?How did we get here?
Having posted on Youth ministry and family ministry and whether segregation is a good thing, and on the subject of should we expect youth clubs and midweek "outreach" to feed Sundays (here), its been interesting to learn something of the background to these issues.

At the risk of being boring here are 2 quotes from London Baptist history:
Speaking of the 1870's :
"Organisations specialising in work amongst young people, men and women arose. The segregation of the church had begun, for good or ill"

In 1878 my LBA predecessors were concerned again with youth and childrens work.
They held a conference "The Young People of our Churches and Congregations, our duty towards them. How shall we best discharge it" (snappy title - might borrow that one!).
But as today part of the issue was "bridging" youthwork into the "main" church:
"With a band of 4,714 teachers, instructing 58,270 scholars, may not further enquiry be urged - are the churches augmenting from this source as numerously as might be expected?"

So my question is - to what extent should we be seeking to help churches work with same old models and to what extent is a radical new approach called for? (and my guess is the answer is both!).