MILWAUKEE (ELCA) -- Adults involved in youth ministries should be about accompaniment and not control, said Hjamil A. Martinez Vazquez, a seminary student at the Evangelical Seminary of Puerto Rico, Bayamon. Vazquez was a keynote speaker here at "Sembrando la Semilla del Evangelio en Nuestra Juventud y Ninez," (Planting the Seed of the Gospel in Our Youth and Children), Nov. 21-23 at the Hotel Hyatt Regency.
The conference was sponsored by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America's (ELCA) Division for Congregational Ministries. More than 170 lay leaders and clergy learned about the needs and challenges of ministry with Latino/Hispanic youth and children.
"It has been said many times that youth and children of today are the future of the church. As a result, work with this generation has been oriented towards an afterwards, a later, rather than a now," Vazquez said in his keynote presentation. "The church does not know the potential of youth and children because the church does not allow them to express themselves today."
Vazquez said most youth ministries have been created to explore how adult people can influence young people. "But, I wonder how many of us consider how young people influence our lives," he said.
"Sembrando la Semilla del Evangelio" featured Bible study, keynote presentations, workshops and worship.
"The church should see itself as the presence of Jesus Christ among children and youth living in poverty," said Lori Claudio, ELCA associate director for Latino/Hispanic evangelism and discipleship. Claudio was conference manager.
"Social issues that face youth and children today include drug and alcohol abuse, hunger, pregnancy, AIDS, homelessness, firearms, violence, child abuse, suicide and depression," said Claudio.
"Ministry among youth and children should acknowledge the social realities youth are faced with in this country and the world," Claudio said in her keynote presentation. "The church is called to help sow the seeds of the Gospel of Jesus Christ into Latino youth and children. We are being called to take part in the spiritual formation of our Latino/Hispanic youth."
Workshop topics at the conference ranged from ministry and worship with youth and children to social issues facing children and youth. Participants also took part in a "resource fair" to share evangelism and outreach materials that focus on ministry with children and young adults.
Dr. Giacomo Cassese, author of "What Will You do with Your Life?" led a keynote presentation called, "A New Generation: The Church's Challenge."
"The church's history has been about transformation and how the Holy Spirit rejuvenates the church's mission," said Cassese. "Today, we are living in a church that needs new transformation."
"The Lutheran church is hierarchical, where lay leaders, children and others have no value," Cassese said. "Most pastors in the church continue to take control. As a result, people leave, especially children, because they have nothing to do. We have become a church that does not value the sincerity of its people and context."
"The good news is that God is more interested in the church than we are ... the Holy Spirit is more interested in the church than we are," said Cassese. "The new vision and mission of the church must be collective, not just representative of a few. The vision must be for all of God's people," he said.
Bible study was led by the Rev. Margarita Martinez, an ELCA mission developer in Cayey, Puerto Rico.
"Jeremiah was only 12 years old when God made him a prophet," said Martinez. "God gave Jeremiah voice and vocation, and gave him divine responsibility. Jeremiah protested, like all young people do, but God knew Jeremiah's heart, like God knows all hearts."
"Jeremiah's story helps lay the foundation for this event, 'Sembrando la Semilla del Evangelio,'" said Martiez. "Children and youth have a spiritual agenda."
Carmelo Santos, a seminary student at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and the Rev. Ruben Duran, executive for Latino/Hispanic outreach, ELCA Division for Outreach, preached at worship.
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John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
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