So, you want to know about Journey to Adulthood? What is it? Why is it so different from traditional curriculum? Well, first of all—the program structure is different. There are three sections of the Journey to Adulthood program: Rite 13, J2A, and YAC. Each section of the program lasts for two years and that two-year grouping of teens will stay together until they graduate from high school, with no other class being added in. This stability of group dynamics helps to create a safe space where the group can form close bonds with their peers.
Rite 13 The first two years of the program gets its name from a liturgical rite of passage that we celebrate with the young people around their 13th birthday. This rite of passage is very loosely based on the bar/bat mitzvah tradition and is a way for our entire congregation to celebrate the gifts and abilities of some of our youngest teens. The two years of Rite 13 focus on recognizing the gifts God has given us, celebrating our creative potential, and learning to interact as a community of faith.
J2A The second segment of the program is called J2A, which is an acronym for Journey to Adulthood. This can be a little confusing because it has the same name as the overall program, but the reason for this is that the bulk of the work gets done in these two years, building on the foundation of the Rite 13 experience, and incorporating intentional training in six basic skills of adulthood: active listening, negotiation, assertion, research & information management, partnership and leadership.
YAC The last two years of the Journey to Adulthood program are referred to as YAC, which stands for Young Adults in Church. The YAC years focus on accepting more adult responsibilities in the ongoing life of the church and being challenged to be good stewards of their time, talents, and treasure. Teens have a safe group in which to explore their personal pilgrimage of faith and a group of trusted peers to share the struggles of the transition from teenager to young adult.
The overall Journey to Adulthood experience incorporates much learning and laughter, but it also takes our young people seriously and gives them real work to do. The program is based on two key concepts: Manhood and Womanhood are gifts from God, but Adulthood must be earned. By exploring the four areas of Self, Spirituality, Gender, and Society, teens learn to connect their faith with other areas of their life and strive for wholeness and balance as they reach toward adulthood.
This journey is exciting because it calls the church as a whole back into relationship with the young people in their midst. It is not a program that asserts that only the adults will do the teaching, but it calls on all of us—whatever our age—to think about the gifts we have been given and how we can use those gifts for the ongoing life of the church.
Come join us on this journey -- you’ll be glad you did!
More Information About the Journey to Adulthood Program
Rite 13 (separation)
J2A (initiation)
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YAC (reassimilation)
10/14/06