For the longest time, I have tried really hard to relate to students. I have known that music was a very powerful gateway, and if I just had a little guidance I would be able to relate to them, to understand them, would be able speak their language. Even more than relating, I would be able to influence their musical diet and help them transition to artists who would help them develop spiritually, as well. Year after year, I would buy curricula that would help me “understand” my students and point them to appropriate choices. As I did this, year after year, I realized my attempt to understand youth culture actually did a disservice to me, my students and my calling as a youth worker.

When we look to some outside person, group, curriculum, author to tell us about our culture, we actually are embracing a false reality. There might have been a time when there was a youth culture, but that time is no more. Even in our small youth group, we have students from different versions of youth culture together in one room creating our own unique culture. Because there is no one, two or three versions of youth culture, we cannot rely totally on outside voices to speak into our lives and equip us to do the heavy lifting in our context. It might be time to put that resource back on the shelf and do some hard work.

We need to first swallow the tough medicine that there is not one unified culture, one way to meet kids’ needs, one model of student ministry that will work for us. We live in a fractured culture where there are millions of options to define us, and every option defines us in different ways. In order to understand how to meet the specific needs of the students we work with, we have to figure out the specific context in which we find ourselves.

What is the context in which we find ourselves?
• Where do we live: urban, suburban, rural?
• What are the economic conditions: rich, poor, depressed, generous, stingy?
• What is the spiritual climate; are people churched or unchurched; pro-, neutral, anti-Christian?
• In what kind of church do you work: evangelical, mainline, Catholic, Pentecostal?
• Who is your church in your community: the leaders and followers; largest and smallest?

By figuring out our location, we see there are already a variety of issues and needs to be addressed and addressed differently depending on where we live. These questions only get us part of the way. This just gives us a broad picture of where we find ourselves. Within this unique context, we have our fractured youth culture with an entirely new set of questions.

Who are the students in our ministry and in community?
• What is their family background: strong family, broken family, really broken family?
• What kind of resources do they have: huge allowances, part-time jobs?
• What activities are they involved in: sports, band, art, service, video games?
• What is their spiritual background: churched or unchurched families?
• What are your specific students’ main needs: felt, unfelt, spiritual?

With a cursory look at the actual place you are called to do ministry and the specific students to whom you are called, you can see there is no way a boxed curriculum, author or speaker can tell you what your students’ needs are or how best to meet them. However, we have an example from Scripture of someone who understood his unique context and unique sets of people within that context. The apostle Paul was a master at this.

In Acts 13, Paul finds himself in a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch. In this Jewish community, Paul easily retells the story of God’s faithfulness to His people; God rescuing the people of Israel from Egypt, giving them the law of Moses, conquering Canaan, and establishing government via King David. Although David died, Jesus, his decedent, rose from the dead and conquered sin and death to offer the forgiveness and justification the law of Moses was unable to do.

In Acts 17, Paul finds himself in a completely different context. Now he is in the middle of a Gentile city, surrounded by pagan idols. The story of the people of Israel has no touch points in this context; and Paul’s personal testimony of persecuting the Jews and the heartbreak of his ministry doesn’t matter to the Athenians. Instead of Paul relying on his own history, experiences and expression of faith, he taps into a larger gospel story, one that will be received in this unique context.

During his time in Athens, Paul notices the religiosity of the people and uses their idol worship as a thin place to share Jesus. He capitalizes on one of the temples and uses a known poet as a hook, then shares how this mysterious and unknown God has been made known by Jesus His Son who rose from the dead. Although a revival didn’t break out in this city, Paul did manage to capture the people’s attention and opened the door for further conversation.

Paul understood that his location impacted his message. Paul understood that even in s similar location, the specific backgrounds of the people he was sharing with impacted his message. Paul had a deep faith in Jesus Christ and had an amazing combination of passion and wisdom. This is the combination that we are going to need to move forward in ministering to needs of the specific students in our specific context.

Even though we are:
• colleagues in ministry;
• share a passion to walk with students along this journey toward Christ;
• may do student ministry in the same context and same town…
God has given each of us totally unique and special people with very complex needs and issues. We may be able to share ideas and resources, but God has given you the call to ministry to the specific students in your ministry.

Let us give up trying to be someone we are not. You see, I don’t even like Nelly. The truth is I couldn’t tell you one of Nelly’s songs. All I know is that Nelly has a song in the top 10 downloads. I never will know youth culture, but I do know my students; and it has been a pure joy to walk with them as they work out their issues of life and faith. Because I am working with my particular students in my particular context, I get to spend time getting to know them, praying for them, speaking truth into their lives and showering them with grace and mercy. It is actually easier not knowing anything about their culture. We are already outsiders. With this reality, may we now have the freedom to ask questions and be invited into their world.

As we go, may we be true missionaries in our unique context with the passion and wisdom of Christ as we proclaim the good news to our students. Amen and amen!