Why We Need Youth Speech and Debate Ministry in the African American Church.

In our pluralistic, secular-based and information drenched society, what are the challenges that face Black Christian youth and how may the church respond? I suggest the challenges are varied and complex and demand no less a response from church leadership in the twenty-first century. From academic performance to dating to where to attend college to parenting and sibling conflict, there is a single thread that can determine a teen’s success or failure: communication.

African American churches must consider implementing bible-based speech and debate as a ministry in their churches for many reasons: many youths are leaving the church once they attend college; many suffer from communication apprehension; there is a growing presence of anti-Black groups on our education campuses, and many youths have lost touch with basic pleasantries.

First, many youths have left the church. It’s called “Youth Exodus”. Research shows that 50–80% of Christian students stop attending church during their college years, according to Christian Standard Magazine. The magazine goes on to say, “while some return later, many do not, and the reasons are complex, involving both personal and cultural factors”. One main factor is the consequences of meeting, studying, and even rooming with others of a different faith or belief system. Because these youth don’t really know how to defend what they believe in a coherent and rational manner, they give in to the views of colleagues or, at the very least, begin to doubt what they once believed with fervor.

Secondly, and related to the first reason, many youths (and adults) suffer from ‘communication apprehension’, a persistent fear or anxiety experienced when speaking or thinking about speaking to others – especially to a group! Truthfully, very few people overcome or learn how to manage this condition (At 61 and having been in this profession for over three decades, I still struggle with it!). So, imagine how a teen deals with the tension of expressing one’s views in an intelligent manner with someone very welled versed in their own faith.

Thirdly, the prevalence of ideologically opposed political groups infiltrating education campuses across America, including high schools, junior colleges, and universities. These groups, such as Turning Point USA, are spreading white Christian nationalist beliefs, false narratives about African Americans, and hate-filled rhetoric.

Finally, we need youth-speaking ministries in our churches due to a pervasive lack of empathy, manners, cordiality, and pleasantries among our teens (and, regrettably, our adults). Or, to put it more bluntly, our youth are as disengaged as ever.

In, Why Young People Are Struggling to Communicate, Rachel Konrad and Matt Abrahams lament, “The environments where students develop communication skills are collapsing. Social media squeezes out face-to-face interactions. Memes replace conversations.”

Thus, we are met with less empathetic youth who do not value the excellencies of courtesy, as older generations once did. When in classrooms, I often remark to students on the noticeable lack of “Thank you” or “Please” or “May I”.  Not to mention the replacement of first names with “bro” and other euphemisms.

Benefits of a Youth Speaking Ministry

A youth-speaking ministry can help alleviate many of the negative trends we are seeing among our teens. Participants in these ministries will build self-confidence, find their voice, develop leadership skills, and become effective communicators through the ministry and discipline of public speaking. Most of all, they will become defenders of what they believe and experience less failure at staking out their positions in the pluralistic and secular world that awaits them.

When I was a kid coming up in church in South Phoenix, there were plenty of “speaking” opportunities. Not speaking opportunities in a formal manner, but opportunities that provided the means to express myself. Settings such as BTU, Sunday School, youth meetings and other church programs were occasions to use my indigenous skill sets for self-expression, even if it was something as simple as reading Scripture.

Most of those settings are now absent in our churches; our fragmented society, which emphasizes non-verbal communication and social media-based cues, has taken the upper hand.

With youth-oriented speaking ministries, we can bring back this wonderful dynamic of self-expression and equip our youth with the bible-backed skill sets to become change-agents in our fast-changing society.

Pastor C. can be reached at: info@pastorwericcroomes.com  or visit Pastor C. at: www.pastorwericcroomes.com