Where Have All the Young Ones Gone?

"Remember your Creator in the days of your youth..." (Eccl. 12:1)

Do you remember the song by Peete Seger: "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" It is a haunting, cyclical song about flowers being picked by young girls, who gave them to young men, who became soldiers, who went off to war, who were killed in battle and were buried in graveyards, where flowers grew.

Sometimes that song comes to my mind when I look out over our congregation on Sunday morning: "Where Have All the Young Ones Gone?" Perhaps others feel the same way. Certainly our session is grappling with this question and other questions as we look to the future of our congregation. We need to think long and hard about our church family and what we may need to do to encourage young people to attend and to remain in our fellowship.

There are many positive ministries at the church. Our children's ministry continues to grow. The Amigos after-school program is at capacity with children waiting to get in. The KidSingers continue to be a beacon of light in our community. Our assistance with the students at Wilson School has been a wonderful new relationship. The food distribution and assistance to those in need continues to expand.

One ministry that is not as visible is the Tuesday night contemporary worship and Bible study: "The River." We have 15 regular attendees and all but three are around thirty years old. There are five couples who come regularly. One of our members brings tacos every week and others bring sweets. We sing praise songs and discuss scripture together. We have built a fine fellowship.

One concern that your session is seeking to address is the trend that when our children move into Middle School and High School, they lose interest in church. Other churches have more exciting and active youth groups and so we see our youth go to them. Often, the parents, who are concerned about the spiritual development of their children, will take the kids where they want to go. If the kids are happy, the parents are happy.

Pastor Danny started to see this trend in the Latino ministry. Families started coming to First Presbyterian Church, they got involved, loved the children's ministry, but as soon as the children began to get older, the families disappeared. Danny talks about how frustrating it is to invest so much time and energy into the lives of these precious children, only to see them leave when they're older.

When Danny started to express his frustration, I started thinking about FPCSA since I have been here. This concern is not limited to the Latino members. We have seen the same trend among our English speakin members: young families involved in the life of the church that have left because there wasn't a strong youth ministry here.

Your session has prayerfully considered this concern and has come to the conclusion that our next step for ministry will focus on a strong, active and exciting youth program. In order for this to happen, we will need to consider the addition of a Director of Youth Ministry. I ask you to prayerfully consider this next step in the life of this church. Many of our members remember how well this church did with theor children during their adolescent years.

Perhaps it is time to recapture that strong ministry. Perhaps then, I won't be singing, "Where have all the young ones gone?" on Sunday mornings.

On a somewhat related note, last summe I read a wonderful book by Gordon MacDonald titled, Who Stole My Church? MacDonald has been a pastor an author for over 40 years. And this book deals with the question of "What to do when the church you love tries to enter the 21st century." MacDonald approaches the issue of modernizing from the viewpoint of a long-time church member and a grandfather. I encourage everyone in our congregation - both young and old - to read this book.

May God richly bless us even as He blesses others through us! And may we have a happy & prosperous New Year!

In His Love & Service,

Lance