We are now in our fourth week in crowd-sourcing a new direction in youth ministry. Start here and play along. Previous Post: Celebrate and Rejoice

Howie Mandel had a few specials on Fox recently. It was called Mobbed, and the specials played on the trend of Flash Mobs. If you don’t know what one is, it is a highly coordinated and rehearsed event that engages multitudes of people in singing and dancing to celebrate an event. It could be a reunion, good news, marriage proposals, and the like.

The mob is often a transitional moment commemorating a much more permanent relationship. Engagement into the mob if often easily accessible by individuals; nonetheless, effort and attention are required. Participants gain a sense of a difference having been made and having shared in a communal goal having been accomplished. There is often a sense of appreciation for one’s efforts, if not from the “target” of the mob then often from the innocent unsuspecting by-standers who also witness the fun.

As Church, we need to be less about flash mobs for the social media culture, and more about the community and the relationships of a sustainable mob. Young people have seen mobs, they recognize that it should be something larger than their own world, their own experience, and something that takes them beyond their own reflection.

Unfortunately, we do not always allow the young Church to experience what exists beyond what they see in their own reflection. We have not lived completely up to the vision statements of youth ministry that indicate that our Church “should have programs for [young people] that recognize [their] special talents and role in the life of the Church. [They] bring to the parish community youthfulness, energy, vitality, hopefulness, vision, and a future.” (Renewing the Vision of Youth Ministry)

For Discussion: Does church provide for young people something larger than their own world, their own experience, and something that takes them beyond their own reflection? Please comment below with your critique clarifications, and responses. <image source>

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