One of the significant ministry victims of the pandemic was youth ministry. I didn’t understand until after the 2020 shutdowns how significant institutional memory was for youth ministry. The power of a cool high school senior hyping up a service opportunity or a summer retreat just can’t be replicated by an adult leader, no matter how cool we think we might be. Many churches have struggled to rebuild youth groups after losing the momentum of institutional memory, and to convene groups of young people with the critical mass to thrive. It has been a challenging time for many of those who lead our young people.

There are points of light in the darkness, and reasons to be hopeful. In particular, several churches in the Bay Area Disciples have chosen to become co-conspirators, finding ways to work together to meet the needs of our young people.

This past summer, Ark and Dove joined Annapolis First as a Montreat Youth Conference delegation. We also delightfully selected the same week as Towson Presbyterian and Brown Memorial, so we merged into one big, happy Presbytery of Baltimore family. The trip was fantastic and our youth (and adult leaders!) connected across congregations, creating lasting friendships. Ark and Dove and Brown Memorial each had one youth attend the conference–without the partnership of other churches, they likely would not have had the opportunity to experience the gifts of Montreat.

Our next Bay Area Disciple youth conspiracy is right around the corner: Confirmation! Prince of Peace, Christ Our Anchor, and Ark and Dove are joining together to host confirmation as a co-op. We’ll be rotating leadership and hosting between the three churches, and together we’ll be able to gather enough youth to have lively and important conversations. We’re hosting an information session on October 27th and our classes will begin in January. 

It is such a joy to work with other leaders, especially in this time of discerning what’s next in youth ministry.

Thanks be to God for the joy of connection.

– Jenn McCullough, Ark and Dove