Want tips on how to build a youth group? Are you scrambling to put together each week’s youth ministry meeting? Are you overwhelmed by carrying leadership responsibilities alone? This resource can help!
Building a youth group takes time and effort. You need to develop a strong leadership team, handle administrative details, and work closely with other ministries. These ideas from Faith Formation Ministries will help you know how to build a youth group. Download this free one-page resource and share it with your church. Or order printed copies for a small fee at FaithAliveResources.org.
Free Resource for Stronger Youth Ministry
In youth ministry, we often react to circumstances that demand our time and prevent us from building strong systems and practices. But being reactive rather than proactive can prevent us from investing in disciple-making opportunities that are crucial to healthy youth ministry.
10 Insights on How to Build a Youth Group
Use these 10 proven strategies to create and maintain a strong youth program:
1. Develop a robust youth leadership team.
First, remember that your best resource is the youth themselves. They know the joys and struggles that teenagers experience daily. So use this to your advantage!
Find students who show leadership skills. Then invite them to plan a youth group evening. Find older youth to mentor younger kids. Ask for input on study topics, social events, and outreach. Your teen ministry is a great place to start developing leadership skills in young people and equipping them to be disciples. Doing so will build their faith, too!
2. Develop a strong adult leadership team.
Next, know that you can’t do it alone. God calls and equips many others in your congregation to be leaders and mentors for youth. So find them and invite them to serve the church this way. Developing a strong adult leadership team allows you to invest deeper in young lives rather than being spread thin trying to do it all.
3. Make time for administration.
That word is like kryptonite to many youth pastors. Youth ministry leaders are often relational beings who let the administrative side of things go. If that’s you, set aside time every day to deal with administrative details required for the ministry to succeed. Details are crucial for how to build a youth group.
4. Build a detailed calendar.
For a successful season of youth ministry, it’s vital to develop a strategic calendar of events, teaching dates, outings, etc. Then your leadership team, kids, and parents will all be on the same page and can plan their weeks accordingly. Without a clear path to follow and direction for the year, chaos can and will happen.
5. Communicate in multiple ways.
While we can plan well, ongoing multilayered communication is crucial for success. Create distribution lists of parents and youth for emailing/texting/calling with ministry information. Find the ways your people prefer to be contacted. Then count on sharing the same information on multiple platforms.
Teens generally don’t use email, but parents still do. Kids are using Facebook less and less these days, but parents and grandparents are all over it. So tailor your communication to your audience.
