GROWING UP IN FAITH: YOUTH MINISTRIES REACH YOUNGER GENERATION WITH CRATIVITY, FUN

Brian McClure, left, and Mikkaela McCullough looked through pictures taken during a trip to Houston. Youth from First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau recently attended the Baptist Youth World Conference in Houston.

Megan Goncher, left, helped Betsy Hogan with Bible study. The older children often help the younger children with activities during Vacation Bible School at Centenary United Methodist Church.

Youngsters from First Baptist Church of Cape Girardeau returned Tuesday night from the Baptist World Youth Conference in Houston. They brought home insight into Christianity's global compass, said Denise Lincoln, the church's minister of education and youth.

"They're beginning to understand that God really knows no boundaries when it comes to language and people groups," Lincoln said. "They recognize that God isn't just something that the `United States of Baptists' have in a little box."

Kevin Knight, youth and campus minister at Church of Christ in Cape Girardeau, said giving life to Biblical accounts is vital, so youths understand the Bible is God's word, not Faulkner's or Joyce's.

Said Knight: "I want kids to think about, `OK, if I was Mary and I was watching the Crucifixion, what's going to be going through my mind and my heart and how am I going to feel about that? And if I'm Peter, the one who just denied Christ three times, and here he is dying for me,' and put yourself in that situation."

Most of the youths who attend St. Mary's Cathedral also attend Catholic schools. Religious studies are undertaken in school, so the focus for the church's youth groups is camaraderie, said youth coordinator Sherry James.

"That's what we're hoping to gain: good, clean, Christian fellowship and fun," James said.

Sunday school is the bedrock for the youth ministry at First Baptist. Class leaders take a team approach and "create their Bible studies in such a way as to make it relevant to the situation and also deepen their spiritual walk and understanding of the God that they serve," Lincoln said.

Discipleship class is held Sunday afternoon. Youths discuss how they can apply to their lives what they read in the Bible. "We challenge our kids to not just `sit and soak,' but also to learn to find expression to their faith," Lincoln said.

They do that through what the church calls creative ministry. They perform scriptural scenes and puppet shows at nursing homes, public places and their own church. They are assisting in the construction of a home through Habitat for Humanity, and last summer they collaborated in an urban renewal project in Knoxville, Tenn. "That's faith in action," Lincoln said.

Knight, from the Church of Christ, said he tries to build a rapport with the youngsters.

"I think youth ministry is based on relationships," he said. "If you don't have a relationship with kids, they're not going to trust you and they're not going to respect you and they're not going to listen to what you have to say.

"I don't look to myself as a role model, but I guess I am."

Knight said camps are important in Christian youth education. Some students attend the Bootheel Youth Camp north of Bloomfield and Camp Ne-o-tez near De Soto.

"I try to show them that Christians can have fun," Knight said. "A lot of the world is going to tell them that Christians can't have any fun. One of my goals is to show them that I live a life that I think is pretty fun, and I'm a Christian."

Cathy Huskey, youth director at Centenary United Methodist Church, said youths do everything from attend district conferences to slip down waterslides. They perform contemporary music, go on mission trips, invite neighborhood residents to events and travel to Six Flags St. Louis for Methodist Day.

Huskey said youths who are attracted to church groups feel a need to be involved. "Everyone is born looking for something and what we're looking for is Christ to fill our lives," she said. "And the sooner that you can get young people ingrained in knowing where their fulfillment comes from, then they can go out and help others."

Said Lincoln: "A lot of people say that the youth are the church of tomorrow. And I say that the youth are the church of today because they really add a spark of life and enthusiasm and celebration that sometimes we lose as adults.

"Youth are always looking for new expression. Their faith is young and growing and it's exciting."