In the last few years since I’ve been in the Episcopal Church, I’ve discovered incredible significance and richness in the season of Lent. It’s just not something that we’ve really practiced in my previous non-denominational church experience. And one of the elements I’ve come to love is the Stations of the Cross, which I do with our youth group each year now.

Lent is an important season in the church year for a few reasons. First, it’s a time of repentance as we reflect, turn from our sin, and ask for forgiveness. Second, it’s a time when we can test our self-discipline by giving something up (or taking on something new). Also, it’s a time when we look ahead in preparation for the events of Holy Week and Easter. And finally, it’s a time when we stand in solidarity with Christ, which makes the Stations of the Cross a significant practice during this time.

Walking and praying the Stations of the Cross can be a deeply moving experience. But most of the Stations experiences I’ve seen don’t bring it to the level and life experience of youth today. Their perspectives are just different than ours as adults, so presenting it in a way that they can better connect to makes all the richness of the experience more meaningful for them.

And regardless of the type of Christian church you worship in, this practice can be a great one for youth. It’s not something that can only be used in more liturgical style churches.

Understanding the Stations of the Cross

The Stations of the Cross (or the Way of the Cross) started with early Christians who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to walk through Jesus’ final days, particularly the Via Dolorosa (Latin for “Sorrowful Way”), which is believed to be the path He took to His crucifixion. It was a practice that was popularized by Franciscan monks in the late 1600’s.

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Of this practice, Young Catholics says…

By placing oneself in the narrative, participants are invited to walk alongside Jesus on His journey to Calvary, experiencing the moments of His suffering, death, and ultimately, His resurrection, from a first-person perspective…

As youth journey through each station, from Jesus being condemned to death to His burial in the tomb, they are prompted to introspect about their own actions and inactions in situations of injustice, suffering, and grief. This method of meditation not only deepens one’s understanding of Christ’s sacrifice but also emphasizes the call to Christian discipleship in everyday life.

And that directly connects to one of the the four reasons I pointed out in the outset as to why Lent was an important season, standing in solidarity with Christ.

Challenges in Engaging Youth

While this can certainly be a deeply meaningful experience, the common routines of doing the Stations of the Cross can have some challenges as it relates to youth.

• Perceived repetitiveness – As I’ve become more exposed to the liturgical practices in the Episcopal Church, I can see how many elements of worship and prayer can be somewhat repetitive. So repeating various prayers and sayings over and over can feel less meaningful. I used to feel that way, until I started to see and feel the rhythms. It feels like a heartbeat. It’s repetitive, but it’s the very thing that pumps Life through our veins.
• Lack of understanding – It can be difficult to see how something is relevant to you if you don’t have an understanding about what you’re doing. Building deeper understanding and making elements relatable becomes crucial to making it worthwhile for someone.
• Relevance – And this is a big one for youth. What does this even matter in my life? How do I connect this with what’s going on at school? How do I relate this to my life and responsibilities around the house and with my parents? What does this mean for my relationships with my friends? If they can’t connect it to their life, it’s meaningless.

And this is why we need an approach to the Stations of the Cross that’s more relatable for the youth, and more interactive in more meaningful ways.

Innovative Approaches to the Stations for Youth

The good news is that there are some great ways to adjust the Stations of the Cross experience to meet these challenges for youth. And it can be done without losing any of the substance of the experience. Here are a few things you can consider when creating a Stations of the Cross for youth.

• Interactive Activities – You can incorporate multimedia elements, such as videos or live reenactments. While the experience is best done while going on a walk, it could be done in a room with a big screen and taking them on a virtual walk with slides with images or videos for each station. The focus is really more on the journey than it is the actual steps you take.​
• Personal Reflections – We do several different prayer station experiences with our youth, and one of my core elements of these is that they take a journal along with them to document the journey. You can take time to stop at each station to let them journal something, or even share verbally with the group. But build in time for them to connect with the experience.
• Creative Expressions – Another cool thing to do is to use art, music, or drama to depict each Station. I have a few youth who love to act out prayers. And it always brings in an interesting element to the words as they interpret them creatively. You can also have canvas and paints for some to express the experience. And one of my favorites is to use music along with it.

The goal is to find ways to engage their minds and their hearts in the experience. When you do that, you make it more meaningful for them. And it allows them to dig deeper into the real content of the experience.

Introducing Our Youth-Focused Stations of the Cross Resource

When I was looking for a good Stations of the Cross for youth, I had a hard time finding something that really resonated. I found other resources that had some good stuff, but then felt somewhat incomplete. So I pulled together the strongest elements of the different resources I could find, and knit them together into a tool that I believe is a great prayer experience for the youth. (Note: All of the pieces I found mentioned that they’re free to use, and I credit all of them in the opening pages.)

Download it on Gumroad.

The readings for each station have the same basic flow:

1. An opening prayer
2. A character reading – This bring the group into the experience with a person (often Jesus) in the journey to share insights from a more personal perspective.
3. A reader response – These sometimes come off as a reflection or prayer, almost in conversation with Christ about what He did and what it means.
4. A silent reflection – This is done individually with a guided reflection, pointing them to think about how it connects with their real lives today.
5. A closing prayer and antiphon

Especially when you work in other approaches we discussed (like maybe journaling during the silent reflection time, or acting out the character readings more, etc.), it starts to become an experience youth can really connect with.

How to Implement This Resource in Your Community

I like to print out copies of the guide and put them in a binder folder (with the transparent front cover), and give one to each youth going through the experience. The key is to have different people assigned to read the various parts, and have a place to walk through the Stations. Sometimes we like to use the Stations plaques already on the walls in our sanctuary, but I also like to just walk our church property and gardens using the pictures of the Stations in the guide.

The walk and read-thru of the prayer guide can be enough. But try to find some of the ways you can enhance it with the elements we discussed here earlier.

Another option is what I’m doing this year on Good Friday, and asking youth to invite all of their friends to. We’re going to spend some time walking the Stations and praying together with this guide, but then we’re going to finish the evening with a local musician there to lead us in an intimate time of worship.

The key is to grab the guide and get a little creative with how you implement it!

Final Thoughts on Stations of the Cross for Youth

The youth in my youth group often beg for more of our prayer experiences, and that’s because they find relevancy in them. They can connect the experience to their lives right now and they walk away changed and closer to their Lord and Savior. Making an experience like the Stations of the Cross more relevant in this way deepens their prayer life, and it impacts how they see and engage the world around them.

And that’s exactly what Lent was meant to do in us.

The Stations of the Cross (Youth Prayer Experience) resource that I put together is free to download on Gumroad (or you can name a price if you want to bless me that way). So go get it and start this transformative journey with your youth this Lent!

And if you use it, please let me know! I’d love to hear how you used it and what kind of testimonies you get from the experience.