Youth Rooms of the Future
Traveling around the state as I do, I have had plenty of opportunities to see churches youth spaces. Most everybody like to show theirs off, and I enjoy seeing them. There are certain things that seem to be standard in a lot of them: posters, loud colors, projectors or BIG tv's, an eating area and pictures of youth group trips. Some have lights and a sound system and couches, others are simple and more reflective. The beauty is even in their sameness each is unique. Tailored to the group that is present, to the "type" of students that are attending or that they are trying to attract.
As I was preparing to teach the other night at Westport Road I watched the students scurry for the seats next to the outlets so they could plug their phones into recharge. (And now that I have an iphone I understand why). And in that process of watching students I had this thought about youth space in the future. Just as today's youth space is filled with Big screens and sound the next will have banks of outlets to recharge laptops and phones and wireless internet service will be a must as well.
And just as I was about to say, put your phones away, or at least turn the ringer off, I had another thought. This one hit a little closer to home. I ask myself, would you go into a foriegn country and ask them to not speak their language, or to a deaf congregation and ask them not to sign? If the perfered communication method of today's students is technolgy related then what am I doing to reach them through their perferred style of communications? Like I said, this hit closer to home. It is easy to ask students to put their phones away and pay attention when I speak. But do they really hear me? I tell churches all the time that this generation is charactized by the ability to multi-task. But am I willing to allow them to?
So I guess I am asking, are we embracing the culture of our students, or fighting it off?
2 Comments
posted by: Joe Ball on January 8th, 2010
