Youth Leadership in Hispanic Worship

Our youth are a great gift — for the Hispanic church in particular and for the church in general. They are a "people with a promise." However, in an era of Ricky Martin, Jennifer López, and MTV, how do we keep our youth interested in church and worship so they do not find it boring and outdated? Before we answer that question, we need to ask ourselves: Do we look forward to the worship experience? Do we feel enough enthusiasm so as to invite others to church to share it?

If our answers to these questions are tinged with some negativity or caution, we probably are not ready to guide our youth in worship. As adults, we must not give up, but rather seek ways to make worship fulfilling and culturally relevant. The task with our youth is the same. We need to teach them about worship, about our denomination's traditions, and about our culture.

Two useful resources for this task are the hymnal Mil Voces Para Celebrar and the United Methodist Book of Worship. In my past experience in the parish, I always took time to explain to the youth the meaning of our Judeo-Christian symbols, the liturgical elements in the sanctuary, and the reason for liturgical and sacramental practices. The relationship between God and the people has always been dialectical and dialogical. In the same manner, we need to be in constant dialogue with our youth to help them understand the meaning of worship as the preliminary first step to their full involvement in it.

Youth like to explore new things, and new experiences are conducive to learning. One thing the pastor can do to motivate the youth is to take them to a church that worships in a different style than theirs. It would be helpful to have a question-and-answer session with the host church pastor to give the youth an opportunity to learn about other worship traditions. Then they can compare other worship experiences with their own.

The question is: "How do we help our youth become fully involved in planning and leading worship?" Each local church should consider designating a room in ther building exclusively for youth; or if this is not possible due to limited space, a day of the week could be set apart for youth sharing and worship.

Either in the "youth room" or during the designated day, youth should feel relaxed and at home. There should be time for recreation, celebration, and thanksgiving. Prayer, thanksgiving, music, silence, and witnessing need to be interwoven in a way that allows a smooth transition from the social to the worship time. Allow the youth to write their own liturgy and set up a time for reflection. Do not criticize them; there will be appropriate times for instruction. Allow them to decorate the room or rearrange the sanctuary. These steps will help ensure youth participation in worship.

Finally, it is very important to know that we do not operate in a vacuum and that adults as well as youth are part of a history and a culture. We must teach our youth about our stories, myths, music, and traditions so that they can appreciate and cultivate their culture. It is in Jesus Christ that contextualization best takes place and that our celebration finds its base in his liberating, self-giving sacrifice.

En Español

The Rev. Franklin Guerrero-Jiménez is the Executive Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church. The Rev. Guerrero-Jiménez resides in the New York City area.