Alliance Youth Fellowship (AYF) chapter 115

The primary focus of my youth ministry in Saskatoon was to get a high school youth group up and running. The resistance was vocal but not major. Selling the idea was a bigger deal. The Millers had recently moved to Saskatoon from Regina and Cliff had been part of a youth group. He came on board was our first “elected” president. Cliff drove at that time and helped get kids who needed rides to and from events. We both hauled a few people. The program built slowly but steadily. There was a fairly large pool of youth within the church tow draw from and I knew it was going to happen.

When I went to youth group as a teen, the program was little more than a replica of “big church” but for teens. We sang, took an offering and had some adult speak or a teen give a testimony. According to the denominational constitution there were four elected teens to serve as a miniature governing board. Their job was too look important, but do it the way the handbook directed. Boring!

I struggled with the approach. I was fighting that concept on an international level and chose to move toward a broader format on the local level. We had the outward structure, but we were going to have fun and see what God would do in our lives. That led to some unusual and fun events. Because of my desire to build leaders my goal was to guide them into events they would enjoy and stretch their skills to lead. They were not handling simple responsibilities like, “You bring the mustard.” They researched locations and costs. They booked facilities, they shopped when necessary, they planned menus, ordered supplies and paid for them. If it was going to be their program, they were going to run it and their ministries were going to be meaningful and successful. Learn by doing.

I always told them I would be right with them to do all I could to help them succeed, but if the ball were dropped there would be a hole unless we could figure out a way to fill that hole at the time. I don’t remember every situation, but I have no memory of any huge holes. There was one that could have been bad.

We had a treasurer one year who collected any money taken in. I went with him to the bank to make the first deposit and he was to do that after each event where money was collected. He was then to bring the bank statement to each monthly leadership meeting. He did and as soon as I saw the statement, I knew he had not deposited any of the money collected since I went with him the first time. I waited for someone else to notice — they did and asked about it. He hemmed and hawed and then admitted he had all the money at home in a shoebox. He forgot how he was to do it.

I met with him that week, checked the contents of his shoebox to make sure it agreed with my figures and we went to the bank again. This time rather than showing him, I made him do it. He filled out a deposit slip - twice so he had some practice. I took a stack of deposit slips and had him take some and told him it was to all to be done before he left after we received income.

I know there was a chance he would have spent it. But making leaders means taking chances. He did great from then on.

From out second edition: A front page report on the halloween party.You might notice that the TV show "Laugh-in" was very popular. If you know anything about mimeographs, you know how hard it was to put this out every week. AYF met on Friday nights and the team came after school and were done for at 7:00 program start.

       The team always did a great job of turning parts of the church into a haunted house. There was an especially good part up some back stairs, into a room behind the stage then back through a narrow hall behind the platform. We did amazing things with cardboard to create tunnels and change directions. In fact, we seemed to do some strange things often. Halloween was called Halloween, not fall or harvest festival. Santa Clause came to our Sunday school. We even organized and ran our Sunday school with a leadership team in the same way we ran the youth group, all in the nbame of having more opportunities for leadership development.
       We had a terrific adult leadership team that lead the small groups in Sunday school and helped out in AYF when needed. The kids were such great leaders we didn't need many adults around. Dr. Hindmarsh, Wes Bloom, Betty Turnbull, Della Walker were all key people. Doc, as the kids called him, made his home available for after group events and most New Years Eve all nighters were in their recreation room. Della and I had them at our place when the group was smaller, but eventually the Hindmarsh's had about the only place large enough to hold the group. He also brought his speed boat to camps for water skiing and his snow mobile for winter retreat rides in the snow. He had his wife used all they had to enhance youth ministry in our church, on the college campus and other city youth ministries. I not exactly sure, but he probably brought his things to the Christian Service Brigade camp as well.

"Did You Know" was a wildly popular column. Nothing but pure gossip with added editor comments It was usually the first part people read. They looked to see if their name was there. Dorothy eventually developed a great network of spies feeding her tidbits. People were disappointed when we didn't find out about their news. Some reported on themselves. 

After reading a few issues of "Did You Know" I noticed that several now prominent Alliance ministers and spouses names appear on this paper quite often. Reminds me that eventually Mrs. Bowkers and my prayers were more than answered. Many more than ten students went off to Bible College and many went into the ministry. I do wish I knew how many. Maybe before I leave writing about Saskatoon I might be able to get a partial list.