NY Times article
This is a very interesting article from the New York Times about the failure of the evangelical movement to reach out to teens. The leadership involved in organizations like True Love Waits and Acquire the Fire attributes the rate at which teens drop out from the evangelical Christian philosophy to the influence of "worldly values." I have a different take on it.I've been to Acquire the Fire. In college, I was a member of Campus Crusade for Christ. The youth group at my church could only be described as flamingly conservative. And I had a problem with all of those organizations, because of their completely unrealistic views and rules. For one, they tell you that you are not to befriend "non-believers." (Who is considered a non-believer depends on the group. In the youth group, we were told not to associate with anyone who wasn't of our particular wing of Protestantism, as well as anyone who was, but had "unorthodox" views. Like me.)
Also, these organizations seem to cater to boys, focusing on high-intensity, high-competitive activities. The majority of leadership positions are held by men. When girls are the focus, we are either infantalized or placed on a pedestal, the object of which the vulgar, sex-crazed boys want to exploit and defile.
I don't know if the Catholic church is better, but I do have a few solutions for reaching out to teens. First, let them tell you what their concerns are. Listen more than you talk. Get more women involved, and hold smaller groups with just girls, where they can feel safe enough to open up, talk, and maybe try the activities that you've been using to lure boys for years. Give them information, without judgement or a value placed on it. Expose them to lots of faiths, in order that they might better understand their own.
posted by Currer813 @ 8:08 AM
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