The Influence of Radio on Early Youth Ministry

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CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING THE FUNNEL AND ITS DEVELOPMENT

Introduction

Why is there is a crisis in the church in North America? Why is it failing to retain youth in its ranks? Why is there a lack of spiritual maturity among those who attend? When faced with a difficult situation or a crisis, steps must be taken to see the connection between what is happening and why it is happening. This may lead one to revisit their praxis and create a new strategy. Earlier, I have noted Browning’s observation that practices are theory-laden, and, because of this, we must seek to find the vision behind these practices. In other words, we must ask why is this happening (Browning 1996:226). Heitink states that Practical Theology must be built on deep reflection on our praxis. This reflection ought to lead us to think about what is happening in light of our theory and theology (Heitink 1999:153). This then leads to a reflection on our understanding of theory, relevant Scripture, and the effectiveness of our practices in lieu of our culture. This may lead to a rereading of Scripture, and a revision of theory (Heitink 1999:153-154). Osmer refers to this process as the interpretive task, where one tries to discern why is this situation happening (Osmer 2008:4).
Youth ministry, like all ministry, is birthed in an historical context and shaped by cultural influences. This present crisis in youth ministry has come about from our context and cultural influences. My question is whether the modern Christian youth movement’s relationship with parachurch organizations that arose in the early part of the twentieth century has led to the crisis we are now in. These organizations had, at their core, the desire for conversion rather than the development of spiritual maturity. In addition, they were committed to attracting youth via culturally relevant entertainment and activities. This led to the development and then widespread acceptance of youth ministry built on attraction, and thus the Attractional Model of youth ministry.
This Attractional Model of youth ministry, and, more specifically, the Funnel model did not come out of a vacuum. They were birthed in a culture that was increasingly exposed to the sophisticated entertainment of radio and Hollywood films. Youth evangelists incorporated this exposure to entertainment and used it to promote the gospel. Bergler states that in the 1950s “Christianity embraced fun and entertainment,” even though they were wary of the morals it portrayed (Bergler 2012:174). He argues that evangelical Christians wanted their message to be exciting and offered “thrills” as well as a personal faith. He believes teenagers were attracted to this rendition of the faith because it was “much more appealing than the version they saw among their parents” (Bergler 2012:174).
Youth for Christ, and Young Life are two prominent parachurch youth ministries formed last century that utilized entertainment as a prominent feature in their evangelistic endeavors. These two movements are pivotal to understanding the development and popularity of an attractional model of youth ministry. The direct influence of these two parachurch youth ministries is paramount for an examination of modern youth ministry trends and programming strategies. Borgman calls Young Life’s influence on contemporary youth ministry both “broad and unmistakable” (Borgman 1987:69). Senter agrees, stating that “churches have flattered the movement by imitating its strategies and methods” (Senter 1992:22). Jay Kesler, the former president of Youth for Christ U.S.A. comments: “There are very few things done in youth work that were not pioneered in Youth for Christ or Young Life—be it in Christian camping, various small group activities or music” (Schultz 1985:22).
The influence of these two organizations strikes a chord with the desire of North American churches to see a far-reaching impact in the area of evangelism. Both of these organizations have, at their heart, what Ladd and Mathisen refer to as a revivalist mindset, that is, the desire for conversion and the evangelization of unchurched youth (Ladd & Mathisen 1999:233). This desire for conversion and evangelism is what drives this attractional understanding of youth ministry. Bergler comments that these two groups set the pattern with their program of songs, games, skits, and entertainment. These are followed by more serious segments such as a talk or Bible study that are packaged with humor, stories and personal testimonies. He believes that this pattern is effective because it appeals to the desire that youth have for fun and belonging (Bergler 2012:220). He notes that the leaders of Youth for Christ promised teenagers that they could “have fun, be popular, and save the world at the same time” (Bergler 2012:148). In fact, Bergler uses the term “fun consecration” when describing the organization (Bergler 2012:151).

The Influence of Radio on Early Youth Ministry

To understand the development of Youth for Christ and Young Life, it is necessary to briefly examine the influence of radio on North American culture and how this shaped Christian leaders to combine entertainment and evangelism. American Christianity has a long-held commitment to advancing its message through the use of modern communication strategies. Hart believes that, as far back as the First Great Awakening in America, evangelical Christians have shown “an ability for exploiting new communications technology and business practices to advance religion” (Hart 2002:174-175). In the early twentieth century, the emergence of radio as a common form of communication and entertainment, is one key factor in the quest to understand the development of attractional youth ministry. Mark Ward believes that “twentieth-century American religious cultural phenomena, from evangelical celebrities to evangelical music, are hardly comprehensible without religious radio” (Ward 2013:102). One of the main reasons for this was simply the availability and rapid increase in ownership of radios in American households. In the 1930s, two-thirds of American households owned a radio and by 1940 the figure had risen to over eighty percent (Sterling & Kittross 1978:533). Radio had an impact not only in North American culture at large, but also, more specifically, on evangelism, especially evangelism to youth. Christians who were involved in evangelism were quick to discover radio as a means to amplify their message to a wider audience. More importantly, for the fact that so many people were committed to not only listening to the radio, but listening to programs of high quality caused some Christian evangelists to believe that secular radio had set a high standard of entertainment that must be met if one was to win the youth of the day. Carpenter notes that Billy Graham was influenced by radio announcers mimicking “their timing and timeliness with his own passion to save lost souls” (Carpenter 199:217). Torrey Johnson, the first leader of Youth for Christ and a key figure in the development of youth ministry in the twentieth century, wrote: “Isn’t radio part of every youngster’s environment today? Furthermore, doesn’t the world present its best via radio” (Johnson & Cook 1944:37)? In his mind, this meant that any attempts to evangelize youth had to be of the same quality as the entertainment the world provided. Johnson would urge evangelists to understand this high standard and to figure out what type of events youth would attend. Speaking of evangelistic gatherings, he wrote: “Dare to offer them something shoddy, and they’ll shun your meeting” (Johnson & Cook 1944:36). Hart points out that in the 1930s radio received widespread acceptance among Christian homes (Hart 2002:59). He notes that religious music and musicians became popular, “almost in the fashion of a religious vaudeville theater” (Hart 2002:59). In the 1940s, it became even more evident that the melding of ministry and entertainment was now patterned.
In addition to radio, the influence of the Hollywood movies added to the pressure for a style of evangelism that would be considered by the audience as high quality. Hart points out that Christian youth meetings could not be run in a way perceived to be second rate compared to the first class entertainment provided by Hollywood. In Hart’s words: “effective ministry to teens required the timing of the best comedy, peppy gospel music, references to current events, moving testimonials from converts—in other words, a good show” (Hart 2002:79).
The popularity and influence of this medium forced many evangelists to aim for a high degree of professionalism and programming excellence. In his writings on the beginnings of Youth for Christ, Johnson writes:
Oddly, radio has spoiled things for the careless gospel musician; for your young folk can hear, if they wish, worldly music, perfectly produced, any hour of the day or night. It is not that they appreciate the gospel less, but that they have found out what good production is, and brother, they’ll hold you to it. (Johnson & Cook 1944:36 italics theirs).
Bergler points out that Youth for Christ were building on the culture of entertainment and especially the impact of modern films on youth. He claims that the youth of America “demanded that Youth for Christ leaders provide them a Christian youth culture complete with fun, popularity, movies, music, and celebrities” (Bergler 2012:148). Torrey Johnson states that the aim of Youth for Christ was to: Present the gospel in as attractive a form as anything presented by the world. We hoped, as a friend stated after one of the rallies, that young people would say, “The quality of this program is as good as anything the world has to offer.” At the same time, we were also praying that there would be conviction and as a result, salvation, consecration and revival at all of these meetings (Johnson & Cook 1944:22-23, italics theirs).
From this setting, Youth for Christ and Young Life, the forefathers of modern youth ministry, would arise and significantly shape the way youth ministry was done for the rest of the century. These two ministries were also foundational in the development of an attractional view of youth ministry.

The Formation of Youth for Christ

Founded in the late 1940s, Youth for Christ would have a major impact on the shaping of modern youth ministry, especially in regards to the formation of entertainment-based attractional ministry. Borgman claims that Youth for Christ established a template for the youth gathering that has become the “longstanding model for youth ministry—still much in force today” (Zoba 1997:20). Cannister sees the growth of Youth for Christ and the development of evangelicalism as inseparable. He contends that youth ministry prior to Youth for Christ was built on the nurturing of Christian youth, whereas Youth for Christ changed the focus towards youth evangelism (Cannister 2001:89). This transfer from nurture to evangelism is one of the key influences that shaped the attractional model of youth ministry and the development of the Funnel Model of youth ministry.
Youth for Christ (YFC) began in the 1940s and arose from the desire to see the large number of unchurched young people in the United States of America come to faith in Jesus Christ. Pahl writes that the birth of this movement came from the revivalist tradition that has a long history in American theology (Pahl 2000:57). Youth for Christ is especially important in this study of attractional youth strategy given the movement’s reliance on (then) modern forms of entertainment, as well as the fact that it became so influential and numerically large so quickly. In fact, Carpenter calls its early growth “astonishing” (Carpenter 1997:175).. Summing up the impact and style of this youth ministry movement, Hefley explains that it was “a combination of fast moving programs, Christian vaudeville and fervent revival-style preaching,” and that it “packed in hundreds of thousands throughout the United States and Canada while crusty leaders gaped in surprise” (Hefley 1970:14). While Youth for Christ was born out of preaching for conversion, which was something that churches were familiar with, the organization, in Carpenter’s words, “wed born-again religion to the style as well as the media of the entertainment industry” (Carpenter 1997:162). However, Carpenter notes, their brand of revivalism was “much more daring and innovative than its predecessors” (Carpenter 1997:162). The influence of this organization on modern youth ministry must not be underestimated. It is a significant contributor to the role of entertainment in modern youth evangelism.

The History of Youth for Christ

While Shelley claims that the origins of Youth for Christ are difficult to ascertain precisely (Shelley, 1986:48), Borgman states that it was “born out of a prayerful conference in Indiana in 1944” (Borgman 1987:69-70). However, it is clear that there were a number of key factors that led to its development. One of these factors, stated earlier in this paper, was the rise of the impact of radio. Percy Crawford, a Philadelphia based preacher, hosted a regular radio show that began in the 1930s, titled Young People’s Church of the Air. According to Carpenter, this program was on a large number of stations across the United States, was filled with practical jokes, and moved at “breakneck speed” (Carpenter 1997:164). Crawford’s unique style became a template for youth evangelists and was a direct influence on the soon-to-follow Youth for Christ organization (Carpenter 1997:164). Cannister comments that Crawford was one of the first to see a connection between adolescent culture and its impact on Christian ministry (Cannister 2003:70). In fact, Crawford tried to use youth culture to his advantage in preaching the gospel. Cannister writes:
Crawford unapologetically used the music of popular culture to reach young people with the message of the gospel. And Crawford’s preaching was as bold as his use of music. He had no tolerance for superficial preaching. His spoke in the language of adolescents and courageously proclaimed the truth of the gospel using a plethora of Scripture. Because of his use of radio, his preaching and his meetings were rapidly paced so that radio listeners would not tire from “dead air” time. Many preachers, such as Jack Wyrtzen and Billy Graham, were strongly influenced by the rapid fire, Scripture-filled, truth-telling style of Crawford (Cannister 2003:70).
In 1941, Jack Wyrtzen, a New York based insurance salesman, began a weekly radio broadcast called Word of Life (Cannister 2001:88). Wyrtzen’s wife had become a Christian at a conference run by Crawford, and Wyrtzen would become his protégé (Carpenter 1997:164). Wyrtzen was urged by Crawford to begin his own radio show (Shelley 1986:48) and so he began Word of Life. This show became very popular, and, in Cannister’s words, these broadcasts “galvanized many of the youth ministries that had come before” (Cannister 2001:88). In 1944, Wyrtzen organized a youth rally in New York City, drawing over 20,000 people. In Illinois, a similar movement of youth rallies was being organized, the most noteworthy being the Chicagoland Youth for Christ rally, held on May 27, 1944. This rally was led by Torrey Johnson (who would soon head up the new Youth for Christ organization). The speaker being a local preacher named Billy Graham. The success of the Chicagoland rally was enormous, and other cities followed suit. McLoughlin states that there were four hundred cities running weekly Youth for Christ rallies by the end of 1944 (McLoughlin 1959:480).
This disparate movement of semi-related rallies joined together to form one organization. Senter writes that on July 29, 1945, 42 delegates from a number of different parts of North America, all of whom had been running rallies in the style of the Chicagoland rally, met at Winona Lake in Indiana and formed Youth for Christ (Senter 1992:117). The fourfold aim of this movement was:
1. To promote and help win youth for Christ everywhere
2. To encourage evangelism everywhere
3. To emphasize radiant, victorious Christian living
4. To foster international service of youth through existing agencies (Cannister 2001:88).
The motto adopted by Youth for Christ was simple and reflected their commitment to evangelism via culturally relevant entertainment: “Geared to the times and anchored to the rock” (Johnson & Cook 1944:17). Their goal was to be modern in the delivery of their message and the programming segments that surrounded it, yet still committed to preaching the Biblical message of salvation. It is clear that Youth for Christ lived out this motto and was not hesitant to use modern forms of entertainment to attract young people and assist them to hear the gospel message. Billy Graham said: “We used every modern means to catch the attention of the unconverted—and then punch them right between the eyes with the Gospel” (Ladd, & Mathisen 1999:113). Music was often a central component in Youth for Christ’s evangelistic rallies. Ladd and Mathisen note that Billy Graham would use a “variety of musical warm-up groups to share the meetings with him—a Salvation Army band, a brass quartet from Bob Jones College in nearby South Carolina, a child piano prodigy, and the ‘world’s foremost marimba player.’” (Ladd & Mathisen 1999:95-96 punctuation theirs). We see here a commitment on the part of Youth for Christ to attract with activities that bear little to no resemblance to the Christian identity of the movement. There is, in my opinion, a split between who they are and what they do.

Evening Rallies: Geared to the Times and the Need to Appeal to Youth

Youth for Christ became well-known for their Saturday evening youth rally. These rallies were intricately designed to reach their target audience of young people. They eschewed the traditional means of a church service and connected with the youth culture by riding on the back of popular youth interests. Shelley notes that the leaders of the organization designed all aspects of their rallies to be appealing to their target audience, from the music to the personalities that were on the stage (Shelley 1986:59). Johnson and Cook write that the meetings needed to be evangelistic throughout, slanted directly toward youth. They needed to be lively yet spiritual with spontaneity and dignity. Each program was to be of the highest possible level and present the gospel “in an attractive a form as anything presented by the world” (Johnson and Cook 1944:22-23).
Each rally was organized with a similar program that, in Shelley’s words, consisted of “lively gospel music, personal testimonies from athletes, civic leaders or military heroes and a brief sermon, climaxing with a gospel invitation to receive Jesus Christ as personal Savior. This was revivalism tailored to youth” (Shelley 1986:49). The programs often included entertaining acts such as magic, a talented whistler, and musical oddities such as saws and single-string oil cans (Shelley 1986:49). In addition to an entertaining program, the leaders on stage themselves were entertaining, wearing, according to Hefley, “brashy” wide ties and even ties with battery-powered lights that would blink along with choruses such as “This Little Light of Mine” (Hefley 1970:14). What could be considered an extreme example of entertainment was “MacArthur the Gospel Horse,” who knelt before a cross during singing, moved his jaws, and would answer Bible questions via tapping a hoof (Hefley 1970:17). The use of acts such as this shows how far these rallies saw the need for entertainment in evangelism.

The Promise of Fun

Youth for Christ was built on the idea that a young person could come to a Christian gathering, hear a message about Jesus, and have a positive experience at the same time. To do this, Youth for Christ was aware of teen culture and utilized it to great effect. In essence, they were to use the culture of the world to further their goals for the Kingdom.
There are two noteworthy examples of how Youth for Christ combined trends that were popular outside of the church with their desire to reach youth. The first was a Christianized version of popular television game shows. Quiz shows, such as The $64,000 Question enjoyed wide appeal and Youth for Christ began Bible quizzes that became very popular (Bergler 2012:152-3). Another example of the use of modern popular cultural phenomena was the Boltin’ Bishops—a car club in Southern California. In 1954, America was undergoing, in Hefley’s words, a hot rod craze (Hefley 1970:59). With this in mind, two men organized a car club for “fellowship for Christian rodders and as a means of winning unsaved rodders to Christ” (Hefley 1970:60). This car club gained some degree of publicity via a local newspaper, and various other car clubs were formed with the goal to combine hot rodding and evangelism (Hefley 1970:60).

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 
1. What do I want to research?
2. Practical Theology and the Crisis in North American Youth Ministry
3. The Relationship Between Systematic Theology and Practical Theology
4. Practical Theology and the Social Sciences
5. Praxis
6. The Core Tasks of Practical Theology
7. Understanding the Crisis
8. What Kind of Research is This?
CHAPTER 2 WHAT SHOULD EFFECTIVE YOUTH MINISTRY LOOK LIKE? 
1. Introduction
2. Theological Interpretation
3. Identity and Mission: Malan Nel and North American Youth Ministry
4. The Priority to Build
5. Authentic Evangelism
6. Producing Longevity
7. Ethical Reflection
8. Good Practice
9. Conclusion
CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING THE FUNNEL AND ITS DEVELOPMENT
1. Introduction
2. The Influence of Radio on Early Youth Ministry
3. The Formation of Youth for Christ
4. The Ministry of Young Life
5. Wayne Rice, Mike Yaconelli and the Rise of Youth Specialties
6. Duffy Robbins and the Funnel Model of Youth Ministry
7. Duffy Robbins Funnel and the Strategy of Dennis Miller’s
8. Duffy Robbins and the Funnel as a Blueprint for Evaluation
9. Theological Reflections on the Current State of Youth Ministry in Light of Our History: Pete Ward, Andy Root, and Kenda Creasy Dean
CHAPTER 4 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH 
1. Introduction
2. Understanding Qualitative Research
3. St. John’s (Shaughnessy) Case Study
4 The Presentation of the Data
5. Key Words and Themes in the Case Study and the Interviews
6. Interpreting the Data: Conclusions from St. John’s (Shaughnessy) Case Study and the Briercrest Interviews as it Relates to the Research Problem
7. Conclusion
CHAPTER 5 TOWARDS A NEW PRAXIS 
1. Introduction
2. The Shaping of Our Practice Stems from Our History
3. The Funnel, Or At Least Part of the Funnel
4. Does the Funnel Provide Revelation or Hiddenness? Does it Attract or Repel?
5. Identity and Mission
6. Moving Towards Change: Redefining Youth Ministry’s Identity
7. Moving Towards Change: The Connection Between the Church and the Youth Group
8. Moving Towards Change: The Necessity of Caring Leaders, the Necessity to Care for the Leader
9. Moving Towards Change: Do Not Reach Around the Christian Young Person
10. Moving Towards Change: The Need for, and the Interconnectedness of Commitment and Community
11. Penultimate Thoughts: Contentment and Success
12. Areas for Future Research
ANNEXURES 
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