Do your preteens bring a friend to church often? Does your preteen ministry have a culture of invitation? Read on for five ways to create an inviting ministry for middle schoolers, aka tweens.
A huge part of leading preteen ministry is encouraging kids to bring a friend. Anticipating and welcoming preteens’ friends into church is vital. Our youth ministry wants to be ready for guests. And we can intentionally equip and empower preteens to be an integral part of the process.
No matter where preteens are in their faith journey, we strive to point them to a relationship with Jesus. Here’s how we do that with guests.
An Inviting Culture for Preteen Ministry
1. We train regular attenders.
Reaching people who don’t know Jesus is very relational. So we consistently weave three D’s into our teaching. We train preteens to:
- Develop friendships. (Get to know people who don’t know Jesus.)
- Discover stories. (Don’t talk only about yourself. Ask questions and listen.)
- Discern the next steps. (Don’t follow a formula. Look for opportunities in the conversation to share the truth you know about Jesus.)
2. We pray.
We’re focused on prayer. We pray for our kids, those who’ve already visited our church, and those who’ll come in the future.
3. We have a greeting room.
When preteens bring a friend, they introduce the person to volunteers in a greeting room. We call this the “candy room” because guests get to choose some assorted treats. This is a fun surprise for kids. Plus, it lets us welcome preteens, learn their names, and make them feel comfortable.
