Helpful thoughts on Fall Ministry Launch
Summers over, now it's time to ramp up and launch our school year program. Here are some ways we try to kick off the school year.
(Some of these are spoken amongst staff but most of these are just built into the DNA of how to do ministry)
- Start with a bang! Whatever a "bang" is for you may look different than what we do but find what will be a big hit with your students and give it a shot. The "bang" may be a new spiritual concept, literally fireworks/explosions, something funny, tons of bounce houses & a party feel, really anything out of the ordinary will do. This will add excitement to the night. We've done all of the above before.
- Push Momentum generators. This is a great time to push what your focus for the fall/school year will be or whatever builds momentum in your group. Our students love each other so we push Small Groups HARD the first three weeks.
- Have all your ducks in a row. I think this is more important in high school than in middle school (we all know middle schoolers love things more when the ducks are NOT in a row, haha). In my experience some high schoolers are looking for a reason to discount the church as "not relevant to their life" or "just a knock-off of pop culture" and if there is a lack of excellence this opens that door for them...NOT TO MENTION GOD DESERVES OUR BEST! (Also note: You have to define excellence for your context, don't judge it off of another church, it must be contextualized.)
- Meet the minimum expectations THEN EXCEED THEM. This one sounds odd at first but most students come to our ministries with a bare minimum expectation of what could/should happen. Some minimum expectations are things like: We will read/open/hear about the Bible, Jesus' name will probably be used, someone will pray, there might be music, someone will likely talk to us, I'll have opportunities to spend with my friends. So we try to meet those bare minimums every week (because they're good ones) AND THEN completely exceed them by trying to constant "redefine church/youth group". This is especially important considering during the launch phase there are usually lots of new students. (Comment if you want me to write more on this topic).
- Don't forget the graduating classes. You'll likely have students in middle school who weren't previously in middle school (5th graders) and the same thing with high school (9th graders). For us this informs what type of language, inside jokes, illustrations we use. It's helpful to get new students caught up to speed on how you do things. Inside jokes are great...unless you're on the outside so spending some time thinking through these things helps everyone feel included. (Side tangent: I also want to mention, there are times when inside jokes are VERY effective at building momentum even if people don't know them. It provides an opportunity to say, "you'll know what we mean after [insert event name]. I love doing this around camps, retreats, mission trips...it builds awareness and curiosity that will draw people in.)
- Have fun. I was talking with a youth pastor from Texas on the phone a few weeks ago (he said I could share this) and he was so nervous about "making a good first impression" on the new students. He wanted everything to be just right because "we only have one shot at some of these students and I don't want to miss out on reaching them". These concerns are LEGIT and are definitely to be taken into consideration but I told him "don't forget to have fun". Sure there is a GIGANTIC burden for those in Student Ministry to reach EVERY STUDENT POSSIBLE for Christ, but lets not forget where our strength comes from. "Greater is he who is in us, than he who is in the world" ...HAVE FUN DURING THIS LAUNCH PHASE. The enemy wants us to be uptight and afraid but WE WIN, so the devil can eat it!
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