Quality youth programs and services optimize positive youth development outcomes. However, their impact is compromised without caregivers, neighbors and employers of young people providing the supports and opportunities at home, in their neighborhoods, and where they work. Congregations offer an important locus for the promotion of youth development. We know that youth development can and does occur in four primary settings:.
- Programs;
- Organizations;
- Socializing systems (including families, neighborhoods, religious institutions, schools, youth organizations, and so forth);
- Communities.
Strengthening relational capacity in these settings is in the best interest of children, youth, and families. Congregations can participate by building their own congregational asset-building capacity and finding ways to partner with other community organizations. Explore the following and think further about the strong foundation for asset building within and beyond congregations.
- Beyond Platitudes: Re-Igniting the Church’s Vision for Children and Youth by Eugene C. Roehlkepartain.
- The Church and Children: Vision and Goals for the 21st Century, National Council of Churches.
- Search Institute’s research on developmental assets shows that service to others is an important resource for young people’s healthy development. In Developmental Assets: A Synthesis of the Scientific Research on Adolescent Development and as reported by Scales & Roehlkepartain (2004), analyses of an aggregate data set of 217,000 students found that students who reported serving others at least one hour in an averag week were significantly less likely to report school problems (poor attendance and below average grates) and significantly more likely to report school success than those who did not serve others at least one hour in an average week. [Scales, P.C., and Leffert, N. (2004), 2nd edition. Minneapolis: Search Institute.]
- Grading Grown-Ups 2002. As in the first Grading Grown-Ups study in 2000, Search Institute and Lutheran Brotherhood (now Thrivent Financial for Lutherans) contracted with the Gallup Organization to identify and interview a national sample of adults, using an interview schedule developed by Search Institute staff. A total of 1,425 telephone interviews with adults (ages 18 or older), along with 614 telephone interviews with adolescents ages 12 to 17 were completed in spring 2002. In this study it was learned that an often overlooked strategy for increasing interaction and relationship building between young people and adults is to engage both generations in helping behaviors. Research shows helping behaviors tend to be associated with higher levels of service and community involvement. Among adults surveyed, those more involved with these types of activities were also more likely to be positively engaged with other people’s children and youth. Similarly, youth who reported higher levels of their own helping behaviors also reported that unrelated adults are more engaged with them. Additionally, youth reported that helping behaviors included the importance of being religious, and helping younger kids. [Scales, P.C., Benson, P.L, and Mannes, M. (2002). Grading grown-ups: How do American kids and adults relate? A national study funded by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Minneapolis, Search Institute.]
- Building Assets, Strengthening Faith pilot study. This report, released in 2003 from a study of 15 congregations who field tested a prototype survey from Search Institute (now Building Assets, Strengthening Faith), asked both youth and adults how well their congregation engaged people in serving others. Here are the percentages of survey respondents (1,592 people, including 486 youth) who said their congregation did very or extremely well in each of three related areas: Providing opportunities for children, youth, and adults to serve others together: 42%; Giving children and youth opportunities to help people in need or improve society: 42%; Providing opportunities for families to serve others together: 34%. [Roehlkepartain, E.C. (2003). Building assets, strengthening faith: An intergenerational survey for congregations, funded by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. Minneapolis, Search Institute.
- Growing to Greatness: The State of Service Learning Project. This study’s findings show that the human and financial energy spent on committing supports to service-learning—policy, training, administrative, funding—is likely well-spent. The study highlights two critical challenges: 1. Strengthening service-learning’s infrastructures, supports, and effective implementation; and 2. Expanding service-learning beyond the core group of three in ten schools that offer students these opportunities to serve and learn—a level that has remained little changed across the past five years. The dissemination of the findings of this study, help fuel a broad and deep commitment to recognizing and engaging young people as positive resources for communities—and their first steps in being engaged, active, contributing citizens for the nation and world. [Scales, P.C.; Roehlkepartain, E.C. (2004). Growing to greatness: The state of service learning project, funded by the National Youth Leadership Council and State Farm. Minneapolis, Search Institute.]
