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Written by John Aukerman
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Monday, 26 July 2010 |
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I'm an ordained minister, former pastor, and current seminary professor of Christian education. When my church, Maple Grove Church of God in Anderson, Indiana, became aware that its traditional model of youth ministry (hire a youth pastor to do it all) wasn't working, we investigated and adopted the LOGOS model. That was 1993. We are now gearing up for our 18th year of ministry with teens and their parents with this model. We have seen an increase in retention -- with 70% of our youth remaining active in church through high school graduation (up from what most churches experience, which is only about 20% retention). We also noticed an increase in intergenerational relationships, where the youth and adults actually know each other and consider each other their friends. I tell my seminary students that I would not attempt pastoral ministry today without the LOGOS model of youth ministry.
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