Redeemer enjoys a vigorous acolyte corps. It came about, slowly, with incremental changes and improvements, organically over the last 20 years from seeds that were planted over 50 years ago. It wasn’t actually planned and I don’t know that it can be replicated. Congregations aren’t franchises: they are families. There are no algorithms for success. This is why the “best practices” theories don’t carry through and the language and brainwash of “innovation speak” is so inappropriate. What is needed is not vision, but compassion. The pastor and leaders need to love the people about them, have a deep, intuitive understanding of their family dynamics, and respect one another. When that is in place, even when the institution is failing numerically and the congregation can’t pay their bills, they thrive and grow.

Thus, it is with some trepidation that I put forth some remarks about our acolyte philosophy and why it is that we think that this matters. Please do not think that this is a magic formula or that I am proposing that I know how anyone else should proceed. Perhaps, however, it will be useful to others even if it is an easy, no thinking solution.

The primary purpose of our acolyte corps is to enhance the worship service with order and dignity. Acolytes are servants who provide a real service to the congregation. They do benefit from being acolytes but those benefits are secondary. It is not what drives them. Their guiding principle is to be reverent and to serve as examples to the congregation. The secondary purposes of our acolyte corps are to train men for the Ministry, to encourage and catechize the boys of the congregation in the faith, and to provide comradery among them.

Thus acolyte service is voluntary. Nearly every boy at 8 years old, our youngest age typically, wants to be an acolyte and is trained to do so, but the acolyte corps is not part of confirmation instruction or school. Some boys grow weary of it and quit. Boys forced into it by their parents, do not make good acolytes.

It is important for us that acolyte corps is limited to boys only and that only after the boys are admitted to the altar. This is a training ground for the Holy Ministry and it is important, from a young age, to allow a place for boys to be boys without girls and likewise for girls to be girls without boys. That being said, we have no female equivalent to the acolyte corps. We do have a girls only book group that targets middle school aged girls. That is as close as we come and those two groups are the only groups we currently have that are segregated by sex. Over the years we have tried to find something like the acolyte corps for girls but haven’t so far and haven’t felt the need to force it.

The corps is led by the pastors but also has an adult alum (the dean of the acolytes) who assists with training and scheduling and such. The more experienced boys also assist with the training and help to maintain order. The corps needs almost constant training and feedback after each service.

The acolyte vestments also require near constant attention. The boys grow fast and struggle to put things away neatly and to keep them organized. Here are two links to Google Docs that we use at Redeemer:

Redeemer Acolyte Corps Description

Redeemer Acolyte Commandments

See also: Ball's Acolyte Corps in Hamel, IL and Beane's post on how young men can serve in the Church