WINTER 2014
Name and Position
Joshua Kelly serves as Director of Youth and Family Ministry at Grace Lutheran Church in Hockessin, DE
What is the public sphere (context) that your congregation lives within?
Grace is in an affluent suburb of Wilmington, Delaware. Much of Delaware is founded upon the works of the DuPont family, and so the Fortune 500 company, based in Delaware, still creates a strong influence. Therefore many of our members are “Duponters” working for, or having worked for, this major industry. So while our membership tends to be very affluent, we are geographically very close to the super wealthy and the super impoverished.
How does your ministry with young people step into the public sphere?
Honestly, I’m not convinced that my ministry does step into the public sphere. It’s an issue I wrestle with frequently. The exciting news a brand new elementary school is being built on our property line, so they will be our new neighbors. I guess I better have a real plan in place addressing this question within the next year.
What is the public perception of your ministry with children and youth?
I believe that people looking for a church to come to believe we have strong, solid, and high functioning youth ministries because this congregation has a dedicated full time Director of Youth+Family ministries. So the conception is, they have a full time professional, the ministries must be good. I do believe the ministry that people observe from outside our congregation is very strong and faithful - especially for teens!
How do you hope your children and youth ministry’s public presence will change in the next 5 years?
I hope that we are a beacon to the community, a place known for welcoming all young people to come to this place and wrestle with faith and life, and reality. I hope we are an outpost of love. Real, genuine, Christ-like love, to students and their families. I hope when the public thinks about Grace, they think, there’s a place I know my children will be safe, loved, cared for, pushed, challenged, and developed into faithful Christ disciples. And a place where parents know they will be safe, loved, cared for, pushed challenged, and taught how to raise faithful young disciples.
Name and Position
Ingrid Frojker is Director of Children and Teen Ministries at Mt. Carmel Lutheran Church in St. Luis Obispo, CA.
What is the public sphere (context) that your congregation lives within?
The public sphere that my congregation lives within is a college town of 45,000 permanent residents. We have a large population of retired people due to the high cost of home prices. Also large population of families (6 elementary schools).
How does your ministry with young people step into the public sphere?
Our ministry tries to be visible within our public sphere. We accomplish this by having a college ministry, service projects in the community, and combining efforts with other churches within our city for larger projects.
What is the public perception of your ministry with children and youth?
The public perception of our ministry is focused primarily on Vacation Bible School. We are known as the church with a good VBS and we fill up quickly each year. We are also known favorably for our college ministry.
How will your community be changing in the next 5 years?
I don’t see our community changing too much in the next 5 years. There is a 1% growth cap in our city which keeps everything from growing and changing too quickly.
How do you hope your children and youth ministry’s public presence will change in the next 5 years?
I hope to be more visible in the community and to be known for more than a good VBS. I want to have more of a sense that we have family ministry rather than separate ministries within our church. 19