LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 1975, Page 376

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376 PARISH SERVICES

The Board of Youth Ministry provides services to Districts
to help them develop a mutual ministry to youth in congrega-
tions and parishes. To this end we have provided 427 actual
days of consultative or leadership development services to
Districts during the past 2 years. When this number is added
to the amount of preparation time necessary for these activities,
it becomes quite evident that the six-member staff of the Board
of Youth Ministry has placed a high priority on its field services
to Districts.

Kaleidoscope

During the past biennium a new weeklong program called
Kaleidoscope was developed for use by Districts. Developed
in consultation with District leaders, Kaleidoscope is a new
LSV/Encounter-type program. The program material and initial
staff training was provided by the Synod, with Districts con-
ducting the summer weeklong events. Kaleidoscope is designed
to be adaptable to meet specific District needs.

Media Resources

Special resources to Districts include the three-screen
media presentation Five Cries of Youth and two new films
produced by Concordia Publishing House in consultation with
the Board of Youth Ministry, titied Where Are You Going? and
What Can You Do? These films were furnished without rental
charge to Districts for use in District youth board or committee
events.

Mutual Ministry in the Future

1. The Board of Youth Ministry plans to intensify its efforts
in developing mutual ministry with Districts.

2. Training for District leaders will focus on Organization
Development skills (i. e.. planning process consultation) to assist
them in their mutual ministries with local congregations.

3. Youth evangelism will be one of the emphases of the
Board of Youth Ministry services to Districts during the next
biennium. Gospel Communication Clinics, weekend programs
to help youth develop their own witness, will be initiated by
training District youth people as workshop leaders. District
youth committees will then offer the workshops to youth and
adults within their own Districts.

4. Small-group “discovery” Bible study will be encouraged
through 1-day “Discovery Festivals” sponsored by Districts
during the next biennium. Discovery Bible study is a small-
group approach that combines didactic, experiential, and
vicarious learning activities to provide an exciting opportunity
for meaningful Christian growth among both youth and adults.
The “Discovery Festival,” a 1-day workshop staffed by Board
of Youth Ministry personnel. will provide experiences and
training in this small-group Bible study approach.

The Parish: A Place of Promise (Parish Services)

The parish is where youth ministry takes place. It is here
that young people search for the meaning of God’s promises
for their daily relationships with parents and with peers. It is
in the parish that youth can experience what it means to be
a loved and forgiven child of God.

The greatest resource for youth ministry in any parish stiil
has to be people — people who have an understanding of God’s
Word and mission, people who care about young people. Such
people are the warm flesh-and-blood promise of God to these
youth.

The printed word is an important tool in helping people who
are serious about youth ministry. It reaches those whom we
cannot reach person to person. It is a medium for sharing the
ideas in youth ministry with a larger audience.

Resources for Youth Ministry. our quarterly publication for
adults working with youth, has a readership of over 6,000.

Our staff in the past year conducted several surveys, includ-
ing a mailing to every parish in the Synod. Pastors and parish
leaders were asked to suggest the kind of printed help they
especially desired. This survey, plus a more detailed survey
to District youth committee chairpersons and executives and to
a random sample of youth leaders in each District, revealed the
following results:

The most frequent request was for worship materials.

Second was the request for Bible and topic study helps.
Third was the need for program ideas for meetings.

We have tried to respond to these requests. Issues of Re-
sources for 1974 included a double edition on creative worship,
an issue on retreats, and an issue on leading relational Bible
studies and topic discussions. Resources in 1973 included wor-
ship material and Bible studies in each issue.

The first issue for 1975, “Godspeak,” is designed as a re-
source tool for the pastor or other qualified leader in helping
youth appreciate and use the inspired Scriptures. The current
issue, ‘Five Cries for Six Seasons,” includes youth activities
for 10 monthly meetings and worship ideas for each of the 6
seasons of the church year.

“Support System,” a 2-page insert in Advance magazine,
continues to provide a format for youth leaders to write in and
share their ideas in youth ministry with 60,000 readers.

Our 1974 annual mailing to the parish included suggestions
and helps for youth involvement in the congregation’s Thanks-
giving service. Many parishes made use of this packet of worship
helps and requested similar helps for other occasions. The 1973
annual mailing included the offer of a free copy of “Love Lives
Here,” a kit to help youth committees plan a youth ministry to
meet the needs of their own parish. Both mailings promoted the
Synod’s Bible study curricular materials for youth ahd young
adults.

The Future for Services to the Parish

1. The Board of Youth Ministry staff proposes a pilot project
in which it will work directly with youth leaders in several local
parishes to develop some approaches designed to aid congre-
gations in planning and implementing a youth ministry.

2. Development and production of a primer on youth minis-
try to help new youth leaders.

3. Development of Resources which provide parishes simple,
practical helps in the areas of worship, Bible study, and care-
ministry.

4. Some practical suggestions to help church councils involve
youth in the congregation's organizational structure for the
purpose of mutual youth/adult ministry.

Partners in Youth Ministry: A Promise of Support

The church is grateful that other groups too are committed
to the task of ministry. These groups provide leadership, person-
nel energy, and financial resources. Such groups include the
Board of Parish Education, committed to providing resources
for youth Bible classes, and Lutheran high schools, who minister
to over 13,500 high school youth or six percent (6%) of that age
group in our Synod.

Camps and camp leaders serve a large number of youth
through weekend retreats and many meaningful summer ex-
periences. Since 1944 our church has developed strong relation-
ships with the civic youth agencies. The local parishes of the
Synod have provided leadership and settings for many young
people through Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, and
4-H Clubs.

Young adults too are actively involved in the local parish, and
they are committed on a national level to provide resources and
helps through the Young Adult Communication Committee.

Our national church auxiliaries and agencies, the Walther
League, the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, the Wheat
Ridge Foundation, the Aid Association for Lutherans, and the
Lutheran Laymen’s League, are all dedicated to providing
resources and personnel energy for the task of ministry with
youth and young adults.

Yet we ask ourselves, “Is that the limit of our responsibili-
ties?” The Board of Youth Ministry is committed to administer-
ing the church’s youth ministry effectively and efficiently. How-
ever, we have some real concerns whether the Synod considers
youth ministry a top priority.

When the Synod did most of its youth work through the
Walther League, prior to 1968, youth ministry was supported
and subsidized by the Synod. The Synod provided $304,662 for
youth work in 1967. When the Synod accepted the total responsi-
bility in the fall of 1968, it budgeted $315,400 for youth ministry
and authorized expenditure of $330,034. Since 1968 the Synod
gradually reduced. this support of youth ministry. By 1974
budget expenditures for youth ministry had been reduced by