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Happy in my skinYouth ministry with young people from minority ethnic groupsAre God’s people mixed up?HAPPY IN MY SKIN Before you choose to read another review as you don’t 'have that issue' in your church to 'deal with', may I suggest that YOU are the target audience for this book alongside those who have already recognised potential needs within their youth ministry. Eight Christians from a range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds share their experiences of youth work across the country in a range of church and youth settings in what is a challenging book which should be read by every church leader / youth worker regardless of their own church’s cultural setting. These experiences are all drawn together in a helpful summary by Simon Bell. Some statements made by 'well meaning' church members quoted in the book may shock people; the conclusions drawn as to the way ahead, at times, may appear radical. What is clear is that all the authors have a heart for mission in often tricky circumstances that should make every reader sit up and think. DifferencesThe points raised by the contributors are not just relevant to issues of ethnicity and youth. They could be applied to gender, class, culture, age, physical ability: you name a 'difference' which people divide over in society and this book has something valuable to say which would apply to those differences in your own church groups. As a white woman, I could echo the comments made by Dorn Henry as she described the invisibility experienced by black women in groups of white people who literally bump her out of the way in conversations or confuse her with 'some other erudite black woman'. How invisible do some of the teens in your youth group feel in society, in their families, as result of practices / comments made in your youth group? The need to recognise the problems that potentially, or do actually, exist between groups of people and how that needs to be addressed within a youth group is part of Ravi Sangra’s experiences working with Pakistani and Bangladeshi young people. Again, those issues can appear - perhaps on a different level Ð between the goths and the skaters, or between groups of teens who, up until now, have been lumped together ethnically or socially in your youth group. Telling commentRavi’s account holds one of the most telling comments in the entire book: the fact that many people see the church as a white institution, in that some Asians, in his experience, don’t come to church as they don’t want to have to 'become white', casting off all their culture. The gospel and culture shouldn’t be woven together into one - the gospel is truly cross-cultural and should be presented and represented that way. This is where every church needs to examine its practices. Does my church show Christianity as being just for: the middle class, black people, white people, 2.4 families, the educated? Look around your own church and really examine the message you are giving out… Ignore the bits of the book that perhaps sway too far into a purely social gospel / ministries with which you personally may not feel comfortable. Take its challenging message … and act on it! Emily Ellison,
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