No, it's not JUST YOUR MINISTRY... attendance fluctuates with each season! Fall is a boom of excitement, winter has good momentum with Christmas parties and retreat weekends, and then comes spring. If you're not strategic, you might be surprised with how difficult it is to do youth ministry during spring. Here are a few ideas that might help fuel your youth ministry into the next season!
Teaching Ideas
It's good to switch things up in the spring to create a culture for growth. Here are a few ideas that might help enhance your teaching plans:
- Student Leadership - spring can thin your attendance but you can use this time to strategically equip your regulars with skills to equip students to lead. I'm a firm believer that every student needs to learn basics of leadership. Don't know where to start? Check with www.leadertreks.com
- Alpha Youth Film Series - perhaps you have a group of students who are equipped to lead. Have you ever considered running Alpha's Youth Film Series? It's more than a lesson. Alpha strategically helps you create an environment for spiritual conversations, and it can be led by students! Go through the setup trainings, assign students roles, and encourage them through the 9 week series! Find out more at https://alpha.org/preview/alpha-youth-series/
Focused Events
It can be difficult to gain momentum for events at different times of the year when you ar competing with so many other activities within your community. Make sure your events are worth attending!
- 30 Hour Famine - I have found that students are more willing to invite their friends to 30 Hour Famine than any other event that we have run in the past few years. It gives students purpose. In my context, we collaborate with several other churches to help spread out the logistics and the event is well worth your time as students walk away with conversations about global poverty, practical service experience, and life-long memories! 30hourfamine.worldvision.org
- National Day of Prayer - lean into teaching your students to pray! Thursday, May 4th is the National Day of Prayer. If See You At The Pole is a success at your schools, take some time to plan for this national prayer collaboration. Use the date to rally students to pray for the issues of their schools. Unite parents to pray for faculty, staff, and teachers in your community. Maybe you can adopt a school with www.everyschool.com
- Worship NIght - our network has run several of these nights and they are AWESOME! Pick a location, bring your worship teams or mix them together and create a space for worship. Don't have a headliner band to kick off the event? That's okay... this generation isn't super excited about big names!
Outreach Ideas
Let's be honest... most of what the church calls "outreach" events are actually invitation events. The church isn't going INTO the community but they are creating events that people are comfortable inviting their peers. Here are a few true outreach events to get you into the community!
- Go to their games - you're probably frustrated with kid's schedules. Plan a night to GO TO THEIR GAMES. As a travel basketball coach I realized how dedicated those students were to their games, but most of our games had one parent per kid in attendance. Want to show that you care about a student... SHOW UP IN THEIR WORLD!
- Go to their job - plan a few extra minutes to stop by their employer before or after youth group if your student has a job that keeps them away. Go say hello and let them know that they are missed and that you are proud of them for being a productive member of society! Don't wait for them to come to church.
- Sponsor a school event - check with the school to find a place to serve or a place to encourage. It might be as simple as an appreciation lunch for teachers in their lounge or parking cars for a school event. I was reminded this past week by a post on social media, "If you're too big to serve, you're too small to lead." Maybe this spring will allow you a space to serve in an area outside of your church.
If you're not careful the slower times of ministry can burn you out. Without intentionality you can be overburdened with busy work that slowly destroys your sense of purpose and makes you forget your call. Know this can potentially be a low season for youth ministry and with that knowledge... Be strategic. Be intentional. Be awesome!