Youth Cafe "Appalling"?

In the busyness of yesterday’s Youth Café preparation at Beverley Minster, I experienced something that occurs quite often, but this time I thought “I’ll write about it”…

I was approached by a lovely & polite lady who was later joined by her equally nice husband. We were actively involved in putting the final stages to the Youth Café setup. “You’re not having a disco in here are you?” I knew what was probably going to follow, so I immediately replied “Yes we are! There is going to be 250+ young people here tonight! Isn’t it great!?” As I spoke these words, her eyes sank, “It’s appalling!” she replied.

She then went on to say that she was a traditionalist, and I responded “So am I” which confused her slightly. Sunday evening in Beverley Minster, the choir will sing Faure’s Requiem Mass, and I said I shall indeed be present. I don’t think anyone can use the title of being a traditionalist to excuse embracing change, particularly when there are kingdom needs to be met.

I asked “Why do you think the Youth Café is appalling?” and she said “It’ll be loud, disrespectful and irreverent.” So I challenged her thinking and asked “Do you think Jesus will be more concerned about the noise or more interested in presenting church and faith in a culturally relevant way?” Her answer was ‘the noise’.

I can see how trends, fashion and routines soon become traditions and accepted practices. Particularly in churches, if you do something once, it is soon considered a tradition. This is all very well, but it doesn’t mean we should be shy about reviewing things, and we should feel confident to challenge ways when necessary.

If you go back to medieval times, it would have been quite common for the nave of churches to be a very community orientated space which might have included, market stalls, and live animals running around the place. It was probably quite a loud, boisterous, but generally a pleasant atmosphere. It didn’t seem to be an issue then. Can you see where I’m going with this?

And then a couple of hundred years later, in came hats. Ladies always wore hats, which were perfectly acceptable, but now seem to have almost disappeared. A tradition that came and then went.

Both of the examples above were largely due to culture and the dynamics of society at the time. Today we face a church that is growing older, becoming greyer and dying smaller. As a Youth Minister, I am fully aware of traditions and the sensitivities that come with them, but I’ve got to take the call of Christ seriously. This means, that sometimes the mentality of “this is how it’s done or should be done” needs to be challenged.

Some wonder why church attendance is falling yet not all are willing to use our buildings, resources and gifts, to make church a place where young people feel welcome, safe, happy, and above all loved. Beverley Minster Youth Café attracts 250-300 young people on a regular basis partly because we have recognised a local need for youth provision; but I believe it’s simply because God has richly blessed the event. The event breaks down so many stereotypes young people have of church. It doesn’t have to be all hymns, boring and posh words you don’t understand. I’m not saying any of the previous is bad, or saying the Youth Café replaces the concept of church because it doesn’t and shouldn’t (that’s what we have a midweek Youth Service for). What it does, is give young people a fantastic first impression, of what a church community can be like and what it has to offer! The Youth Café offers young people an event they are culturally related to, and gives the church an opportunity to engage and be relevant to large numbers at a time.

I often get asked how we continue to regularly connect with the 250-300 that come to an event maybe only eight times a year. We’re constantly committed to working on it, and have a programme of youth ministry that we believe fits where everyone is at. But ultimately, however cliché it may sound, that’s up to God! But I’m proud to think that in 15-25 years’ time, when today’s generation have children, they can say to them “my experience of church was cool!” and they’ll be maybe more open and comfortable with the idea of taking their children to church.

I’m pretty sure Jesus was there last night partying, and has been over the last five years which has seen approximately 10000 young people pass through its doors. In the unlikely event that He wasn’t, then I admit I’ve totally got it wrong, and so have many others who share the Youth Café vision, and I’ll happily await my fate.

We agreed to disagree.