GREAT BAY-- Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Melissa Gumbs has clarified her recent comments regarding churches and youth issues, stating that her remarks were not intended as criticism of churches or their role in society, but rather a call for youth discussions to be grounded in the experiences and voices of young people themselves.
The Minister addressed questions during the 2026 Budget Debate following concerns about her characterization of certain messages coming from churches as contributing to fear or restriction in discussions surrounding youth matters.
Gumbs emphasized that churches remain important institutions within the community and acknowledged the role many churches play in supporting young people.
“My characterization was not intended as a criticism of churches or of their right to participate in public debate,” the Minister stated. “Churches are important community institutions, and many of them provide meaningful support and youth programming on Sint Maarten.”
She explained that her concern was specifically related to messaging that could create unnecessary fear or present assumptions as though they represent the experiences or views of all young people.
“The concern was specifically with the use of messaging that creates unnecessary fear or presents assumptions as though they reflect the views or experiences of all young people,” Gumbs explained.
The Minister referenced the Youth Engagement Study conducted by the Department of Youth during the summer of 2025 as part of the Youth Monitor initiative, saying the findings provide important insight into how young people experience different institutions and spaces in their lives.
According to the study, awareness of church-based youth groups among young people is relatively high, with 72 percent of youth respondents indicating that they were aware of these groups. However, the findings also highlighted differences between the existence of youth programmes and the extent to which young people feel their voices are actively heard within those spaces.
The study found that youth respondents reported being asked for their opinions by church leaders only rarely to sometimes. It also showed that only 16 percent of respondents indicated that they felt comfortable sharing their opinions in church, compared with higher levels of comfort at home and among friends.
Gumbs said the findings demonstrate that while churches provide valuable youth programming and support, there is also a need for continued improvement in youth engagement across formal institutions.
“The study suggests that there is a difference between the presence of youth programmes within churches and the extent to which young people themselves experience churches as spaces where their voices are regularly heard,” the Minister stated.
She noted that improving youth engagement is a responsibility shared by all institutions that work with young people.
Gumbs said public discussions about young people should be based on the lived experiences of youth themselves rather than assumptions made on their behalf.
“For that reason, I believe that public discussions concerning youth should be grounded in the lived experiences and voices of young people themselves, rather than speaking on their behalf without sufficient evidence,” the Minister stated.
She clarified that her comments were not a rejection of churches or any other organization involved in youth development, but rather a call for responsible and evidence-based dialogue when addressing issues affecting young people.
“Not as a rejection of the churches, or any organization, but as a call for responsible and evidence-based dialogue when discussing matters affecting our youth,” Gumbs said.
The Minister said churches, Government agencies, community organizations and other stakeholders all have an important role to play in supporting youth development, but emphasized that young people must remain central in conversations about their own future.
