don’t believe we should have “Youth Group”. Now, before you start calling my Church, asking for my resignation, let me clarify. I believe we should have a Youth PROGRAM, just not a Youth Group. What’s the difference:
- Youth Group is a 1 night a week program that you put all your eggs in and hope kids come out. Youth Groups try to cram outreach and discipleship into 1 night and it can be easy to lose focus who who your target is.
- Youth Programs have home groups for students to develop relationship with others in their community, small groups for them to develop their faith, social events to get kids together and have fun together. Youth programs has specific nights for outreach and other nights for discipleship. That way they can target specific students and be more intentional about the purpose of each meeting. A youth program has something for each step of a student’s spiritual life that moves them from outsider to a disciples to a leader helping reach other students for Christ.
- Youth Group is a segregated part of your church. They have their own “special” area and not involved in what “big church” is doing very much.
- Youth Programs have active involvement in the overall mission of the Church, serving and participating along side adults and children.
What is your vision for your students and Christ? Come up with a clearly defined strategy of reaching students. Who do you want them to become by the time they graduate?- Then, construct steps for your students to become that person. Andy Stanley’s “Seven Practices of Effective Ministry” is a great book to read to help walk you through this process.
- Share your vision with other ministry leaders and parents, get them on board with where you are going and see how they can help you as you seek to minister to students.
