the calling process

The foundational practice of the contemplative approach to youth ministry, this process involves the weekly prayers of the covenant community, the intentional search for congregation members who display gifts for youth ministry, and faithful discernment of the “slow work of God.”

For 8 weeks, a small group of youth ministry volunteers gather for one hour each week, following the liturgy for discernment, to share in one another’s lives, to share in contemplative prayer practices, and to pray over the names collected between each meeting by the members of the group. The names are collected by canvassing the congregation, asking “Who have you seen that seems to display natural interests in our church’s young people?”

Each week, these names are shared and added to a list that is prayed over by the group each week. At the end of the 8 weeks, the prayer group divides into pairs and then begins to meet with those who have been named as having gifts for youth ministry. These potential volunteers are affirmed in their gifts and asked to pray about attending the discernment retreat.

the discernment retreat

This full-day retreat, generally scheduled on a Saturday, is intended for those persons who have been identified by the prayer group as having gifts for ministry, who sense a call to this ministry, and who are interested in discerning their own involvement as a part of this team.

The group gathers at a retreat center or other site preferably away from the church from 9am until 3 pm, following an extended version of the liturgy for discernment. The morning session is spent in guided contemplative prayer practices that are intended to create space for participants to consider their own call to ministry. After lunch, the participants share in discerning how they might offer themselves, and their perceived gifts, to the young people of their church. This day ends with each participant naming a particular way in which they imagine offering of themselves to young people.

the follow-up retreat

Generally held for 2-3 hours after church on a Sunday, those potential volunteers from the original calling list are invited to participate in a more formal process of forming the program for the future of the youth ministry. The specific ministry ideas are grouped into natural broad categories so that the specific plans for the ministry calendar can be made. The schedule for this retreat follows the Liturgy for Discernment.

liturgy for discernment

This seven step movement is used so as to keep the youth ministry grounded in the presence of God. Intended to be practiced by the youth ministry covenant community each month, the gathering consists of the following:

Ritual: Silence, a song, lighting of a candle...some ritual that helps us recognize the presence of God.

Relating: Checking-in. Attending to each other. "How are you?"

Receiving: Attending to God through prayer, either Lectio Divina or the Awareness Examen.

Ruminating: Each person shares what they noticed during the prayer.

Reflecting: Touching into our call/mission. The group answers the following question: "Given what we've heard and shared, what is God's call to us?"

Responding: Out of listening, we do our work. We look at our business items.

Returning: Closing prayer. Offering ourselves/efforts to God.