Peer Ministry :: Adult Facilitator Support

Student Interviews of Churches that are Using Peer Ministry

#30 Interview JAN, 2000
Central Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN
Interview with Ross Murray, Peer Ministry and Senior High Specialist (Volunteer)
By: John Aaker and Adam Dehnel

Inner City and Suburban
Size of Congregation: Approximately 1500
Staff size: 4 pastors, 4 paid youth leaders and 2 upper elementary (25 total staff with secretaries and others)
Number of youth per grade: 15
Ethnically Diverse, including a lot are immigrants from Laos. Many of the participants are not members of the church.

Peer Ministry Description

There are 5 adult facilitators, with about 20 youth trained or being trained. This is a result of an estimated 4-7 years of being involved in Peer Ministry. The incoming Peer Ministers are often recruited out of the confirmation classes that were just confirmed. This idea keeps the involvement in the church going, and brings them out of confirmation to use the information they learned during confirmation in an actual ministry position. The first year of training (Peer I) is held every other Sunday while the continuing training (Peer II) is held on the opposite Sundays. The overall goal of the Peer Ministry program is to make youth leaders a part of the church as leaders and facilitators.

Ministry Uses

The use of the Peer Ministry skills is mostly used in friendships and mentoring in an unstructured way, not set up appointments.The peer training has changed the way that the kids act around each other at church and at school.They also have begun to show the use of their skills, in friendships and in everyday life meeting, greeting and WHEATing.The biggest story that Peer Ministry has made possible is the great leadership that they showed when they were told to lead groups in preparing for the National Youth Gathering. They were told to facilitate a small group and they used their skills to pull from the group and make the group communicate in a meaningful way, and did it with great leadership. The main frustration that the Peer program faces is the segregation between those who want the Peer Ministers involved and those who don't.The youth want to have their freedom and their say in the church, but the traditional Lutherans don't want to lose their control.

Future Hopes and Goals?

The biggest hope for the future is to increase the size of the youth program, because the church could support a much larger group. They are currently trying to find the kids that show promise and get them to commit some time, but it has not been very successful. Some advice Ross would give is that starting the year after being confirmed seems to be a good time because it keeps them involved.