Promoting and Sustaining Youth Ministry

“In I859, Scientific America called chess, ‘a mere amusement of a very inferior character, which robs the mind of valuable time.’” First of all... that’s hilarious. Secondly, it illustrates the point that culture changes and in 2018 it changes faster than ever. I think these 4 tips for promoting youth ministries are thought provoking and could help us reach a whole new group of young people.  

I especially like the idea of getting students to help with promoting our youth ministries. Usually they are much more in tune.  

How do you promote and sustain your youth ministry?  

https://blog.capterra.com/ideas-for-youth-ministry/ 

A Youth Leader’s Open Letter

This resource article is a letter of sorts to the broader church. Written by a youth leader, this resource is a plea for the church as a whole to engage.  He writes “Youth Ministry is a Church wide ministry, not a separate entity.”  

I hope you’ll check out this resource and ask how your youth ministry could engage with the broader church.  

 https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/2-february/features/features/church-and-youth-what-i-wish-the-church-knew-about-young-people

Reading Scripture with Immigrants

 “Keep Listening, Never Stop Listening”  This is point number 3 in this article that shares the story of reading scripture with a population possibility very different than your own. What a joy and a privilege it can be to open up the bread of life with persons different from ourselves! Perhaps we can use those opportunities to learn about how God is moving and breathing into that person’s life. 

Check out this article to hear more of the story.  

https://fulleryouthinstitute.org/blog/scripture-and-immigrant-youth 

Back to School Ideas for Youth and Children’s ministries

Summer often means special activities, vacations, and some time away from the routine of the rest of the year. As back to school time approaches, it’s important for us to think about how to set up the next season of our minsitries. Sometimes the best way to transition is to host a fresh ministry experience such as:

• Back-to-School Backpacks: Partner with a local school or shelter and donate backpacks filled with school supplies to school-age children.
• Snacks for Teacher Workday: Bible study classes or small groups select a local school, prepare and deliver baskets of snacks with a note of thanks and a prayer for the upcoming school year.
• First Day, Moms Pray: Host a tea for moms just after they drop their kids off for the first day of school. Seat them by school or child’s grade level for fellowship. Pray for the moms and the children.

(credit: https://www.christiancopyrightsolutions.com/blog/back-school-ideas-church-fall-programs/)

Many churches I know through a back-to-school bash to kick off the school year. Sometimes though, it’s best when we don’t think party or hype, but something a little different. Here is a whole article with some different ideas about hosting a transition experience:

http://www.rethinkingyouthministry.com/2009/08/8-back-to-school-ideas-not-spelled-p-r.html 

Training New Volunteers and Keeping Connected to the Existing Ones

I’m not sure what this looks like for you, but I found it challenging to keep my volunteers all on the same page all the time.  Often times I would wonder if the system we had in place was really working at all. This article does a great job of expressing some of the difficulties involved in training and keeping ministry volunteers, while also offering some suggestions on the best practices.  

I hope it will help us keep healthy ministry teams around us, because doing it alone just isn’t a viable option long term.  

https://www.breezechms.com/blog/3-essentials-for-training-church-and-ministry-volunteers/