The concept of youth, that never never land between being a child and being an adult, is a rather recent development in our culture. Almost nothing is said about youth in the Gospels because in the Jewish tradition one moved to adulthood around thirteen years of age when one had one’s bar mitzvah.
It was only after the introduction of more extended educational programs that the development of adulthood was delayed and the concept of youth emerged. The church’s struggle to respond to this period of a person’s life has not unexpectedly been a mixture of treating them like children and expecting them to behave like adults. Yet this bridge group may be the window by which adults can view the possibilities in Jesus’ statement: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Luke 18:16)
How does a church learn from its children and youth?
