Lately it's been the season for children's birthday parties. Up until this weekend, the last month's weekends have been punctuated by one or two celebrations (including my now-six-year-old).
House parties.
Craft parties.
Ten-pin bowling.
Swimming parties.
And, each time I've happily left My eldest in the care of a gaggle of parents, just as they did with us.
But, I would have hesitated if the only adults present were a group of teens or young adults, overseen by a twenty something.
Yet, this is what churches do with their youth ministries each week.
And for day-long outings.
And camps.
Churches ask parents to leave their kids under the supervision of, frankly, a bunch of teens and childless young adults.
The longer I'm a parent, the more unsettling that seems.
When dropping my daughter to a birthday party, I'm pretty comforted knowing that a bunch of parents will be around. They will have a good sense of danger and exercise a parental eye of caution. They will be experienced in dealing with kids.
In a lot of youth ministries, this parental covering is completely absent.
I wonder how the mindset of parents would be difficult if they knew a parent (or a few) were either around, or consulted, before events?
I know, looking back on my decade in youth ministry, that I wouldn't have instilled a great deal of confidence.
I was young.
I was inexperienced in taking care of children.
All my leaders, while well trained, were the same.
As much trust I may have developed over time, there must have been a certain amount of anxiousness whenever they drove away having dropping theirs kids to a big event.
If you consider that churches ask parents to entrust their kids to a few teens, supervised by a young adult - no matter how mature, spiritual, or well trained - it's a fairly unique, and scary, place we put parents in...
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