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Youth Groups are Church sponsored organizations, mainly in the United States, that encourage Evangelism, fellowship, Worship, discipleship, and  religious ministry among a social network of adolescents, who generally meet on a weekly basis. Youth groups have become a bridge between children going to Sunday school and adults going to regular services.

The development of youth groups: mandatory schooling and federal Child Labor Laws established in 1918, the rise of suburbia after World War II, and the increase of separation of church and state.

Adolescents now have more time then ever before to date, play sports, and participate in other activities. They aren’t expected to contribute to the family income or help raise their siblings as once before. They have also been restricted in how many hours they are allowed to work. Minors under the age of 16 are not permitted to work before 7am or after 9pm or more then 40 hours a week. Minors between 16-17 may not work before 5am and no later then 11pm on evening before school days. The church has played a large role in American society and continues to provide outlets for adolescents to build a network of friends within the church since its inception.

Demographics of Church Attendance
Education

·	37% have a high school degree or less

·	26% have some college education

·	36% are college graduates

Ethnicity

·	72% are white

·	15% are black

·	11% are Hispanic

Gender ·	43% are males

·	57% are female

Generation

·	21% are Busters (between the ages of 18 and 33)

·	45% are Boomers (between the ages of 34 and 52)

·	24% are Builders (between the ages of 53 and 71)

·	8% are Seniors (age 72 or older)

Income ·	25% earn $30,000 or less annually

·	36% earn between $30,000 and $60,000 annually

·	22% earn $60,000 or more annually

Marriage and Family ·	63% are married

·	36% are single

·	23% have been divorced sometime in their life

·	40% have children under the age of 18

Political Ideology

·	41% identify themselves as conservative

·	44% identify themselves as moderate

·	8% identify themselves as liberal

Political Affiliation ·	15% are not registered to vote

·	28% are registered as Democrats

·	30% are registered Republicans

·	15% are registered Independent

Region

·	17% live in the Northeast

·	38% live in the South

·	25% live in the Midwest

·	21% live in the West

[Barna Research Ltd.]

38 percent of American adolescents attend church weekly, 16 percent attend two times a month, 31 percent attend rarely, and 15 percent never attend. 31 percent have been involved in their youth groups for one to three years and 44 percent of adolescents have never been involved in a youth group. America youth tends to either be greatly involved in the church or not at all. From 1976 to 1996 figures of attendance attending youth group has be steady with a slight decrease. [Smith]

History
In the eighteenth-century churches began outreach for the purpose of educating children other then their regular members. The churches targeted children who were poor and illiterate and then preceded to teach them how to read the Bible. They then grew up to become regular church members themselves. Several different religious denominations band together to support these local church schools. These alliances created the YMCA and the YWCA in 1858. As time passed, the churches began to offer Sunday school to the members of the existing church, for general religious educational purposes in a monthly cycle. They first welcomed the children into the Sunday school, taught them the basic Bible passages emphasizing on their personal spiritual decisions about believe in Christ, and then encouraged them to invite friends to join the Sunday school. As the program grew, Sunday school and youth groups split, as it became they more age stratified. As the cycle repeated itself, youth groups grew into a large trend.

How they Work
Youth groups are provided for the adolescents of the families who attend the church. The adolescents who attend their youth group generally want their other friends to come and join in the experience. Within the youth group they build bonds and begin to trust each other. They attend conventions, outreach programs, and retreats together, strengthening their bond together. This group enables these children to share their hopes, dreams, likes, dislikes, with each other and not to feel judged because they have the same base of morals. Youth groups could be related to joining a club or sport at school.

Benefits
-Youth groups provide outlets for outreach and missions work. Helping their community give them feel a sense of success and allows them to get out of their norms.

-Youth groups are a place where adolescents can make long life friends who share the same beliefs as themselves. It’s a great place for networking or finding a boyfriend or girlfriend who share the same morals and values as them.

-Churches don’t restrict the attendance of these youth groups by schools, race, or gender, so they build a since of community around the church. The Youth Groups teach from the Bible, which gives positive guidelines of living and respecting one another.

-Youth groups teach the Bible to the adolescents so they may apply it to their life, but its also a place where they can ask tough questions that they may feel they can’t ask their family or in the education system that is provided to them.

Drawbacks
-Youth groups provide adolescents with a place to go where the teachings of the Bible is directed mainly toward their age group. Youth groups can be sometimes be altered to seem only as a place to go to gather with friends; a place for fun, but not a place to learn and worship.

-Parents may trust churches less due to the increase media coverage of children sexual abuse in the church. Also, many adolescents don’t want to attend youth groups because cliques may form and reject certain individuals.

-Youth Groups are supposed to be places were adolescents are looking forward to attending to. A parent forcing their children to attend just causes the adolescent to start hating youth group and everything associated with it.

-Church competing against one another for youth to attend their youth groups can get extreme. Purchasing games, trips, and new fun things to do while there, can lead to a competition of who can buy more then who, which then the point of the youth group will then change from learning about the Bible to which place has the best things to do.

Web Resources
http://www.interactorg.com/educational_timeline.htm

http://www.groupmag.com/current/Relaunch.asp

http://www.providence.edu/polisci/students/labor/labor_timeline_1916-19.htm

http://www.worldhistory.com/wiki/S/Suburbia.htm

http://www.tomorrowtoday.biz/generations/xpaper3010.htm

http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/1997/11/17/daily11.html

http://www.barna.org/

Resources
Campbell, Kristen. "Young adults missing from pews.(News)." The Christian Century 121.3 (Feb 10, 2004): 16(1). Expanded Academic ASAP. Thomson Gale. University of Florida. 21 September 2005

Hoge, Dean R; Petrillo, Gregory H (1978). Determinants of Church Participation and Attitudes among High School Youth. Journal for the scientific study of religion [0021-8294] vol: 17 iss: 4 pg: 359

King, V. "Religious Involvement among Rural Youth: An Ecological and Life-Course Perspective". Journal of Research on Adolescence, 1997, 7, 4, 431-456, 1997

Mapping American Adolescent Religious Participation, By: Smith, Christian, Denton, Melinda Lundquist, Faris, Robert, Regnerus, Mark, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 0021-8294, December 1, 2002, Vol. 41, Issue 4

Phillips, Rick. (2004). “Can Rising Rates of Church Participation be a Consequence of Secularization?” Sociology of Religion; 65 (2) Summer 2004, pp.139-153.

Smith, Christian, Denton, Melinda Lundquist, Faris, Robert, Regnerus, Mark (2002). Mapping American Adolescent Religious Participation. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 0021-8294