ARTICLE: God And The iPod

As I walked into the Anaheim Convention Center, Starbucks coffee in hand, I mentally prepared myself for the Christian Youth Workers Conference we were about to attend. I was still bleary-eyed from the Southern California traffic slog (note to self: next time, order the venti) when I was introduced to our first interviewee, a man named Mark Oestreicher. Oestreicher heads up an organization called Youth Specialties, a group that trains Christian youth ministers. I had been expecting an older man, dressed in suit and tie, maybe someone who would quote scripture during the interview. Wow, was I wrong! Oestreicher (pronounced O-striker) was hip, smart and funny with more references to “Desperate Housewives” than anything else.

Oestreicher was candid about the challenge youth workers are facing today. They used to think that just packing a concert hall and getting kids jazzed for Jesus would keep them close to the church. Now, recent studies say that approach may have fallen short. 61% of 20-year-olds say while they did attend church activities in their teens they no longer do. Pastors, Oestreicher says, have to do a better job at forging relationships with teenagers. How should they go about it? By plugging into a teen’s very wired world. […read more]

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