Youth Ministry

From the Ministry Coordinators

‘I’ve been making friends with some girls who go to the night clubs and sell their bodies. That’s one of the main ways that HIV is spreading here. I go and pray for them in their houses before they go, for protection, that they won’t get infected… The story of the woman caught in adultery from John’s Gospel has been very helpful for me. Jesus didn’t accuse her; he protected her. And he also encouraged her in the right direction. That’s what I try to do with these girls…’

These were the words of Melody (photo above), a twenty year old volunteer with SU in the Solomon Islands. Earlier this year she was reflecting biblically on the drastic changes taking place within youth culture in her community and the implications of this for mission. More specifically, she was reflecting on her own commitment to being a witness to the reality of the Kingdom of God among her contemporaries. How good it is when we see young people responding in these ways!

This is the first time we have focused specifically on youth ministry in Catalyst. We introduce the topic via a range of articles and stories that begin to explore some of the thinking and principles that underpin our youth ministry practice around the world, including the kind of commitment reflected in Melody’s comments above.

We hope that this beginning will grow into a conversation, so we have designed this issue of Catalyst to integrate with SU International’s website. Go to www.su-international.org and follow the ‘Catalyst Forum’ links to find more material relating to the topic. There you will also be able to respond, comment and have an opportunity to contribute your own articles, relevant web links and other media.

As in earlier Catalysts, some articles include questions which encourage reflection. We hope you will use them to create discussion and stretch your team’s thinking during staff meetings, training sessions and retreat days – use them imaginatively!

Wendy Strachan, Pauline Hogarth, Clayton Fergie