Youth program thinking
big If you think being part of a church youth program is about
clapping and singing and horsing around and riding around town on a fire truck,
you’re right. But if that’s all you’re thinking, you’re
thinking small. Sure, youth director John Burruss oversaw 30 junior high EYC kids
as they rode from one course of their recent progressive dinner to the next on
a rented fire truck. And yes, he’s drawing an average of 25 young people
for “The Alternative” – an alternative form of Anglican worship
with youthful music and reflections John leads each Wednesday night in the chapel
at 6:30 p.m. (Adults can come, too.) But John’s got his eyes on the
forest, not just the trees. “I’m trying to build a faith community where
people can explore the really tough questions in life,” he said. “I’ve
really got the junior high group going. I want to get them hooked while they’re
young.” On Sunday mornings, the YAC group (older youth just returned
from their pilgrimage to Greece) are studying Philippians. The Rite 13 kids (seventh
and eighth graders) are studying different ways to pray. And the J2A group is
working on its upcoming pilgrimage – most likely to the
United Kingdom. John
is working on plans for an alternative spring break trip for his youth next spring,
most likely a mission trip to the Gulf Coast to help with what promises to be
a long process of rebuilding after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As you can
see, the youth program at CHC is about more than having fun and more than studying
on Sunday morning or singing youthful music on Wednesday or Sunday nights. “We’re
trying to build a safe faith community, not just on Wednesday nights or Sunday,
but in the larger picture, where kids can grow up around other Christians and
challenge their own theology and grow spiritually,” John said. Sound
heavy? Don’t worry – there’s a balance. Stick your head in Cheney
Parish Hall on Sunday night, Oct. 30, the next time John and his youth have the
room for one of their guitar-strumming, singing sessions. “I want
people to know about the growing youth ministry,” he said. If you end
up joining in, that’s a bonus. But forget about the fire truck – you’re
too old. | 
