Before your Christian Education Committee organizes a blog-ban or a book-burning bonfire in my honor (or before you invite me to a celebration BBQ on my behalf), let me explain…
Busy students don’t need more; they often need better. Sometimes, less is more.
This is not really a call to kill Sunday school; in fact, it may be that you need to really put some great effort into improving it. It could be that you actually need to kill your midweek program in order to offer deeper connection and community through small groups. Or perhaps your small groups are so small they can’t even be measured, so maybe it’s time to retire these. Bottom line, as I have examined the student ministry landscape, a lot of youth leaders are struggling with student commitment levels, and we may be part of the problem. Rather than just blaming the likes of parents, clubs, sports, school, Facebook, gaming, and dating, I’d suggest we look to be part of the solution.
One key find in my research is that youth ministry programs that concentrate on two of the major three elements are typically finding a greater percentage of student participation than those offering all three.
What Are the Majors?
Sunday school, youth group (midweek), and small groups seem to be the most common elements that make up a student ministry program. In my quick study of 10 youth ministry leaders, I found that 90% who were offering all three wanted to get rid of Sunday school. The other church does not offer midweek “youth group.”
“A Dead Horse Can’t Race”
One person said, “I’m under a lot of pressure from people to ‘educate’ our students about Christianity, but the Sunday school model is not working…it’s like trying to get a dead horse to race in the Kentucky Derby.”
I faced a similar situation in my last youth pastor appointment. We were offering all three majors. However, upon my arrival, it was evident that students were very inconsistent in attendance at all three. Instead of making the ask that everyone (including an overworked youth staff) make the commitment to be at everything, we decided to place our largest emphasis on two elements. Though it wasn’t the most popular decision, I placed our emphasis on Sunday school and on midweek small groups (and on developing my leadership team to disciple students).
Our Sunday school program (called “The Gathering”) had a group discipleship emphasis (essentially, it was “church for teens”). Our small groups were grade/gender specific discipleship groups that had an emphasis on accountability, sharing, praying together, and studying the Bible so that we could live out our faith. Our midweek program was our “outreach” time where the Christian students could freely bring their unchurched friends so those who have not heard the Gospel could be presented the good news.
Christian Entertainment Industry
In the years I served at this specific church, our small groups grew dramatically, as did our youth staff. Our Sunday school grew even more. However, our midweek program needed to be killed. We shut it down; it had become a gathering of Christians (the same kids who were at Sunday school and in our small groups). Our students were not inviting non-Christian friends to come and hear the Gospel. I felt we were simply entertaining the masses. We’d have students say, “It seems like the messages are always the same…it’s always about the cross…we’re bored…we need to go deeper.” (Keep in mind, the purpose of the midweek program was to present the Gospel to the lost). Any time a staff member did change up his or her message and went “deep,” we were bound to have someone say, “See, this is why I can’t bring my unchurched friend-that message would have been over his head and would have offended him.”
What Would It Look Like?
Dream a little. What would it look like for you to help students, families, and staff by placing an emphasis on two of the majors (you decide which two) and see if you’re able to still accomplish the major goals of your program? For the sake of suggestion, here is what I could see happen if you cancelled any one of the majors:
Midweek Youth Group—Students are busy with sports, clubs, family commitments, and homework. In fact, many students are already involved with para-church youth groups (FCA, Athletes-in-Action, Young Life, Youth for Christ, etc.). What if you supported them and pushed them to be involved with these groups as their outreach outlet? Being free on a weeknight might allow you more contact time, allow you to go to a small group with other adults, or give you valuable time to raise your family.
Small Groups—If you are one who struggles to recruit adult leaders, getting rid of your small group ministry may free you up to pour into individual students rather than coaching leaders who really aren’t ready to be leading (or free you up for a season to get leaders ready to lead).
Sunday School—Not having a Sunday morning traditional Sunday school would often allow students the opportunity to serve in the children’s ministry program, music program, attend service with family, or (if offered) participate in an adult Sunday school class.
Of course, there are many other tweaks and possibilities. I have seen youth groups successfully transition to Sunday mornings being the time for student small groups or even outreach. I have seen groups make their midweek youth group a time for outreach to be followed by an hour of small group for those who want to go deeper. You need to take into account what will work best for your group, your leaders, and the parents of your teens. The answer may be simply to refocus each of these elements or even to add something new.
For those who are struggling with low or inconsistent attendance, to those who are contemplating making a “major” change, let me conclude by saying, don’t do this on your own. Dream, scheme, and pray with others about these decisions. The key is to get better by possibly offering less.
Be free, let’s go kill it!
