Wrongly Dividing?

I came across an online conversation recently about the movie “Divided.”  (See here for a review.)

It documents the dangers of age-segregrated church programs like youth groups.

Here’s my brief take on the issue (not really the movie itself).

There’s a lot of goofiness, immaturity and unfaithfulness in church youth groups, but I am not convinced that simply separating out young people for a meeting is wrong. It is often done badly, but parents need the church to help raise children. Especially as young people grow into their teens, they need an “older brother” mentor to emulate, besides their parents. They are naturally looking beyond their family to consider their place in the world. Parents should be on the lookout for mature possible mentors for their teens, and cultivate such relationships. Young people need to see peers wrestle with the same questions they have, and be led together to good answers by parents or pastors. The trick to make a good group is for parents to remain involved, not abdicating, not relying on “fun” to disciple their kids, and making sure the influence of friends and the group generally is positive.