Youthful authenticity
The church is in decline. Statistically, it’s inarguable. But researchers who presented their findings at the Mennonite Church USA convention said the denomination is positioned to turn the trend around, if...
[read more]MC USA seeks Spirit-filled revival
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The executive director sang a ’90s grunge rock song. A Bible study on Ephesians packed enough input for a month of Sundays. Teenagers and adults worshiped together with traditional hymns...
[read more]Why no baptisms?
Despite serving a growing congregation, I have a concern: I have not performed a single baptism for a middle school, high school, or college-aged person in over five years. Granted, my current congregation has...
[read more]Unconventional thinking for youth
National youth conventions are the canary in several Anabaptist coalmines. Declining participation requires new approaches to our relationship with the leaders of tomorrow’s churches. Faced with steadily...
[read more]Book review: ‘Fledge’
When my children were very young, there was all manner of reading material at my fingertips, ready to tell me exactly how I might raise perfect kids. I could read books on attachment and potty training, blogs...
[read more]Powell: Elders help youth find their voice
I asked a friend how he understood the current assault on civil and human rights. He replied, “Same song, different concert hall. Ghost of Colonialism in A Minor.” This began an interesting conversation...
[read more]Watson: Preparing for ‘the talk’
Many Mennonite congregations provide sexuality education for their youth, at least on paper. Many churches include it in the four-year Sunday school curriculum, alongside baptism and the Bible. Why does...
[read more]Bus carrying Kansas youth groups crashes on return from Rocky Mountain snow camp
A bus carrying three south-central Kansas youth groups returning from Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp junior high snow camp crashed Jan. 21 just outside Stratton, Colo. Passengers experienced bumps and bruises,...
[read more]Kehrberg: Social media depression
There’s a new study out. In a nutshell: Smartphones are making this generation depressed. For the first time, the teen suicide rate was higher than the teen homicide rate in 2011. Or as the study’s author,...
[read more]Opinion: You can prevent abuse
For many of us, church feels good and safe. We were loved there as children and respected there as adults. In fact, we often describe our churches as “families” or caring communities where all are...
[read more]MC USA to hear voices of youth in convention business sessions
At the Mennonite Church USA convention in 2015, high school student Leah Wenger questioned the role of youth after noting how separated the youth convention was from the delegate sessions. “My youth group...
[read more]Conference seeks faith formation for all ages
ELKHART, Ind. — Do Christians have the resources to pass on their faith to their children? The Deep Faith conference was organized to help promote faith formation for all ages. More than 100 people from...
[read more]Conversations in tension
In the days after the June 12 shooting that took 50 lives at an LGBTQ nightclub in Orlando, Fla., there were myriad news reports about dramatic phone and text conversations between people trapped in the club...
[read more]What about sexual violence by adolescents?
Dove’s Nest has heard from churches that are struggling with situations of abuse in which an adolescent is the offender. These situations are terribly painful and complicated, but not terribly uncommon. An...
[read more]Where are you, church?
As our Canadian society becomes increasingly secular, I have been thinking that people have disregarded the church. However, this assumption has been challenged for me. This spring I have been asked to...
[read more]Youth eager to work
I was dismayed at Jennifer Murch’s disparaging descriptions of our youth (“Let’s Revolutionize Youth Mission Trips“). She has seen them complain, refuse hospitality, make fun of the host...
[read more]Bible, soccer at Congo camp
Nearly 150 Congolese youth traveled from nine provinces to attend the first Bible camp sponsored by the Mennonite Church of Congo July 14-20. For some, it was a journey of several days by boat, transport...
[read more]VBS passion inspires, shapes young leaders in Bolivia
Nearly 30 neighborhood children gathered for a week in December — a summer month in Bolivia — at Josué Roman Cavero’s home, where he and his mother organized a vacation Bible school. In addition to the...
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