Starting a Youth Ministry in a Pandemic
Note: We’re choosing to keep this article in its unedited form because it captures an important snapshot of our ministry during our time in Barcelona. At the end, we added a section where we reflect on it five years later.
Sometime this year, between January and February, the Barcelona Mennonite community we serve gave us the go-ahead to formally lead a youth ministry program. We began cultivating a program that could both pull from our many years of working with young people as well as all that we have learned regarding the local culture.
Then COVID-19 exploded into our reality on March 13 as Barcelona went into full-scale lockdown in a matter of days.
Meeting together against all odds
Ministry is tough on its best days and quarantine is possibly the least conducive context from which to start a new program from scratch. “You’d have to be crazy to push forward,” some would say.
“Hold my tapas,” we responded.
Now, about a month-and-a-half later, we are six meetings and four lessons in. It’s not been easy:
Developing a rhythm for meeting virtually has been a struggle as the youth stay exceptionally busy with their school’s e-learning lectures and homework.
Leading a three-part lesson in Spanish examining the events of Holy Week to understand what finally got Jesus killed was a real test of our language acquisition.
Video chat does not compare to the richness that comes from organic, face-to-face conversations – something we have really come to lean into.
It has felt similar to the awkward lessons we first led when starting out in youth ministry all those years ago, stumbling over words and insecurity, while praying God is able to find a foothold in what we’re trying to communicate.
It’s been an incredible experience! We would even venture to say the youth demonstrate a definite excitement and hope for the future. Here’s the thing: though the formal program began in infertile circumstances, the fields had already been tilled. It turns out that building relationships and trust with the youth over the past three years smooths over many of the rough patches.
Joshua explains how the values of Empire shape the way many folks interpret the Bible while juggling three screens and a notebook.
Experimental youth group strategies
This definitely isn’t the first time we’ve talked with the youth about faith-related topics, but it’s definitely a shift in how we approach these conversations. After the Holy Week series, which Mennonite Mission Network summarized in English, they requested the topic of “Creation Care and Stewardship. “
Dismantling with them the arguments some Christians use to justify the plunder and exploitation of the Earth and its resources allowed us to also spend a lot of time talking about how to read the Bible and the importance of context. It also gave me joy to pass on some of Maki Ashe Pendergast’s writing about the “Subjugation of Creation” in her book “unKingdom,” which gave me the vocabulary and understanding to take environmentalism from a personal value to a spiritual value.
Another experimental way to stay connected has been combining Netflix Party with a group video call, allowing us to enjoy a movie “together” and react/chat in real-time. At this point, we take fun, shared experiences where we can get them!
As we’ve learned and have had reaffirmed, events have their place in ministry. However, event-driven ministry does not typically lead to the profound transformation people experience seeing Christ reflected in one another through mutual discipleship.
It’s likely our learning curve will continue to be steep, but let this be a message of hope: while COVID-19 has shut down so many things, it turns out God’s project of redemption isn’t even phased.
2025 update: Five years later
When we wrote this article in May 2020, we didn’t know how long the COVID-19 pandemic would drag on, nor could we anticipate the long-term impacts it would have on the local church community. We stayed in touch with as many of the youth as we could and had some excellent meetings as social distancing allowed, but the church’s landscape changed by the time we started having in-person meetings again.
Alisha films content for an online church service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the pandemic season, we found new ways to try to be a blessing to the community — albeit from a distance. Alisha started a WhatsApp ministry for checking in on the more isolated community members and helping them feel connected. She also coordinated the gathering of materials for the weekly digital worship service and coordinated a building project. Josh edited the services and then, later, took the lead in the live streaming. The whole family (including Asher) contributed some memorable digital content, such as this video about the Good Samaritan:
The Garber family retells the Good Samaritan story with the help of some friends.
As the community started returning to a state more comparable to what existed before COVID-19, it was clear we were expected to step back onto the sidelines after a time of feeling so engaged. That was difficult.
Looking back, it’s really hard not to wonder what life would have been like were we to have had more time doing formal work with the youth before lockdown — or if COVID-19 never would have even happened in the first place. Would we have had more momentum to keep things going? Would we still be in Barcelona? Would God have called us to Belfast?
