Theology Camp for Youth
Seeing Both a Need and an Opportunity
President Joshua Cho said the seminary has been talking about practical theology all these years, and youth ministry is an important part of practical theology. A few years ago he met with some alumni. At that time the city was in disarray. Young people were actively involved in protests and expressing different views about the social situation, they needed others to respond and guide them. He deeply felt that given the way things were going, it was necessary to provide those alumni serving the youth with guidance and support.
In addition, having read Richard Osmer’s works and being inspired by the 65th Anniversary Academic Conference of Christian Education, President Cho realized that “edification” as a pedagogical concept fits well with our current age. Hence, he began practicing the concept in different groups. He set up a number of small groups, such as the President’s Council Group and the Alumni Group, to discuss theology with the participants. He started each meeting with a talk on a certain issue and then let others respond so that everyone could get involved in the discussion. After having organized such groups for some time, Ms. Melon Yeung and Ms. Katherine Liu, former secondary school principal and vice-principal, joined the seminary as an Assistant to the President and a Project Officer (Learning and Teaching) respectively. They helped inspire fresh ideas and new thinking, suggesting the seminary organize an annual camp specifically for young people and try to carry out some theological education programs for them.
President Cho stated that HKBTS had long paid attention to the importance of theological education for youth, and in light of the changing social and political environment in Hong Kong, we would steadily increase our effort in this particular area in order to be able to respond to young people’s feelings about the social unrest, allow them the space to express themselves, and walk with them as partners.
From Conception to Preparation
Rev. Brian Lam said he had been envisaging the birth of a Theology Camp for Youth for some time. He once read a book that mentioned how seminaries in foreign countries organized summer courses for young people and invited students to attend seminary classes. He felt that HKBTS could follow their example by hosting summer camps for youth to receive theological education. Later, when preparing for the seminary’s 70th Anniversary celebrations, Ms. Melon Yeung brought up a similar idea, saying we could invite young people to the seminary to play ball games together and talk about theological issues with them.
A few years ago President Cho and Rev. Lam had the opportunity to meet with a group of young alumni. Subsequently, Rev. Lam set up focus groups to invite them to share their vision for serving young people and their ministry in general, as well as the difficulties they encountered and the support they needed. This group of young alumni held various views on how the seminary should go about organizing a youth camp. They came up with the details of a plan together and invited young members of their own churches to join the camp. They hoped to understand first-hand what young people thought about faith. Through the youth camp, the seminary also hoped to provide an opportunity for the attendees to know about HKBTS and its theological foundation, as well as for them to bond and share their experiences with us.
Altogether Rev. Lam held four focus group meetings and three online conferences to exchange ideas with more than 20 young ministers. Thanks to these efforts, our inaugural Theology Camp for Youth was held on September 18 of last year with over 100 young attendees. We were overjoyed at the success of the event.
Rev. Lam remembers vividly what happened on the closing date for registration of our inaugural theology camp. Since we had not widely publicized the event, it was up to those young ministers whom we had contacted earlier to invite young people from their own churches to the camp. We did not expect such a large turnout. At 2:30 p.m. on that day, only 58 persons from eight churches had signed up, but a few hours later at 6 p.m. the number went up to 115 and they were from 14 churches. We were greatly encouraged by the turnout which far exceeded our expectations. The attendees also came from different age groups, including secondary school and college students, as well as young Christians who had just started their careers.
Camp: Hope That Is Seen…
The theme of the inaugural Theology Camp for Youth was “Hope That Is Seen.” It was a day camp consisting of three parts.
- In the first part, five alumni, who are the pastors and ministers of the camp attendees, held a face-to-face talk with three of the seminary’s professors on the topic, “What is the Use of Theology?” We hoped such an opportunity could stimulate young people to reflect on theology, and through the sharing of experience by our alumni they would know the kind of theology taught at HKBTS.
- The second part was group discussion. There were a total of 10 groups and each was led by a pastor. While attendees were discussing among themselves, seminary teachers just listened. The topic the groups shared was “Feeling of Powerlessness and Faith.” The young attendees discussed with fellow attendees from other churches faith-related issues, including those they found difficult to raise in their own churches, and any queries they had regarding religious beliefs.
- The last part was a face-to-face talk between five youth representatives and our seminary teachers. The representatives shared what they had learned from the exchanges in the first part and the previous group discussion, as well as commenting on the following five faith-related questions. Before the start of the youth camp, we had collected questions about faith raised by the attendees. We selected the five most commonly asked questions for discussion during this part. The representatives shared their views first; then the teachers gave their answers and explanations.
Five Most Commonly Asked Questions by the Attendees
- Why go to church? What do you think God is like? How can I bring friends to church? How can I better serve the Lord?
- For example, a Christian says one thing and does another, pretending to lead a spiritual life whereas committing numerous “grave” sins, and despite increasingly getting ensnared in transgressions, he or she is still actively serving God or joining a Christian organization that promotes worship. As a bystander, how should one react or try to help such a brother or sister in Christ? As fellow Christians, it would be unconscionable for us to see a friend caught in such a situation and decide to abandon him/her. But what if we find ourselves not having the ability to help?
- The repression now faced by mainland churches does not bode well for the future of churches in Hong Kong. I would like to know how all the professors here in light of the present situation look at your own positions. Would there be any changes in pastoral care, teaching, or research? How should we, as individuals in society, respond when we are faced with political repression?
- If the administration does not allow freedom of belief or freedom of religion, how should we as Christians respond?
- Why did God make the tree of the knowledge of good and evil grow out of the ground if He did not allow its fruits to be eaten?
Those five questions involve our understanding of God, the role of the church, spiritual temperaments, and Christian identity and responsibility in a challenging political environment, as well as difficult theological issues in the Bible. Besides covering a wide variety of topics, the questions are also fairly down to earth, showing the struggles of young believers and their in-depth reflections on faith.
Of all the questions about faith the young attendees raised before they came to the camp, quite a few have to do with how Christians should respond in a changing political and social environment. This says a lot about their social concerns, and how important it is that they as Christians look at themselves and their mission along with the doubts they have about their identity and calling. From the questions posed and the responses given, we can understand young people’s perspectives on faith, their concerns, what faith means to them, and how they put it into practice. This is useful information for the seminary in planning its youth theological training programs and other pastoral ministry programs.
Feedback from Attendees: Exploring Faith and Candid Conversations
In the post-retreat questionnaire survey, a number of young people candidly admitted that they left the camp with one big aspiration: In the matter of faith, often there are no answers, but still, there is ample room for further discussion and communication as long as everyone is willing to ask and share honestly and openly. We are convinced that the camp is able to encourage these young believers to seek more conversations about faith.
Of the three parts, the group discussion received the best response. Many young attendees appreciated and enjoyed the opportunity to have fruitful discussions and candid exchanges. They learned from the experience the art of listening and came to better understand the views of different Christians and the difficulties of different churches. This shows the importance of having a faith community, and that we have a collective responsibility to nurture young believers and everyone must open their hearts to share sincerely with one another.
Thoughts from Teachers: Youth Ministers and the Youth
Prof. Nathan Ng took part in the group discussion. He felt that it afforded him an opportunity to better understand today’s young believers and their temperaments. He was also deeply impressed by how important interpersonal relationship was to them, as many attendees told him afterward that it was the words of their own pastors that left them with the greatest impact. Hence, one cannot separate “education” for youth from “relationship building.” If the approach is right, young people are willing to receive the teaching of the truth.
In addition, Prof. Ng pointed out that the seminary should seriously consider how the camp may fit into our overall vision: the camp as a means for us to directly get in touch with young people or to assist our alumni in their youth ministry? For him in the long run, our mission had to be about the latter. Rev. Lam concurred that our task should focus on theological education, not youth ministry. He expected that our alumni’s sharing in the camp enabled young people to learn about HKBTS and its theological foundation. As long as they were deeply impressed by the sharing of their own pastors, he thought the camp had achieved its goals.
Talking with pastors who had taken part in the group discussion after the camp, President Cho felt that they enjoyed serving in that area very much. He believed the focus groups had done a wonderful job and the team of youth pastors had become a force helping the seminary to grow. Moreover, he was happy to be able to get to know a group of young people in the camp, which was a beautiful thing. He had initially planned to have a mini-conference around June or July at the new academic building which was recently completed, inviting our alumni to share the success of their youth ministry. It was intended to be an occasion for an exchange of views and for learning from one another, and at the same time giving guidance to our alumni. Because of the ongoing pandemic, plans for the conference have been shelved, but President Cho is looking forward to seeing the project come to fruition in the future.
Indeed, the theological education camp only lasted for a very brief period and was just the beginning. Apart from creating an opportunity for the seminary to directly understand what young people are thinking and what situations they are facing, more importantly, President Cho thinks it helps our alumni to practice what they have learned, giving their ministry practical applications so that they can explore what feasible methods and approaches they can use in teaching and pastoral care. The camp also provides a valuable platform for our alumni, the youth, and the seminary to have an inter-church exchange, enabling everyone to know and learn from each other. In the future, if we hold another camp of a similar nature, our teachers think the target group should be more focused and narrowed down to college students and Christians who have just entered the workforce. The number of attendees can also be reduced, and more timeslots can be set aside for small groups to allow young people to ask questions and exchange ideas, instead of listening passively. Some recreational activities can also be arranged in the camp.
