Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Jan/71

Contributor - Ted Dykstra

Title - Evangelism by Youth

Topic - Evangelism

It will certainly surprise many Eastern Canadian readers to find an article on the Youth Page of the Pioneer which discusses young people from a Western Canadian perspective. Therefore, since the majority of Pioneer subscribers are undoubtedly unfamiliar with the state of affairs of young people in Western Canada, it may be appropriate, prior to commencing with the main theme of this article, to briefly analyze and evaluate the existing situation of youth groups in Alberta in general and Edmonton in particular. Several factors have influenced the present status of youth group development in Alberta. Undoubtedly the two most significant factors in this regard are the geographic isolation of the Reformed Churches in Alberta from those in Ontario, British Columbia and the United States, and the gradual decline in the number of Reformed Churches in this province.

The first aspect is self-explanatory and need not be discussed in detail at this time. The second point however, is of great importance and should be pursued a little further. Less than ten years ago there were seven Reformed Churches in Alberta, two in Edmonton, and one each in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Monarch, Calgary and Bottrell. Today only four remain, and of these only two, Emmanuel Community Reformed and Monarch still have actively organized youth groups.

This decline may be attributed to several factors. Three churches, Medicine Hat, Edmonton Bethel and Lethbridge have been disbanded for various reasons. The continued use of the Dutch language in some of our churches has been detrimental to community evangelism and consequently to church growth and youth development. A third factor is that of the age cycle. Churches often go through transition periods when they have a group of older young people and a group of younger ones but very few of youth group age. The Calgary Reformed Church is a case in point. There are of course other factors which influence youth group development as well. Among these are a lack of qualified youth elders and advisors, poor co-operation and little encouragement from parents, congregation and consistory, and general apathy among the young people themselves. All these factors have contributed to the overall decline of youth group activities in the Province of Alberta. "

Prior to 1960 Alberta Youth groups participated in annual camp retreats with sister churches from Montana and British Columbia of the Classis of Cascades. These camps were generally of a week's duration and were held either in Waterton Lake National Park or on the B.C. side of the Crow's Nest Pass. In spite of the fact that these camps were fairly successful from the young peoples point of view, they were canceled for economic reasons. To replace these retreats the Alberta churches organized their own camps. These have continued in various forms to the present. The past summer 49 young people from Edmonton, Monarch, Lethbridge, Calgary and Bottrell met for a week-end retreat in Big Hill Spring Provincial Park. In addition to these camps the Alberta churches held rallies either on the Victoria Day weekend in the spring or on Labor Day weekend in the fall. These were generally held on a rotation basis in the participating churches. Unfortunately, with the decline of youth group activities in most churches, these rallies have been discontinued, at least for the present.

At the present time the membership of the Young Peoples Society of the Emmanuel Community Reformed Church ranges between 35 and 40 young people. Average attendance fluctuates between 30 and 35, while the age of the members varies from a minimum of 16 to 23 years. Although the majority of our members are of Dutch origin and of the Reformed tradition, we have several members that come from other ethnic groups such as English, Scottish and German, and religious affiliation such as Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Christian Reformed and Free Christian Reformed. Meetings are held every Sunday evening following the worship service. Three meetings are set aside for topics, debates, films or speakers on various aspects of our Christian heritage, doctrines, and faith. The fourth evening is strictly a social. evening, for games, singspiration, or perhaps coffee at the home of one of the members. Yearly social activities generally consist of two long week-end camps, the Christmas banquet, skating, bowling, tobogganing, hayrides, wiener roasts, etc.

It is hoped that this brief discussion has been helpful in placing our particular situation in the proper perspective, thereby helping you to understand the changes that have occurred in the composition, structure and attitude of our youth fellowship. The gradual decline in Reformed Church Church Youth activities in Alberta has had a profound effect upon the attitude and philosophy of our Youth Group. It has forced us to take stock of our position_ and reassess our approach to Youth work. Our young people were compelled to focus their attention elsewhere for youth activities.

Through our congregation's affiliation with the Edmonton Evangelical Ministerial we became cosponsors of the Leighton Ford's Crusade in September of 1968. A a result of our participation in this endeavor we came into contact with the Youth for Christ. This is an inter-denominational organization which consist primarily Of young people from Pentecostal, Alliance, Baptist, Nazarene and other evangelical churches. Some of our young people are now actively involved in the Youth for Christ movement. They regularly attend the rallies and participate in the Campus Life Program for high school and university students. The director of Youth for Christ and other representatives have led several of our youth services. Last summer we had the privilege of listening to the "New Sound Singers" a nationally known religious folk group, sponsored by Youth for Christ. In addition to these events two of our young people and an elder participated in, and won, the Youth for Christ "Mini-walk" (20 miles) and collected over $500.00 for the ministry of this worthwhile organization.

Whether our increasing involvement with Youth for Christ has been the catalyst that encouraged our young people to greater action I do not know, but it seems that in the past several years there has been a steady increase in the spiritual development of our young people. They may perhaps not be as well versed in the creeds and doctrines of our church (Belgic Confession, Canons of Dordt, and the (Heidelberg Catechism) as their parents were, but their everyday applied, practical Christianity seems to have increased significantly. Young people seem to be much more at ease in confronting others with the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. This is readily apparent in their work and their financial sacrifices. The following three examples will substantiate these statements.

Two years ago, in the summer of 1968, one of our young people gave up the financial benefits of his summer job to spend two months caravaning with other Reformed young people in various areas of the United States. Part of his expenses were shared by the Young Peoples Group. A year later another of our young people, this time a girl, made a similar sacrifice to spend six weeks of her time as a psychiatric helper in Pine Rest Christian Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Once again part of her expenses were shared by the members of the Youth Group. This past summer one of our services was led by a group of local Young People known as "Youth Aflame". At the end of that service six of our young people came forward in response to a pulpit call asking them to give two weeks of their evening time to witness their Christian faith among teenage drug addicts, hippies, yippies, as well as other young people lost in loneliness and despair. In every instance these young people stated that the experiences they had encountered while carrying out these tasks had strengthened their own faith as well. This in turn seems to have had an impact upon the group as a whole. There have been occasions where members of the group have tried to witness to young people attempting to Crash their weiner roasts or other social activities in public parks. While these instances have not born any visible fruit, the, fact that the young people are not afraid to try is indeed an important step. There have been many occasions where young people have brought friends to youth group activities and that these friends have become members of the group and now faithfully attend church services and even confession of faith classes.

In addition to their own personal involvement in evangelism, our Young Peoples Society actively supports evangelism and missions, both in our own congregation and denomination, as well as the Christian Church as a whole. They have canvassed the neigborhood around our church on numerous occasions in order to ask people to attend our worship services, or to announce the Vacation Bible School Program, or to advertise evangelistic rallies such as the Barry Moore or Leighton Ford Crusades. They have raised money through the sale of Christmas trees and donated the profits to congregational purposes and the handicraft classes sponsored by our church for neighborhood children.

In the past year, the youth group has turned its attention to the support of the Alberta Indian Gospel Mission on the Blood Indian Reserve near Cardston, Alberta. Due to the fact that the Presbyterian and Christian Reformed Churches have refused to co-operate in this mission field, the burden has been placed almost exclusively on the Alberta Reformed Churches. Fortunately the Young Peoples have taken up some of the slack by raising over $325 since August, through car washes, bake sales and voluntary contributions from the members. Plans are presently underway to organize a "field trip" to the Mission sometime in the spring or early summer, to help with various chores and perhaps take part in the services. They have also contributed to Reformed Church missions in the past and this fall jointly sponsored a "Starvation Banquet" with the Young Couples Club with the proceeds going to the work of the Canadian Bible Society.

I would like to emphasize, however, that in spite of the impression you may have obtained from the above description, that our Youth fellowship is far from perfect. There is certainly room for considerable improvement. All our young people are -not as enthusiastic as they possibly should be. Often they run up against problems, either real or imagined, and get discouraged. This usually results in a temporary lag of zeal or even a decline in group membership. Fortunately, however, these periods of apathy are infrequent and do not last too long. Generally they recognize their own problems and correct them before they get out of hand.

In conclusion I hope that this article has been beneficial to Eastern and B.C. readers by providing them with a better knowledge and insight into the problems Reformed Church Youth Groups face in Alberta, the manner in which they have tackled these problems, and how they have adapted to their new role.

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