6 Florida United Methodist Review Online

Youth foster accountability

By Michael Wacht

BRANDON — Peer pressure is a common problem among children and teens, but for youth at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church here peer pressure is a good thing. More than 50 are involved in the church’s six youth accountability groups and are answerable to each other for their actions.

Julianne Reed, a 7th-grader, said the group helps keep her focused on doing the right things, like reading her Bible every night and praying regularly. She says the group also helps her stay out of trouble. “I stop and think about stuff before I do it, so I don’t have to go back to [the] accountability [group] and tell them I didn’t do what I said I would,” she said.

The groups began in 1997 to complement existing youth Bible studies and offer the kids a safe environment to “ask questions and get answers,” said Jeff Tate, director of youth and young adult ministries at St. Andrew’s.

The groups are based on the Wesleyan small-group model and are limited to 10 people each of the same grade-level and gender, according to Molly Blanton, a St. Andrew’s member who volunteers as a junior high girls’ group leader. Each group also has an adult facilitator of the same gender who is responsible for making sure group meetings stay on track and run smoothly.

Although participation and attendance are not mandatory, Tate says he does ask the kids to make a commitment to the group. Approximately 60 percent of the church’s youth are involved in a group, and most have stayed with the same one.

Blanton said the consistent membership helps the youth build trusting relationships with each other. “The groups are designed to follow through as they [the youth] mature,” she said. “We try to keep them fairly stable and not have people coming and going throughout the year.”

Reed said she appreciates the relationships she is building with the girls in her group. “I like being able to trust somebody with what’s going on in my life, knowing they won’t tell anybody and will help me out with the situation,” she said.

The weekly meetings begin with a devotional reading, followed by a group discussion in which the youth apply the reading to their lives, share what’s happening in their lives and ask questions about life or Bible readings, Blanton said. The youth also pray for and with each other.

“One goal is to get them comfortable with praying out loud, in front of others or with others,” Blanton said, adding that public prayer is often part of witnessing to others. The group leaders want the participants to be prepared to witness and pray.

Tate said the groups have helped the youth move from being fun-oriented to mission-oriented. In 1998 the youth participated in mission projects for the first time in five years.

“Big things happen in small groups,” Tate said. “As far as spiritual growth in the youth ministry, the most growth has occurred in and through the accountability groups because of what God has done through these groups.”