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We look at many markers of success in youth ministry: worship attendance, confirmation numbers, retention rates through high school, and beyond. We like tangibles and programs that are easy to quantify. What we often don't track is the environment and culture of a youth ministry. These are so much more nebulous. Yet if we aren't tracking the feel of our youth ministry, we miss important indicators, both positive and negative. God works in and through people and relationships to develop critical factors for faithful growth in God's Word. Healthy youth ministries have an environment that builds trust, fosters Christlike relationships, and helps weather the storms of the teenage and young adult years. In contrast, an unhealthy culture can create animosity, frustration, hurt, and make it easier for young people to walk away. Starting our Seven Practices of Healthy Youth Ministry with the words warmth, challenge, and grace may be hard for those who are data-driven. Yet over time, in development, we became convinced that the most intangible things permeate everything else done in youth ministry. Even then, we spent months thinking about the right words to describe environments that seemed to positively impact retention. We tried words like safe, authentic, welcoming, empathy, and value, but none seemed quite right. Many of the words we found were full of cultural baggage that might lead to misunderstandings. Others did not indicate the right balance of Law and Gospel that we knew was key. In the end, we settled on "warmth, challenge, and grace." w What Are Warmth, Challenge, and Grace? What words would you use to describe your congregation? How would your youth describe it? How would young people in your community? 8 Lutheran Life

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