Does your church have a good youth program?

[ckay87]

First, I don't mean elementary-age. Maybe youth 13 through 17 or so. If you have a good program, have done any great activities, or any other suggestions, I'd love to hear about it.

I've been becomming involved with helping with our church's youth group. There is such little parental involvement with that age group, but at the same time we have been blessed with these fairly eager teens. I think denying them a good program would be just so sad.

We've had a handful of "sleepovers" ...or actually I should call them "allnighters" at the church. Nobody sleeps. They have so much fun. We do some activities, but just as importantly, I think they just learn that church is a comfortable place to be.

Anyway send me anything you'd like to share! Thanks!

 

[SC Minnie]

I am a youth advisor with our church.

Just last night we had a progressive dinner. Last week the 5th & 6th graders played kickball then walked to the McD's next door. The older kids had a cookout at the leaders house and the middle schoolers did digital camera scavenger hunt.

We have a game nights. Break up into teams of 4 and play about 10 minutes on one of 5-10 board games. The next group picks up where the last group ended.

One night the HS ages broke up into 2 teams. They did a people scavenger hunt. They had a list of traits or talents etc and had to find friends that had that thing then bring them back to the church. Afterward they had a big cookout. We ended up with almost 40 HSers.

This past year we had teams-- they mixed the ages. each team had an adult advisor. We played games to earn points. The team with the most points at the end of the year (my team ) got new youth group t shirts.

Our youth director tries hard to come up with fun things. Our yg is not only for members of our church it is for anybody. We want everyone to feel welcome. Our pastor wants the yg to be a fun place for teens to come and get to know other teens that believe in God. It doesn't have to always have to be boring lessons. They can learn a lot through fellowship and making friends that share their beliefs.

 

[golfgal]

Our youth program isn't very good. We have a new youth director that is working on that but I fear that when the core group of about 5 senior girls graduate this year the program will fall apart. They have had a few movie nights, lock-in's, they had a dodgeball night, a few dances, etc. which is more then they have had in the past few years. He has only been here for a year so we will see what happens. I am hoping our new church will have a more active teen group but I kind of doubt it, kids are so busy these days and for most church isn't high on the list of things to do.

 

[tkd lisa]

My church does! I'm very blessed to have them. Of course, I shopped for this church and a strong youth program was one of my requirements since my kids are almost 13, and 14.

You're welcome to check out their website www.baylife.org and go to the student ministries section.

Casting Crowns, a contemporary Christian group, has a lot of youth program suggestions on their website, because they started as youth ministers. I think it's castingcrowns.org, but you could just google the name and it should come up.

I hope it goes well for you. You're right that kids this age need a good structure since many of them are pulling away from their families and looking for that independence!

 

[Mercy]

We have a great youth group at our church. About 2 years ago we got a new Youth Pastor (our old one moved out of state). She is terrific! She is a recent Bible School graduate, very young. Not only does she do fun things with the kids but, every week (our's is on Friday nights) there is also a really great spiritual lesson. She is very creative with the way she gets her messages across. My 16yo DS goes every Friday, and has most of his friends from the neighborhood and from school going as well.

When our other Youth Pastor left we only had maybe 15 kids coming on Fridays, but now they are running about 40 kids weekly. God is really moving amongst those teens also, it is wonderful to see. My older DS19, kind of dropped out when the other pastor left, but he is so impressed with what is going on there, he has been getting more involved lately also.

However, I really can't answer your question regarding ideas, but maybe there are books out there with ideas of things to do.

 

[stevenpensacola]

Category: Commentary, Rants
Posted by Michael Spencer on August 1, 2005 2:15 am
from www.internetmonk.com

At least once a month, someone writes me about their youth minister. What to do…what to do…what to do….with the zealous, sincere, yet wrong-headed young fellow who is about to split the church between the youth who would die for him and the adults who want to kill him.

I suppose I am a member of the youth minister’s fraternal for the rest of my earthly life. I’ve been involved with teenagers in ministry for almost all of my 30 years of paid ministry. I’ve been the college-age youth director and the seminary graduated, full-time associate pastor with youth responsibilities. I’ve done everything youth ministers do, over and over and over, till I went to the hospital and got medication for my blood pressure. I’ve also been a pastor who fired and hired youth ministers, so I know both sides of the desk. I’ve consulted with churches and spoken at conferences. I’ve met with parents and counseled many, many youth ministers in crisis. I’ve loved it, and hated it; watched it happen and been in the middle of whatever was happening. The sublime. The ridiculous. The Youth Specialties stuff. All of it. I was never arrested, but I should have been shot several times. Since I lived it, I have some street cred, and I want to use it.

I would like to attempt a general piece of advice to youth ministers. A single, comprehensive, absurdly ambitious list of wisdom to answer all questions and remedy all situations? No, more of what I’d say if I had to prepare an answer to most of my “What can we do about the youth minister?” mail. Let’s call it “Five Things That Youth Ministers Need To Hear.”

Just have a seat. You’re 24, you look great, you’re having fun at your job….time to sit in the chair, take out the earphones, and listen to the old, fat guy.

Before I start, two preliminary words: First, we appreciate you. This isn’t easy, I know. It can be fun, but it is hard to be a friend to everyone, and to hear all the pain and emptiness that’s out there in the lives of teenagers. We want you to succeed, and to be the presence of Christ for these kids. We will support you, and we’ll do all we can to make your ministry a success in ways that honor God and the Gospel.

Second: Church…you asked for it. Deciding to have a youth minister should have committed you to the process of getting a mature, trained, professional who sees him/herself as a pastor and teacher, who loves the ministry and seeks the supervision of the church and the approval of parents. If you wound up with a 21 year old clueless adolescent who can’t be trusted with $20 or the announcements, it’s your fault. If you allow that person unchecked and unsupervised freedom to “work with the youth,” then be sure and applaud the show, because you could have gone several other directions. If things are bad now, don’t just fire the youth minister. Fix your idea of leadership, your method of supervising ministry and your goals for a youth program.

Ok. Enough of being nice and spiritual. Time to poke you with a stick.

1. Who are you responsible to? Is it the pastor? OK. If it is the pastor, when was the last time you discussed your responsibilities in detail? When was the last time you asked for an evaluation? In detail? Are you avoiding your pastor? Acting like he’s not actually your mentor and supervisor? Are you running your own show and grinning at him during the occasional devotional meeting for the staff? Stop acting like that. Go see your pastor. Get completely and totally under his supervision for whatever you are doing. Give him the whole plan, and ask him what he thinks. He is the man. You are the boy. Sign up for that and love it.

Oh…he doesn’t want to meet with you? Then get another job. That’s right, quit. Take your time, but quit. If you don’t have pastoral supervision and pastoral sponsorship you need to work elsewhere.

While you are at it, get a job description. Written down. Telling you exactly what you are supposed to be doing, who you report to, and how you fit into what the church is doing. See, you work for our church, helping us fulfill our mission. So you need to be very concerned about our expectations, not just your own ideas.

2. Are you really popular with the kids? That’s great. How are you achieving this popularity? By introducing them to Christ? The Bible? The Gospel? Are you bringing them into the life of the church? Teaching them the faith and demonstrating the church’s mission of service to others in Jesus’ name?

Or are you doing lots of cool, fun, stuff? Oh…you are doing both, are you? Cool and fun, plus Bible and Gospel. Hmmmm….

Are you sure about this? You’re quite sure you are giving them the truth about Jesus, an honest look at scripture and a loyalty to the church? You aren’t selling these things at discount prices? You aren’t cutting corners that will ensure your kids will abandon the church at the first opportunity and head for whatever three ring, mall-looking circus of a mega-church youth and college ministry does the best Dave Mathews Praise and Worship Band impersonation? You aren’t making them into the enemies of the older members? You aren’t teaching them that their parents are wrong? You aren’t teaching them that we need to spend lots of money on them and take them lots of places and do lots of extreme things because we MUST BE SURE THEY ARE NEVER EVER BORED?

Good. I’m glad. Really. Because, you see I know lots of youth group graduates who have tossed out their past Christian faith like an old pair of shorts. I mean, these are kids who were in every youth activity the church could lure them into: beach trips, concerts, games, teams, fun, fun, fun….with a little Bible study in there, too. And when they were two years out of high school Jesus was old news fast. It’s like if they can’t have that old youth group party, with lots of entertainment, they want nothing to do with following Jesus. The church? Not for them unless it is ALL ABOUT THEM. Now that’s NOT what we want, is it? You wouldn’t be producing that kind of kid, right?

Isn’t it good we decided to have this little talk? I think so, too.

3. Can I ask you to do something for me? Could you read a book? Maybe two or three books. Good books of Bible, theology and the Christian life. Because, here’s the thing. I know you watch a lot of MTV and go to a lot of movies. I see your iPod and your CDs. I know you do a lot with music. And I’m sure all that time you spend “chillin’” with your friends and dates is important, but we’ve handed over our children to you, and frankly, when I stand outside your youth class and listen to what you are teaching them, I want to have you arrested.

I think you need to read a book, dude.

Yeah, you’re funny and irreverent. It’s a blast in your Bible study. The kids love the movie clips and the song excerpts. I’m sure the various lessons you teach from their favorite movies are holding their interest, but we’d all feel a lot better if you could teach the meaning of a book of the Bible, or explain some theology from the Bible, in a way that helped our kids actually trust the book for the truth they will need in years to come. We’ve made you into a teacher of some very impressionable minds. We need you to be prepared. Am I asking too much? Hey, we will buy the books for you. You just read them and get excited about what you want to teach. Ok?

4. We have to talk about this music situation. You may have noticed that a Sunday worship service at our church is not very similar to a nightclub mosh pit. Or to your favorite concert. We don’t have a really rockin’ band, and the contemporary music that we do use is pretty tame. But I notice you are teaching the kids all kinds of things to do in worship that our older people aren’t going to do, and you are telling the kids that if they really want to experience God they need to dance, and wave their hands, and shout, and so on. We’re all watching this, and if you could read our minds, you would be holding on to your paycheck.

You’ve had a lot of fun with the new projector screen, and we’ve all gotten used to your little- and not-so-little- talks before these youth-oriented worship songs, where we all learn that God has anointed this particular song to get the church out of bondage and into freedom. We’ve gotten used to stomping, screaming, swaying, and various body movements that our grandparents would have found a tad out of place in church. I just need to tell you something: You aren’t helping our church with this approach. You’re making us a divided and tense family, and you are teaching our kids a lot of wrong things about worship. You’re demanding that we change for the sake of entertainment. You’re teaching our kids that the music we love and use is worthless because it’s boring, and that we need to get excited about music we can’t relate to so that the worship service can be a youth event.

You’re on the wrong path here, and I’m asking you to consider what you are doing. You’re not acting like a minister of the church, or as someone who represents all of our church. You’re a cheerleader for youth culture and for your own preferences. You’re making fashion and trendiness more important than the unity of the body. You may have noticed that, for most of us, church music isn’t like any other kind of music. It’s special. It’s not entertainment. Some of your new music is OK. Some of it isn’t. What’s the real problem is your insistence that because you are up front with a guitar, you are rightly leading and teaching the whole church with the things you are doing. That’s not the case. The opposite is the case. You are dividing and belittling, not unifying and encouraging. Show some maturity and some sensitivity. We can bend. We need to be flexible. We need to be alive to the Spirit, but your agenda isn’t very spiritual. It’s very personal. Don’t insist that we bend till we break, and like it. Help us all worship together, as one church, even if we all have to compromise to get there.

5. You’ve asked a lot of parents this year. Money for several trips. Lots of food and transportation. Time and support. I think the parents have been generous. You’ve gotten everything you needed. So can I ask something of you? Could you communicate with them? Regularly. In detail. Could you be a professional in getting newsletters, calendars and information to those parents? They have busy lives and lots of demands. They are committed to supporting you. When you do things at the last minute, and don’t plan, they have to rescue you, because they want their kids in church. Be more mature around those parents. You aren’t a kid. You are an adult. Treat the adults who are the parents of your kids as adults want to be treated. Impress everyone in the church, not just the students. Be a model of someone who has embraced adulthood, not a model of someone avoiding it.

I’ll stop at five. I could write more. Maybe this is just part one. The point, for all you youth ministers out there, is that I’m saying some things to you that your church needs to say, but probably won’t say, because you are popular with the kids and they don’t want to seem unhappy with you. So I’m your daddy for a couple of pages. Take it, read it, get irritated at me, but believe me, these things are important. Pay attention.

 

[soccerfreak_08]

Our youth program stinks. We just got rid of a bad youth pastor that almost destroyed the youth group. The new guy that is running the youth group is nice but the only kids that are there are the ones who have to be. Not the ones that want to be. I don't like going to youth group much. I only go if they are doing something really fun.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Ours is open for 7-12th graders, not just for church kids, but for kids from other churches and the neighborhood too. My 10th grader doesnt want to go any more because he says its too geared to the little kids, they are not broken up in any age group. My 8th grader goes and my 12th grader does not go. We have no youth minister, our church really cant afford it, but we have 4 adult leaders, one is moving, 2 males and 2 females. We have no church van etc. and we have a very strict child policy regarding abuse, alone with the kids, what is acceptable etc. They go on a winter retreat once a year upstate, they have a car wash to finance this and they go to another youth sponsered event which is all night at a local sports/game facility which they must pay for themselves. I dont know too much else what they do. My other 2 ds said they would rather attend the youth group at their school. They said it is so much fun, the music is very contemporary etc. I know they did some strange thing with mirrors once and they said they got to smash pumpkins from the gym balcony etc.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

Church…you asked for it. Deciding to have a youth minister should have committed you to the process of getting a mature, trained, professional who sees him/herself as a pastor and teacher, who loves the ministry and seeks the supervision of the church and the approval of parents. If you wound up with a 21 year old clueless adolescent who can’t be trusted with $20 or the announcements, it’s your fault.

stevenpensacola - that absolutely 100% sums up the problem with our Church High School program. Our church hired exactly what is described and oh boy are we living with it.

We don't have a youth minister. We have an angst ridden 15 year old boy trapped in the body of a nearly 30 year old man who hangs out on the sofa in our Church basement and occassionaly writes newsletters which mostly complain that the parents don't keep his cupboards stocked with enough chips. Oh and he reorganized our Teen Praise Band and installed himself as lead singer just like Joe Black in School of Rock.

btw, our entire "youth" program from Pre-K Sunday School through High School Youth Group used to be run by one person. THAT guy was a dream. He knew the Bible, he controlled the kids, he was an authority figure, but a nice one who the kids liked being around. Unfortunately he left us to enter the Seminary and become a real Minister. We've had our Couch dweller for about 3 years now and the High School Youth attendance has dropped by over 50% of what it used to be. We recently hired a new Director of Children's Ministry to take over Grade School programs.

I think the Head Pastor finally started reading the comment cards and woke up to the fact that it wasn't just one or two dissatisfied families who were writing them.

 

[budbeerlady]

We really dont. It isnt a big issue with me untill DD turns older.

Growing up we had a GREAT GROUP. There were only 12 of us that went to our church in the group but we had 25-40 there every sunday night! We all took our friends along and it was great. I still stop in and see my leaders if I am in town.

The most important thing was that they were parents of us kids in the group, & they remembered being teenagers and how hard it is. (We met in their basement, took turns bringing chips and pop or dessert) We all knew beyond a doubt we could knock on their door any time! They dealt with the hard things, they didnt just say dont do drugs. They laid it all out, shared thier past experiences, they were real with us about every thing. They knew it was important that we recieved a religious education but they helped mold us into adults and face the growing up things. 11:30 one friday night my best friend and her boyfriend of 3 years had broken up, we went to go see Marcia. She cried with her, got out the cookies and 2 hours later she was feeling better. They were our leaders and our friends.

But after 5 years (good thing it was after I graduated) the two sets of leaders knew they had to spend more time with thier own families, no one else volunteered and the church hired a youth pastor. That was basically the end of it. It was all bible lessons and little discussion and in the church basement. My sister had my parents come pick her up one night when she was a freshman, she never went back. Pete belives the Bible means you do this and there is no discussion.

So someday I hope DD goes to a great group with a friend.

 

[powellrj]

we have a great one. I think one of the our secrets is small groups. They break each each group down by age and sex. The 6th grade boys have a group, 6 grade girls have a group...... all the way up through high school. They met every sunday night with their small groups and on the last sunday in the month they all met together. It makes it easier for the kids to only have to deal with their own group instead of having the older kids mixed with younger ones and the girl/boy problems are less. They do things like eat out, go to ball games, do community service projects, watch movies.

 

[jimmiej]

My kids are past that age now, but as my wife works at our church, I still keep up with what they're doing. We have about 300 active youth in grades 7-12. They have their own sanctuary & Bible study rooms. Last week, they started a study on using myspace.com. They had a police officer come in & talk to the kids & parents about internet safety.

Our youth do lots of mission projects. Each summer they repair homes for the needy. They also do a mission trip. This year it's Chicago where they'll be working with underpriveleged kids & also doing backyard Bible studies. They go to Glorietta every other summer. In January or February, they do "Believe Weekend." It's a intense 48 hour campout/Bible study at different homes (by sex & grade).

We also have an active youth choir that tours the southwest states every summer.

http://www.oakwoodbaptist.org/

 

[JadenLayne]

We have a SUPER Youth Program at our church! We average about 200 children on Wednesday nights and our "core" group is about 75.

Our youth minister is 40 and has been with the church 10 years now. He is the lead singer of our youth band and is a wonderful singer and guitar player. The rest of the band is both youth and other adults.

On Sunday morning we feed them breakfast (no charge) and then they are split off into thier age groups. Boys and Girls are seperated until they are in the 11th grade. We have different teachers for every age group in twos (7-8 grade Boys) (7-8 grade girls) (9-10 grade boys) (9-10 Grade girls). And then the 11th and 12th are all together. Sunday School lasts from 9 until about 10:15 and then they go to "Big Chruch" where they all sit together in their own section.

Wednesday nights are awesome! We run two buses all over our city and like I said we usually go over 200 children. These are children who don't have parents in church and who need something and someone in their lives. Our service begins with announcements and then games. The games can get funny and gross at the same time but the kids love them. We give away CDs, t-shirts etc. for prizes.
Then the youth band sings. They sing some very contemporary music bordering on heavy Christian Rock and then they also sing slow, meaningful music (How Great is Our God, Beautiful, etc.)
Then our youth pastor speaks. Hes aweseome! He knows how to bring lessons to the level where these children can understand them. As of last week we have had 57 children brought to the Lord this year! At the end of the service we have all of our counselors in the back for these children to talk to.

Now that school season is over we will have a month break on Wednesday nights. Then starting the first week in June we will have what is known as "8 amazing Wednesdays." This is Wendsdays with games and fun! Some things we had last year.......a swimming party, a scavenger hunt, Fear Factor (LORD HELP US), Movie Night, Trivia Night etc. The kids love it!

We also go on trips all year. We just got back from Student Life about a month ago. We also went to a Big Daddy Weeve, Todd Agnew Concert. For the summer I know we are going to Eureka Springs and also to the Mississippi Gulf Coast for missionary work. We did go to the Gulf Coast Baptist Assembly but unfortunetely it was torn up by Katrina.

Anyway I love our youth program and I love the kids!!!!! God made it so very clear in my life that the youth were my calling!

 

[stevenpensacola]

Once upon a time, there was a village that had a great heritage of education among its citizens. For many years, the community had wonderful schools, but more importantly, great scholars, statesmen, artists and educators. Education was important to families, children and businesses. For years, it was rare to find anyone who wasn’t a graduate, and almost everyone believed in the worth of a good education.

Over time, the community’s commitment to education waned, and more and more students lost interest in education. A steady stream of students dropped out of school. Absenteeism grew. Test scores declined, discipline problems increased, and many children began to rebel altogether at the idea of going to school. Few people wanted to teach. Smaller schools arose for those families who cared about education, but even those schools could tell that times had changed. Students were no longer interested in education. It wasn’t important to the community.

Families became less and less supportive of education, and some insisted that too much time was spent in class and on homework. Some parents questioned the purpose of classes that had always been part of the school. The village was reaching a crisis point.

Of course, there were some who insisted that the community should redouble its efforts at education. They spoke and protested and wrote, but to little avail. Only a remnant listened or wanted change. Education declined and declined, until the time came that the village schools were a shadow of their former self. More seriously, few students were getting a good education, and the community was suffering in every way, but fewer still cared.

And then one day, there arose some younger educators with new ideas. They believed they could turn the schools around. They were excited about their plan, and met with the leaders of the community. The community leaders asked if these young educators were committed to producing truly educated students? Were they committed to graduating scholars who would be able to write, invent, lead and create as educated people? The young educators assured the community that they could. Their confidence was infectuous, and the community handed their schools over to these new teachers.

Soon the plan went into effect. Within weeks, everything had changed. All the old classes were dismantled. The school day was shortened. Classes were now filled with movies, music and entertainment. The goal of every class was to have fun. Where classes were taught, they were aimed at interests of the children: sports, MTV, dating, fashion, pets and so on.

School was hardly recognizable to the old guard. What had once been a school, now appeared to be an entertainment mall, where everything was done for the amusement of the students.

But the interest in school returned, and then increased. Every student loved school. They couldn’t wait to go and see what concert or movie was planned for today. With more and more fun, there came more and more students. Special events got larger and larger, until school became almost like going on a cruise or to an amusement park. Attendance, enthusiasim, and excitement were at record levels.

The new leaders were justifiably proud. “This isn’t school the way it was for your parents. This is school just for you and your friends. This is school where you can be comfortable and be yourself. We want school to be fun, and we want you to be excited about telling other kids how great school is now.”

Other communities came to observe, and more and more communities began to rework their schools in the same way. A movement of new, fun schools began to spread across the country.

Of course, there were a handful of people who were unhappy. They gathered in their homes and kept their complaints to themselves, but finally, they asked if they could meet with the town council, and with the educators.

The town council agreed, and everyone gathered. The new educators were basking in their success, and many congratulations were offered from families whose children were now ready to go to school every day. More and more students said that they wanted to be teachers too.

Time came for the critics to speak.

“Friends, a few months ago, we sat here together and asked these educators if they were committed to education. We asked if they were committed to turning out educated young people. Scholars and leaders for the future. They assured us they were, and we gave them our schools.

They lied. They didn’t believe in these things. Instead, they changed what we called education to something else entirely. They devalued education, and replaced it with entertainment. They found out what our children wanted OTHER THAN education, and they gave them that very thing, but CALLED IT education. It’s a bait and switch, and we’ve been snookered.

Now the world is singing their praises. The schools are full and the children love what is going on. But I have some questions for you:

What are the ACT scores for these schools? You see, we no longer give the test.
Where are the foreign languages? We no longer teach them.
Where are the Math courses? We no longer have them…or any engineers.
What are our students reading? Not books. Maganzines and the internet. Junk food for the mind. Almost no novels are being read. Our students watch movies and TV instead of reading.
Where are the scientists? We don’t teach science anymore. We teach about celebrities and fashion, but we don’t teach science.

I could go on and on, but I wonder if anyone cares? Does anyone even realize what has happened? We’ve been lied to, and we’ve accepted the lie!”

The young educators listened to this, shook their heads, laughed, and asked to speak.

“Friends, today, your schools are full. Your children love school. They can’t wait to come. They are busy and involved. They have school pride. They love their teachers. Many of them want to be involved in education. We’ve given you results that you never saw before. Change has been hard, but change is good. It’s been good for our children and community.

We believe that one day, these students will become great scholars and truly educated people. But first, we had to get them into the schools. We’ve done that. Be patient, and watch them as they become more and more the educated people you wanted them to be. Just remember that times have changed, and we can’t do what we did before and get results. Can you really argue with success?”

The room was filled with applause.


from http://www.internetmonk.com/