When the Fringe Becomes the Center

Last week I sat in my office while Rainbow Youth gathered downstairs for their weekly meeting. Their laughter drifted down the hallway, but so did a heaviness. I found myself wondering what these young people were feeling in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s murder — young queer kids in the Salem-Keizer school system, many carrying the weight of religious trauma. I was grateful, profoundly grateful, that our church could host this group. In a week when hate-filled voices poured across social media, our building held a different sound: belonging, joy, safety. A reminder that youth do not stop being discipled when they walk out of school or log off TikTok. The only question is: by whom?

History shows us that young people have always been the accelerant when the fringe becomes the center. In Germany, the Hitler Youth turned radical nationalism into a generational norm. In China, Mao’s Red Guards unleashed millions of students against their elders, reshaping the political center. In Spain and Italy, youth organizations made fascism into a ritual of belonging. But the same has been true on the side of liberation. Students fueled the sit-ins and Freedom Rides of the civil rights movement. Young marchers in Prague sparked the Velvet Revolution. Serbia’s Otpor toppled Milošević with humor and persistence. Youth filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square with hope. Youth movements are like dry grass on the forest floor — once lit, the fire spreads fast. The question is always who strikes the match, and who builds the firebreaks.

Here in Salem, so many of the places where our young people gather have already been captured by high-control conservative evangelical groups. Young Life, with its model of peer-to-peer evangelism, weaves its way into high schools and middle schools, and then extends further into colleges, teen parent ministries, and programs for kids with special needs. These ministries give young people a sense of belonging and identity, but only within a very narrow frame. Our own Salem Youth Collective offers a precious alternative, but it reaches only a small handful compared to the wide net cast by Young Life and others. At the same time, Turning Point USA is shaping loyalties on college campuses, replacing community with grievance and division. Together, these forces create pipelines that mold our children long before they are old enough to vote. And history reminds us that authoritarian movements always fear youth who lean toward freedom. They shut doors, silence voices, and suppress liberating possibilities, even as they pour their energy into cultivating loyalty and obedience.

We cannot simply wring our hands and lament the loss of young people to louder voices. Our children and grandchildren are already being discipled — the only question is by whom. If we want a different future, we must be intentional about offering a different story. That story begins with memory. Elders and parents carry histories of courage, resistance, and faithfulness that young people need to hear. When we tell the truth about the struggles we have endured — wars, civil rights battles, movements for peace and equality — we remind the next generation that they are not alone, and that resilience is part of their inheritance.

It also begins with belonging. Too many queer kids, neurodiverse kids, immigrant kids, and unhoused kids know only exclusion in school and church. The gospel calls us to radical hospitality, to create spaces where they are not just tolerated but celebrated as God’s beloved. When the church becomes a refuge, it undercuts the authoritarian appeal of belonging based on fear.

And it requires equipping. In an age of endless feeds and viral lies, young people need a community that helps them learn how to tell truth from manipulation, how to interpret media, how to connect faith with public life. Discipleship today must include media literacy and theological imagination — skills that can keep them from being captured by movements that promise certainty but deliver control.

Finally, it demands action. Young people ache for a world that is whole, and they want their faith to make a difference. We must trust them with real work: climate justice campaigns, housing advocacy, sanctuary for the vulnerable, movements for peace. If their fire is not given direction toward healing, it will be fanned by others toward destruction.

This is a wake-up call for the church — this church, and every church that claims the Prince of Peace. We cannot pretend neutrality when authoritarian movements are discipling our youth every day. Our calling is to kindle their passion toward life and justice, to honor the fire of their zeal while providing the wisdom and ballast of experience. This call is not only for elders, but also for parents of adult children who are raising the next generation, for teachers who shape minds in classrooms, for coaches, mentors, and leaders who walk alongside young people in every part of community life. You are the storytellers, the mentors, the keepers of memory, the guides who show that another way is possible. Your presence matters more than you know.

May we be firebreaks of love in a world set ablaze by fear,

Pastor Robin

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Here is some information about youth movements in the U.S., both Progressive and Conservative. Note my takeaway at the bottom.

Funding & Infrastructure

• Conservative youth orgs outspent progressive ones by $500M (2008–2014).

• Conservative donors provide steady, general support. Progressive groups rely on short, election-cycle bursts.

Platforms & Visibility

• Conservative youth have Fox News, talk radio, church networks, and donor megaphones.

• Progressive youth movements gain visibility through protests (climate strikes, BLM, March for Our Lives) and social media virality, but struggle for sustained coverage.

Conservative Orgs

• Turning Point USA: 800+ college chapters, ~250k members.

• Young Americans for Freedom: 500 campuses, tied to Heritage Foundation.

• Federalist Society: Law-school based pipeline to conservative judiciary.

Progressive Orgs

• Alliance for Youth Action — federated state networks.

• Generation Progress — Center for American Progress youth arm.

• Next Up (Oregon) — civic leadership for diverse young Oregonians.

• Movement Voter Project — channels donor funds to grassroots youth groups.

Strengths vs Weaknesses

• Conservative strengths: stable long-term funding, strong media presence, clear pipelines.

• Progressive strengths: diversity, moral clarity on justice, creativity.

• Conservative weaknesses: narrow demographic, vulnerable to extremism.

• Progressive weaknesses: underfunded, fragmented, prone to burnout.

Takeaway: Conservatives have built durable youth infrastructure; progressives often flare brightly but lack scaffolding. Faith communities can help close this gap.