Whether you saw 5,000 teens attend your student ministry last year, or you barely averaged five (including yourself, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit), every youth pastor in any context wants to grow the impact their ministry has, hopefully because of one reason: to see Jesus change students’ lives. I’m preparing a few training items for our team and wanted to share a few things we really want to focus on this coming semester that are super basic and fundamental, but can lead to an exponential growth in your ministry’s influence, and thereby impact, if carried out.
There are hundreds of things you can plan and do to make a difference in a teen’s life, but whether you’re a small group leader, youth pastor, or even just a church member with a heart for this generation and no affiliation with the youth ministry, these three things will help lead to life change.
Value Conversations With Teens
There was one week sometime last year when a student was trying to tell me about something going on in his life at church on Sunday morning, and we were clearly having a conversation when another adult walked up and just started talking to me. Unfortunately, it was one of those people that you can’t just ignore, you have to turn your attention to, and I responded to them and carried on with the conversation they intended to have. The problem is that the student walked away feeling like I didn’t care about what he had to say, which was only magnified when similar situations happened that night and Wednesday night at youth group.
I’ve tried to be extremely intentional since then to do everything within my power to make sure that both students and adults understand that the conversations I have with teens are just as valuable to me as conversations with adults. This may mean coming off as rude to an adult, asking them to hang on or find me later, but thats OK if it means students know I value them.
Get There Earlier
Whether you’re just attending church on Sunday morning, you’re a youth group leader or the youth pastor, be there earlier. One of the things I am challenging myself with this semester is to be in the youth room a half hour earlier than I would get there in the past. Why? Because you never know what is going to need attention at the last minute. Now, I didn’t say get there a half hour before, but a half hour earlier than previously getting there, because too many weeks there were things that fell through, or items moved by another ministry, that I needed to use that time and missed out on the relational ministry that happens before youth group.
In our context, it’s tough for a lot of our volunteers to get to youth group earlier than they do, but they miss out on a ton of ministry opportunities as well as relationally connecting with the rest of the team. If I had one wish to be granted, it would be for every volunteer in every ministry around the world to be at church even 10 minutes earlier than they are already getting there, giving themselves the chance to get more focused on the activity ahead, doing ministry and dealing with any issues that may need to be dealt with. Our leaders have some strong relationships with each other, and so I love that after a stressful Wednesday they can come and connect with each other, pray with each other and share about their lives. Getting to church earlier gives them time to get that out of the way before, hopefully, students start arriving, so they can do the first goal: Value Conversations With Students.
Value Students Outside of Church
The discipleship process is a lengthy commitment, and walking that path with a student has many different steps, actions and conversations. There is no possible way to cram everything into the time you are with students at church. If a student is only being discipled at youth group, they aren’t being discipled. Spend time with students outside of the confines of the church walls having conversations without the script of a small group lesson, text them about their day, take them out for lunch. Why should a student care about what you have to say at church if you don’t care about who they are outside of it?
So those are my three easy ways to grow your impact. What are some easy things you do to make a difference in students lives?
