Tending the Tender: Christian Education and Youth Work in the ELS

Summer Bible Camps, High School Youth Conventions, and Christian Day Schools have been a big part of the youth work of our ELS throughout the years.
I was born and raised in Mankato, MN, and while I didn’t attend Camp Indianhead, MN, when I was growing up, after I became pastor at Holy Cross in Madison, WI, I fell in love with Summer Bible Camp. For 15 years, I served as director of Camp Indianhead, WI, and looked forward to the week with the youth from Holy Cross and other youth from WI and IA. I continue to be a camp counselor. It is one of the greatest weeks of the year!
I also didn’t go to an LYA Convention while I was in high school (with the exception of stopping in for part of a day when it was on Bethany’s campus), but I have attended 14 LYA Conventions as a pastor and youth leader. Again, it is one of the greatest weekends of the year to be with the young people of our synod!
I did, however, attend a Christian Day School. I went to Mt. Olive Lutheran School in Mankato, MN, from 1st – 8th grade. My teachers were:
Mrs. Karen Merseth (1st and 2nd grade),
Mrs. Dawn Bartels (3rd and 4th grade),
Miss Julie Sorenson (now Faugstad) (5th grade),
Miss Marie Aaberg (6th grade), and
Mr. Ray Diepenbrock (7th and 8th grade).
After Mt. Olive, I attended Minnesota Valley Lutheran in New Ulm, MN. After high school, I went to Bethany.
For the past 20 years, I have lived in Madison, Wisconsin. My wife Katie and I have sent our children, Benjamin and Kira, to Camp Indianhead, WI; LYA Conventions across the country; and the Christian Day School (or Lutheran Elementary School, as they are now called) at Holy Cross. They were also blessed to attend an area Lutheran high school, Lakeside Lutheran, in Lake Mills, WI. Benjamin is now a freshman at Bethany.
My grandparents, parents, and now Katie and I have been proponents of youth work and Christian education in our synod. Why are we compelled to be active in this work to teach and instruct our youth in the truths of Scripture?
The simple answer is that through their faith in Jesus, we want our youth to be in heaven.
But there are other blessings as well. Following are some quotes from other members of our synod that have written about this subject over the years.
In his book entitled Forget Not All His Benefits, Pastor George Orvick began the section on Christian Day Schools by quoting the Synod Report from 1922 held in Madison, WI:
“Since the preservation of the coming generations for God’s true church on earth is a matter which concerns the very survival of our Lutheran church in this country, therefore it is our Christian duty (not only in word but also in deed) to obey God also in those things which He demands of us regarding the bringing up of our children in true godliness. The synod, therefore, recommends that everything possible be done for the establishment of Christian Day Schools in the various congregations.”
In the book A Blessing in the Midst of the Land, which was written in 1953 for the 100th Anniversary of the Norwegian Synod, Martin Galstad, a professor on Bethany’s campus, wrote, “Some may not know exactly what we mean by a Christian day school, for not every congregation has such a school. It is a school that teaches all the subjects that are found in public school; but it also has the Bible and catechism and hymns and church history, plus many more things about the church and eternal truth. Every morning opens with devotions. Christian living is learned in all the classes and on the playground. One young man wrote recently: ‘My parents could have given me no greater gift by way of schooling than that they sent me to a Christian day school. It was there that I received not only competent instruction in secular education, but above all, I received that instruction which educates, not only for this life, but also for that which is to come.’”
In 1987, Ray Diepenbrock was asked to be one of the essayists for the 70th Annual Convention of the ELS. The theme of the convention was “Children of the Heavenly Father.”
“Mr. D”, as we called him in grade school, was my principal and 7th and 8th grade teacher at Mt. Olive in Mankato. He concluded his essay by saying, “The painting we all know so well of Christ with the children requires no caption to express its meaning. The picture is one that expresses well the theme of this convention, a perfect model for Christian education. I encourage you to keep this mental image as you return to your congregations and strive there to carry out your God-assigned task of educating your members for time and eternity. If the job seems overwhelming and you have trouble determining which way to go or how to proceed, perhaps you could print out and put in a conspicuous place this little motto which a colleague of mine in California had taped to the desk in her classroom, ‘Only that is important which is eternal.’ May God bless your every effort in the cause of Lutheran Christian education.”
A tagline that Bethany Lutheran College used for a number of years was “Education that lasts beyond a lifetime.” From the Fall 2002 Bethany Report, Ed Bryant wrote, “Bethany recognizes that there are certain enduring truths that were known by our forefathers and will be valuable to our children and their children long beyond our lifetime. These include an understanding of the nature of human beings, an understanding of the lessons of history, the context in which the sciences are taught and understood and above all, an understanding of the Gospel of our Savior Jesus Christ. More than anything else, it is this Gospel of Christ that lasts beyond a lifetime.”
So why are we compelled to be active in this work with youth and teach and instruct them in the truths of Scripture? The reason is because we want our youth to know and believe in the God who created them, redeemed them, and sanctified them.
I still get choked up during some children’s sermons on Sunday mornings or sharing Bible stories with the three- and four-year-olds in our Early Learning Center during the week. When the youth share what they know about the Bible and confess faith in Jesus, it is eternally precious.
That is why our Day Schools and Sunday Schools, our Camps, and our Youth Conventions are important. We want our youth to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever! Amen (2 Peter 3:18).
Rev. Bernt Tweit
Contributing Writer
Holy Cross Lutheran Church & School
Madison, WI