We repost an excerpt of this thoughtful reflection by David L. Odom from our friends at Building Faith on involving youth more fully in congregation life and mission. This post originally appeared on the Duke University Faith and Leadership blog – Ed.

Overinvesting in the Young

When American congregations hear “overinvest in the young,” they frequently think of stretching the budget to hire a full-time youth minister or find some other way spend more money on high school students. Unfortunately, youth ministries are often segregated from the rest of the church. Pouring money into a typical youth program can result in young people being more lavishly entertained and, at the same time, more isolated. “Overinvesting” means including the young in all of the life-giving dimensions of the community. If worship is at the heart of the community, how can the church engage youth more deeply in corporate worship? If service is at the heart of the community, how can the leaders engage in service alongside the young people? Read this post on Building Faith here. Read this post in its entirety on The Faith and Leadership blog here.