One area of ministry that many churches struggle with is reaching out to today’s youth. Every generation has its own problems when it comes to reaching our young people, but I think about a high school locally with over 1,100 students, and two middle schools with close to a combined total of nearly 1,000 students, and I am convinced that there is a mission field there that is overwhelming.
Yet, our churches must compete so much with so many other things, i.e.; mini-t’s , little league, technology, and a whole list of activities that take away their attention from spiritual issues and the church. The media presents religion as something old fashioned and non-essential these days yet, as we know, it’s the most important decision that has to be made, when it comes to spiritual issues.
Our church struggles with trying to attract youth without falling prey to purely entertainment methods. We not only want to attract them. We also want to reach and keep them. Please, let me know, how’s it going in your church. What’s working? What’s not?
Any suggestions? We’re open to ideas and recommendations. Awaiting anxiously to hear from you.
Pastor Don
It’s been my experience that students simply have an overwhelming need to be loved. They find rejection in so many places (peers, home, teachers, etc). If they see that you and the student ministry really cares about them personally, they will come, and they will get to see the love of Christ lived out through you. Most kids would gladly give up “entertainment” to go where they are loved. Our student pastor makes a point to get to know what is going on in the kids’ lives. I believe that makes all the difference. We have a fairly traditional student service on Wednesday nights and we are busting at the seams with students.
Thanks for the feedback and I couldn’t agree more. Does your church have a full-time youth minister? It takes a lot of time to invest in the lives of young people and to get involved in their lives. That’s often difficult for a church that doesn’t have a full-time YP. We have a volunteer youth staff who work and have families as well, which limits the time they have to put into the ministry. They do their best and schedule events, but the response if often minimal. So what do is the solution?
Yes, we are blessed enough to have a full time student minister. We are also blessed to have a good number of volunteer workers (I, myself am one) who happen to be very dedicated. One simple method I know our student pastor uses to stay involved is by simply interacting on Facebook with the students. He’s even shared a story recently where he was able to counsel a student through Facebook. I understand the volunteer worker issues. One idea that I heard once that I had never considered was to try and reverse the problem. Instead of the worker trying to fit into the students’ lives/schedules, try to involve the students in the workers’ lives. For example, if the volunteer normally goes out to eat on Sunday afternoons, invite some of the students to come along and eat with their family. I had never thought of doing things like that myself.
Thanks again, I love the idea of a youth FB page with friends who will follow what’s going on in the youth ministry. I also love the idea of inviting youth out for lunch. This gives me some great places to start. Interestingly enough, I have been out of youth ministry for sometime and, as a sr. pastor, must admit that this is a new generation for me. That’s why it’s imperative that I try to understand for myself what it will take to reach our youth so I can better assist and support our youth workers.
This is a large question and one that is not easily answered, nor should it be. Culturally, including within the world of the church, we are prone to “quick fixes” and “reactionary decision-making.” I counsel against that.
Having said that,the model of Jesus (as I understand it) was that he knew his audience, engaged them as a master communicator using storytelling, and questions.
Jesus had an “openness” and “easiness” with people. He like people. He ate with them, spent time with the outcasts and the oppressed, and genuinely was “present” to them.
If the goal of the church is to have young people come through its doors and to remain there, it is doomed before it begins. If the goal of the church is to lovingly engage with young people, the results will be positive. It is about the “why” we are doing it all that is important from my point-of-view.
More later.
Stephen York
Re: help me out here, please. I need feedback
A wonderful topic! It’s true that there are many things that try to snatch away the attention of the young people of today. There are sports, school, relationships, friends, gagets and so on… Think though about the fact that the gospel is greater then the sum of all of these. If you think of the purpose behind each of these, I’m sure that you can find a spiritual reason that youth would like theses things. For sports, one might like the glory that you could get in competing. (Power) For school they are looking to gain knowledge that can give them a standing in the world. (Position) For relationships, it is someone looking for a way to fit in. (Security) The same apply’s to friends. (Assuance) I feel that the spiritual backing for gaget’s is simply as a destraction from troubles that you are facing. (Fear)
So what does that leave us with in regards to where what the world is trying to pull the youth of today away with? They are trying to pull your children by beguiling them with power, positions, security, assurance and fear. What you need to do is not try to fight back by filling your churches with sports programs, and just a ‘Christian’ version of these things. Instead help the youth find that they can gain all of these things that they are looking for in thses different destractions, but that they can gain it through Christ! And not only that, but God will pour even MORE blessings out on them them what they could get from the world.
In my opinion trying to win the lives of youth by fancy progams will not be a good end result. If you try to come up with a modern hip way of presenting the gospel, then more then likely it could just become a fad, that will come in to style, and then exit the stage after it’s has run it’s course. If you instead present them just with the eturnal truth of God, and Jesus Christ crucified then they can come to the realiztion that a personal relationship with Christ can bring them everything that they are in need of, and abundantly bless them beyound that! Christ, and Christ Cruicified in my opinion is the only way to help the youth of today find God in a lasting way. (Rom 8:24) Simply present them with the gosple of Christ, and let that be the foundation.
God bless!
Dakota
C.j. sent a message in reply to a thread.
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Re: help me out here, please. I need feedback
Amen Dakota! My argument for YEARS now! So you bring them in to play basketball, provide food, entertainment…make them sit through a 10-15 minute devotion (out of the 2 hours entertainment/socializing)…so what are they leaving with? How different is what we’re doing in churches for our youth than say…4-H??? 4-H is wonderful…teaches hard work, knowledge and a sense of ‘community’. Some clubs even have prayer. Are they leaving our youth activities with what they need to go out into a world that’s full of more BAD influence than good? Are they leaving with the confidence to take a stand for Christ DAILY? Is there evidence of victory in their lives (the same is true for us adults)?
I am convinced that the church can be a strong influence (and sometimes the ONLY Godly influence a teen may see in their lives). What’s sad is that most teens are not seeing Christ demonstrated in their homes…and I don’t mean just going/being taken to church regularly. They get ‘preached to’ at home, at church, at youth events…we deliver the message…but who’s living it? Who is demonstrating the victory in Christ that reveals itself to them in a REAL way? Teachers? Preachers? Parents? Friends? I’m as guilty as the next of often leaving God in the parking lot at church! We’re all so busy with activities and the pursuit of things we put in a place of greater importance. I’m praying for God to reveal HIS plan to reach the youth of our community…in the meantime…I’ll support every event that brings them in the doors to the best of my ability…after all, you really DO have to have some attraction to bring them in…even if it’s just by demonstrating the excitement of what Christ is doing in your own life!
Larry sent you a message.
Re: help me out here, please. I need feedback
“Hello Don, I trust all is well….I am no expert by no means and I do believe that geological location does play into the mix…with that being said..they can be reached. We did two youth camps this year and three youth rallies of multiple churches in Ms…Al…FL. Bottom line …. Be real! They just want somebody to be real…..In the youth camp I did in Southern Ohio I handed out peices of paper and asked the youth (13-19) what the trouble areas of their life was….I said fill in the blank, I do not want names I just want you to fill in the blank…”I could live for/better for God if it was not for_________” When I got back to my Cabin I started to read and weep. Even church kids were going through things you would not imagine and we begin to minister on that level. You may ask how that will relate to the church…after that camp I came home and did the same thing here, My youth responded and went back to school and started talking to the other teens…currently I have the whole varsity B’ball team coming as well as a bunch of their friends on wed night my church has more teens then any other group and it is growing, we had 4 new in the youth group this past wed night….I also use the opportunity to meet moms and dads of the youth and have a number of parent converts due to the youth group. Please do not get me wrong….I and our church still has its struggles, but their is a new dimension of life that has flooded our alters as kids who have no church background at all come in and experience what God is doing….They have started clubs in the high school and are reaching other youth not just in church but on the outside of the church. We have to stretch many times and teach our people of the “traditional church” that many times these youth do not understand alot of theology but they do understand the drawing and the Love that they feel. Just a little perspective from a Pastor who is fighting like every other Pastor.”
Andy sent you a message.
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Re: looking for some ideas
Don,
We use a modified to our culture ONEIGHTY program that was developed by Willie George from Church on the Move in Tulsa, OK. (http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.oneighty.com )- We use the team center format where the kids gather to socialize and eat snacks, play games then they are required to gather for 40 minutes for praise & worship and sermon – then are broken in small groups to dialogue over the message topic for 20 minutes then close with prayer. They generally meet from 6:30 to 8:00 on Wednesday.
We also do community outreaches, such as cleaning neighborhoods by hauling away trash, raking lawns, shoveling snow, handing out bottles of water during parades or secular events with our church name and logo, we also hand out free coffee at the farmers market in the fall. We have a big sign providing free coffee from your friends at Praise Fellowship. Our objective is to create name recognition and the buzz that we are community friendly looking for ways to serve.
Andy Shanholtz
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