Rev. Bill Mathis on Creating a Nurturing Community Space for Youth Engagement

Rev. Bill Mathis delivered this lecture in the Old Refectory at Yale Divinity School on Wednesday, November 6, 2019 as part of YMI's monthly Lunch and Lecture Series - Youth Ministry in a Modern Age.

Lecture synopsis:
Sunday School... What is that? Youth Department... Where is that? Youth Ministry... When does that happen? Youth Engagement... How can we when they are not here? The church has reached a critical mass of departure of those who were once considered “the church of tomorrow.” This leaves a void that is glaring yet ignored when we do what we have always done and/or by our willing disconnection from the realities of the present by hiding under the banner of “not conforming to this world.” If there is going to be “the church of tomorrow” it will be one that is a living and moving organism that encounters, experiences, and engages the realities of the present so that we may yield a future generation of believers.

Rev. William Mathis serves as Director, Black Church Studies and Lecturer, Supervised Ministries at Yale Divinity School. Rev. Mathis serves as Pastor of Springs of Life-Giving Water Church (The Springs), an American Baptist Church in New Haven, CT. He is also the CEO of WLM Ministries, Inc., a non-profit devoted to providing consulting services for the development of community and faith-based initiatives with a specialty in the areas of Criminal Justice/Neighborhood Safety, Community Building, Youth Empowerment, Social Justice, and African Diaspora Collaboration.

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