We are only a few weeks from the school year and we have already begun tweaking things and refining our processes. One of the things that we should be doing regularly is an honest evaluation of every element of your program, start to finish. Being thoughtful about why an element is included (or why not) is vital routine diagnostic work and here are three reasons why you need to be able to answer the question: Why Do You Do That?
For God: Our first job is to point young people to Jesus and create mission/vision/value around that. If you don’t know why you are doing it, it needs to go—and if some element does not point back to the mission of your ministry then why do you do it? First and foremost, we are accountable to God for what we do, and doing something “just because” is not good enough, if you ask me.
For Students: Modeling for students that every facet of our lives matters to God is important, and the same should be true of youth nights. We are not shy about explaining why we do what we do at Journey, and I think it is a great teachable moment when students ask about our rationale behind a decision. Our students’ time is valuable; when we have them, we will always try to make the most of it. From start to finish, our goal is to create space for students to encounter God, to connect with a caring leader, to learn about Jesus and to Worship Him. Having a clear purpose of your youth ministry will benefit the spiritual growth of your students.
For Parents: Parents have been known to be critical of youth programs (hard to believe I know!), sometimes because the one they were a part of 30 years ago was not like “this.” For those parents, it is wise to be prepared when they start asking questions such as:
—Why is the worship so loud?
—Why do you allow secular music to be played in the church?
—Why do you allow Christian and Searching students in the same small groups? (Actual question)
—We never had small groups on the same night when I was in youth!
—Why don’t you play more games? My kid just wants to have fun.
—Are V-Necks that deep even legal?
It is pretty easy to disarm a concerned parent when you have an articulated, thought-out reason for doing what you do. If they question an element of your program and you don’t have a rationale for why you do it the way you do, watch out. Parents may not agree with you, but will respect that you have thought about their concern beforehand, and that will give you a place to start a conversation.
For the sake of supporting the vision that God has given you for your ministry, and for making the most of every opportunity that you have when your students are in the building, it is vital you have a reason for every element of your youth night from the time the first student arrives until the last one gets picked up.
