A New Vision for School-Based Youth Ministry (Guest Post by Nat Bodmer)

Nat Bodmer and his wife, April

     In September, I completed my 11th year in youth ministry. At age 33, I'm now considered a “veteran” in my field, which is not to be confused with an expert. I feel like I have more questions than when I started. I have also noticed that there is something very broken and wrong with the prevailing youth ministry paradigm. I thought it was just that I was getting old and needed to move on, but then something happened that changed my perspective. 
     Up to this point I had escaped the horror of what happened on September 12. As my senior pastor and I drove to the hospital we did not yet know the severity of Josh’s medical situation, but over the following week my heart would be broken and impassioned in ways I never thought possible. Josh Lindgren was a student who attended our church’s youth ministry while in junior high, but he lost interest as he grew older. He would drop by my office from time to time and make me laugh. He was a great kid. As I sat with Josh's parents at the hospital, many of their friends were praying. Prayers of pain and trust, along with tears of helplessness and expectation, were all around the room. Upon entering Josh's hospital room, the reality of everyone's emotions was justified and magnified with my first glimpse of Josh. His body, which was being kept alive by technology, didn't convince anyone that Josh was actually there. We prayed over him and as I left the room I understood the gravity of the situation. Later that night others joined Josh's parents to sing, pray and begin the mourning process. There was a great sense of community, love and support for Josh and his parents. Josh officially passed away in the early morning hours of September 13, with family and friends by his side.
     Later that morning I sat in the Lindgren's neighbor's driveway grieving with family and friends. Every once in a while a group of students would come and pay their respects to the Lindgren family. I was amazed at how many of the students had never met Josh’s parents, Jim and Linda Lindgren, yet they bravely came. My thoughts were swirling. What do I do now?  As afternoon came a light went on in my head. We would open the church building that night for whomever wanted to come and share their memories of Josh. I was able to pray with the students and parents as well as give the message of hope through the gospel. It was an amazingly powerful night for me and I hope others. At the end of that time together I still felt helpless. I knew that the 200 or so students who had come to our church that night would not return on a regular basis as much as I wanted to connect with them. How would I continue to engage with these students after the immediate crisis that had drawn them together?  I connected with a number of them on Facebook as a means of communicating information about Josh's funeral and wake. But I was not about to become a “creeper” by writing on all of their walls trying to convince them to come to our church. Yes, most of them needed to hear more of the gospel. But, frankly, the gospel wasn't what was first on my mind at that time. I just wanted somehow to walk with them through their time of mourning and to earn their trust—not so I could then side swipe them with the gospel but simply so that I could help.
     I knew that I had to stop expecting students to come to me. The students who are part of my youth group hail from six different high schools and a number of middle schools. They need more support than one church youth group can offer if they are going to truly make any kind of impact in their schools. My approach to ministry had to change. I had to meet the students where they spent most of their time—to become part of their community throughout the week so that I would have the opportunity to connect when tragedy strikes. I needed to empower the students that attend my church to make a difference in their schools. God answered my prayers by allowing me to work with two great guys.
      Matt Armstrong is the director of Crossroads Kids Club (www.crossroadskidsclub.com). Matt has helped me see a vision for ministry in our nation’s middle schools. Although Matt works primarily with elementary schools right now, (hence the name “Kids Club”), he and I have recently ventured into one of our local middle schools. This has been an exciting experience for me. This school is two blocks away from our church. When the weather is nice (which is about two days a year in Chicago!), a good percentage of the student body walks through our church parking lot on their way to and from school. I've always wondered how I could reach them—connect with them—on their turf. Matt has shown me the amazing possibilities for doing an after school program that unashamedly teaches the gospel. I now have an opportunity to be inside the middle school closest to our church on a weekly basis to build relationships and share the love and word of Jesus where they are before tragedy strikes. My hope is to equip students from my church youth group and help support them as they reach their peers through this school-based ministry. It makes much more sense to me to go where my students are and help guide and direct them to have an impact on their school rather than expecting them to drag their friends to me.
     Mark Robinson has reignited my passion for a ministry called Uprising (www.studentuprising.wordpress.com). As a student in Willow Creek's youth ministry he and his youth pastor developed a ministry that would unite the Christian teens in a given school. Through this unity they will experience encouragement, accountability, and be challenged with a mission—they will use their unity to reach their school for Christ. As Mark’s site proclaims, "If we spend thirty-five hours a week, five days a week for 180 days at school, I don’t think it’s a mistake that God has given us an opportunity to live our mission in our high schools." Mark and I, as well as many other youth workers in our area, are committed to seeing that our Christian students are given a vision for their schools.
      What I realized through the events of this past September is that it's not about those 200 grieving high school students coming back to me. Rather I need to go to them. Further I need to equip and empower their peers in such a way that these students (and many others) see, hear and experience Christ through the Christian presence on their campus. Then as their lives are transformed the church will be built. The challenge that lies before me and other youth pastors is a question asked by senior pastors and church boards—whose church will be built?  Will it be mine or Mark's or Matt's or… Christ’s?
     My vision for youth ministry had become stale before I met Matt and Mark and many of the other youth workers I'm working with now. Josh's death made it very evident to me that if I keep doing youth ministry the way I had for years before I would continue to miss the opportunity to impact students who might never come into our church short of a tragic event like Josh’s death.
     As the Church we must engage our schools at every level. We need to be seen as a vital part of the fabric of the community. Much of community life revolves around local schools. If this is the case, why are we not embracing this reality and getting involved in the support and development of those schools? We should be the largest cheerleaders for our schools: teachers, staff, students and parents. Crossroads and Uprising have the perfect opportunity to help students stand strong for Christ while being an encouragement to local schools.    



Nat Bodmer is the youth pastor at Calvary Community Church in Schaumburg, Illinois. He blogs at http://natbodmer.blogspot.com/ and you can contact him at natbodmer@gmail.com.