EVERETT — In a youth culture where the lines between high school and college students continue to blur, most youth programs struggle to find the right dynamic to keep young people in church.
At New Life Foursquare Church, youth pastors Shawn Roberts and Brooks Rice have developed a program that will not only help retain the students currently in their program, but to win back those who have gone on to college.
Shawn and Brooks were able to answer some questions about their new Sunday evening combined high school and college student program.
Q: Where did the idea come from to combine high school and college students into one service?
Shawn: Judah Smith has been a pioneer in combining services like this, and I don’t know anyone else that is doing church this way. Generation Church has been running their programs like this for nine years and they have seen the attrition rate for losing college-bound teens drop significantly.
Brooks: It’s a part of our culture. High school and college is getting more blurred, especially since the introduction of programs like Running Start. Many of our students are in both high school and college, so to them the transition is natural.
Q: The latest statistic from Youth Specialties put 97 percent of all college students as having attended youth groups at some time in their lives. Is that accurate?
Shawn: Yes, and the idea is to keep them in the program. A lot of people do great high school ministry but don’t know how to keep their students. What we are trying to do is keep the ministry real to the student, keeping it vibrant and real to them.
I want to create something where we wouldn’t lose kids after they leave high school. After 22 years of youth ministry, I’m tired of seeing them go.
Q: What are services like?
Shawn: Brooks is a great communicator, great praise and worship, with an authentic look at Jesus. Authentic Christianity. Non-religious, very grass roots and understandable.
Brooks: Energetic, post-modern but real. Plus, the room has a great mood, which really sets up the ambiance of our services. We value fun, but also we recognize that our students need depth, they need something real. We make sure we have fun, but our main priority is to talk about Jesus.
Church should be a place where you go to be a part of something bigger than yourself.
Reporter Justin Arnold: 425-339-3432 or jarnold@heraldnet.com.
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