Over my 20+ years of student work, I’ve seen us make the shift from “active” youth ministry with it’s crazy games and unusual stunts to a more “reflective” youth ministry where little “fun” is had and the new CATCH PHRASES are “depth” and “seriousness”. I’m SORRY, but I think we are in danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water. Play is powerful; it’s not a TRIVIAL PURSUIT! It’s especially powerful when it involves students engaging one another without the help of electronic devices and being forced to use their verbal abilities to communicate.

One thing that I feel would be a tremendous benefit to ministries (both to adults as well as students) is to offer some simple classes on interpersonal communication. With the steady decline of the use of verbal skills, we are in danger of losing this ability. We already see evidences of this around us as couples struggle to communicate with one another, and friends being dropped so rapidly from our Facebook pages and social circles simply because we do not know how to openly engage each other in conversation. Our ever-increasing draw toward non-social communication (ie texting, Facebooking, Blogging) has created a MONOPOLY on our social networks, but little “social” interaction on a real level ever occurs.

Engaging in play, particularly the kind that “force” us to use verbal skills, are needed and useful for our ministry. So, let’s break open the Word and dive deep into God’s purposes for our lives…then let’s build community around our tables, both with food and games! UNO ATTACK anyone?

Jay