they follow.

At one time I was a youth minister less because I was called of God to do that than because the pastor felt someone had to and maybe I could keep up with them. Our meeting place was next to a park where at least half of the city's drug traffic took place and we wanted to reach the kids involved in it. I prayed and fasted and struggled, made some progress but never felt I was really doing what I was supposed to be doing. Then one night a young lady who had just been saved asked me to take her boyfriend to church and wonder of wonders he agreed to go. He had seen the change in her and wanted to check it out. He was far from straight when I picked him up but still wanted to go. When we came in an elderly lady we all called Granny came up to greet him and as she reached out to take his hand the Holy Spirt seemed to overcome him and he went down in a heap and stayed there for about an hour. His breathing was normal and he didn't seem to need medical care so we let him be where he was. To be honest I was not 100% sure until he came to if it was God or substance that put him on the floor. But when he did come to he was totally straight and totally in love with Jesus. Within 3 day he had led 20 of his friends to Christ. Breaking and entering in that part of the city dropped more than 40 % that month because they were no longer supporting habits. We asked Granny what happened. She said when she saw the condition he was in she said under her breath "God what if that was one of my boys" and the Lord said "It is. They all are." From that day on rain or shine Granny walked 3 blocks to the park on her arthritis crippled feet and spent the day with her new children. She was not put off by their wierd dress or hair, she didn't lecture them or try to tell them what to do or not do. She just loved them. And they responded. Her son and daughter in law worried about her for at first but finally realized she was as safe or safer there than in her own home. More that 300 kids came to the Lord in the first weeks. They gathered around her and asked questions. She answered. They asked for Bibles and she spent her whole social security check to buy them. What I had struggled so hard try to to do she did totally naturally because it was God's calling for her. She didn't use "methodology" She just belonged to Jesus let Him love them through her. That was more than a few years ago but the same principle holds today. The presence of God and His love will do far more than any program or culturally specific outreach.

You may want to post this question on the Christian Fellowship board too because there are some who post there who are specifically involved in youth ministry and you may get some useful help from them.