PART 3
Three strategies critical to preteens' spiritual development...
(She gave us a list of important topics pertaining to the spiritual development of preteen and asked us to answer only three - here is the first of three that I answered)
Bible Teaching:
Preteens learn at a whole other level than younger kids and older teens. Preteens have the ability to learn and take God’s word to a deeper level – they can grasp some of the more abstract concepts of the Bible, but only to certain points. They are still limited on understanding and applying levels of the tangibility of God’s word. For instance, they know and understand the story of Moses, the deliverance of the Hebrews out of Egypt, and the Passover. They understand that this was a necessary part of the biblical story and they can even see how it fits into God’s bigger plan in the Bible. What they might struggle with is how this concrete, but also abstract concept fits into their daily life as they learn to follow God. Yet they want to know how to connect it to their lives, because they can sense that there is a deeper meaning for them. However, not all preteens are ready to physically or emotionally practice the biblical truth at levels like Jr. High age kids.
The day and age of asking 5th grade boys (And girls for that matter) to sit still and listen for an hour, while the teacher lectures them about a whole lot of Bible information is over! Preteens need to have interaction more than any other age group. They need to use all their senses to help them learn and grasp God’s word. Preteens also need to have fun and be physically active while they learn – they can become easily disinterested in what you are trying to teach them if they find that it has no relevance to their situation in life. Preteens need and want more than knowledge, they want someone to teach them how to move that knowledge to wisdom (Knowledge is information and Wisdom is that information moved to application). However, preteens still need to wrestle through and be reminded of the basics of faith issues as well.
Preteens need know information about the Bible, but what is even more important to them - they need to be taught how to put the Bible into practice.
Joe
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Here is the continuation of last weeks blog:
What's unique now that wasn't 10 years ago that require new strategies for reaching preteens?
In the ten years that I have been in youth ministry and children’s ministry, I have noticed that the problems and issues which faced Jr. High kids, are now placed upon preteens. The preteens that I minister too, are dealing with social issues that Jr. High and some Senior High youth dealt with ten years ago. They are struggling with issues like drugs and alcohol, sex, more mature boyfriend/girlfriend issues, unhealthy friendships that deeply effect them, materialism (Preteens have the most spendable income than any other age group), and others. For instance, when I was ten years old, my parents got a divorce – I was pretty much kept out of the loop and struggled with issues that dealt with trivial stuff about my parents divorce. Preteens now are confronted with the raw issues of their parents divorce, they are in the heat of custody battles and are asked about who they want to live with, they know if their parent was having an affair and they even know what that means. The bottom-line is that preteens are pushed by society, their families, their schools, and their churches to rapidly grow-up.
These new issues that preteens are facing, will not be met in the lower elementary ministry areas. Children's Ministers deal with a large age range, which naturally makes for reaching targeted age groups difficult when they are combined with each other. Kindergarteners and sixth graders are worlds about in several ways - physically, emotionally, intelectually, and especially spiritually. And the same can be said when comparing 5th graders to 8th graders. We need new strategies, because this age group has needs that have specific felt needs and spiritual needs that can only be met in targeted and focused ministries.
Joe
What's unique now that wasn't 10 years ago that require new strategies for reaching preteens?
In the ten years that I have been in youth ministry and children’s ministry, I have noticed that the problems and issues which faced Jr. High kids, are now placed upon preteens. The preteens that I minister too, are dealing with social issues that Jr. High and some Senior High youth dealt with ten years ago. They are struggling with issues like drugs and alcohol, sex, more mature boyfriend/girlfriend issues, unhealthy friendships that deeply effect them, materialism (Preteens have the most spendable income than any other age group), and others. For instance, when I was ten years old, my parents got a divorce – I was pretty much kept out of the loop and struggled with issues that dealt with trivial stuff about my parents divorce. Preteens now are confronted with the raw issues of their parents divorce, they are in the heat of custody battles and are asked about who they want to live with, they know if their parent was having an affair and they even know what that means. The bottom-line is that preteens are pushed by society, their families, their schools, and their churches to rapidly grow-up.
These new issues that preteens are facing, will not be met in the lower elementary ministry areas. Children's Ministers deal with a large age range, which naturally makes for reaching targeted age groups difficult when they are combined with each other. Kindergarteners and sixth graders are worlds about in several ways - physically, emotionally, intelectually, and especially spiritually. And the same can be said when comparing 5th graders to 8th graders. We need new strategies, because this age group has needs that have specific felt needs and spiritual needs that can only be met in targeted and focused ministries.
Joe
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