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Quinby Rainey

Professor Pamela Rollins

English 1113-1920

14 September 2022

The Underlying Truth About Youth Groups

When some young people hear the words “youth group”, they tend to immediately

associate it with words like “restricting,” “full of Jesus-hypocrites,” or “ a waste of time.”

However, none of those terms comes within reach of what my youth group means to me. I attend

Hammon Community Fellowship which is quite a small church in size, yet has a very faithful

Christian family. Although I love our Sunday morning services, my favorite time spent at church

has to be our Wednesday night services because of the atmosphere that our multiple youth groups

create. Community Fellowship holds four different age group classes on Wednesday nights,

ranging from four year olds to high school seniors. Before people attend their classes, they gather

in the main youth building area and worship with a live band. I am the leader of this band. In my

paper, I will discuss assumptions that have been formed about the typical “youth” experience in

church, what I intend to learn about in this community over the course of this semester, and why

I find attending a youth group is a vital resource for people in their teen years.

Young people may question the value of joining a youth group, wondering if getting

connected into a church is worth their time, and worrying about being judged. Even those who

identify as Christian wonder why attending Sunday worship isn’t enough. These are concerns

that people commonly think about when considering joining a church community. However, the

main foundation of any church should be to accept others as they are and leave the judgment up

to their God. But Sunday services are not where people feel like they can express themselves.
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Wednesday night services are where youth members can relax and escape the stress of having the

eyes of numerous adults watching them. Youth groups tend to especially enjoy worshiping with

people who are close to their age and in a small, more inclusive setting.

Though the main idea of a youth group is to build and strengthen one’s relationship with

his or her God, there are other reasons for joining a youth group. In an article written by Kellen

Roggenbuck, many benefits of attending a youth group are mentioned, such as teamwork,

problem solving, skilled communication, bridging concepts, active listening, and social

awareness (Roggenbuck). People do not solely learn the religious aspects at youth groups; they

also learn skills that will help them succeed in the real world. Over the course of this semester

while I study the behavioral patterns and changes of different age groups at my church’s

Wednesday night services, I hope to gain valuable insight on what aspects of this community

need to be changed, what strategies seem to help students pay more attention in classes and study

sessions, and the reasons for why people come to my church’s youth service in particular. I

intend to also review how successful my youth group is from a prospective point of view so I can

gain a better understanding of what keeps this culture in my Hammon community prospering.

One way I will achieve this is by taking a step back from my normal leadership role on some

Wednesday nights and allowing myself to observe the group from an outside perspective. This

will help me note any flaws or restraints that are holding other people back from attending the

night services at my church.

Furthermore, I find that people in their teen years benefit from being involved in some

sort of youth group. As previously mentioned, a youth group’s meaning isn’t just to talk about

Jesus or Christian morals; instead, it is a critical atmosphere that differs from a school classroom

or a softball game. Youth Pastor Daniel Rodriguez stated the benefits of youth group
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participation as, “an excellent way for them to interact with other people, build their character,

learn life lessons, and so much more” (Rodriguez). Attending my youth group weekly allows me

to take a break from the rush and stress of school, worship and express my ideas freely in an

age-related environment, and have a fun evening with friends. For my research, I will be able to

conduct interviews with kids of various ages which will provide insight of each of the members

of my youth community at church. Along with interviewing the youth, I will also interview the

adult teachers and supervisors that keep our Wednesday night services running smoothly.

Questions I intend to ask them revolve around why they enjoy and prioritize attending every

week. I very much enjoy attending my youth group and I hope to find ways to encourage other

people to join our group.

In conclusion, I hope discussing my cultural group with the rest of the English class will

convince others that participating in youth groups can have very positive outcomes, clearing up

any misconceptions they may have. I plan to provide a clear example of what a cultural group

should look like with examples of characteristics that make my particular group a beneficial one

compared to other types of social groups. Youth groups like mine are not solely used for talking

about the Bible for about an hour and then leaving. An article by Youth Work Essentials states

that youth groups have both educational and developmental purposes, such as enabling young

people to meet with their peers, socializing and becoming part of the community in which they

live, helping young people to move from adolescence to adulthood, nurturing personal growth

and offering activities that challenge and stimulate them (Youth Work Essentials). People should

allow themselves to view youth groups as not only a way to learn and grow in their faith, but also

grow and mature in other aspects of their lives.

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Works Cited:

Roggenbuck, Kellen. 6 Non-Churchy Things Teens Learn at Youth Group. n.d. Web.

https://www.youthworker.com/6-non-churchy-things-teens-learn-at-youth-group/

Rodriguez, Daniel. 3 Reasons Your Teen Should Join a Youth Group. 3 April 2022. Web.

https://myarisechurch.com/3-reasons-your-teen-should-join-a-youth-group-what-to-know/#:~:tex

t=One%20of%20the%20best%20ways,lessons%2C%20and%20so%20much%20more.&text=Ev

en%20the%20best%20families%20face%20trying%20times.

Youth Work Essentials. Why Start a Youth Group? 2022 Youth Scotland. n.d. Web.

http://www.youthworkessentials.org/getting-started/why-start-a-youth-group.aspx