[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text background_layout=”light” border_style=”solid” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” background_size=”initial” _builder_version=”3.0.76″ module_alignment=”left”]<\/p>\n
Momentum\u00a0<\/em>is kind of a big deal in youth ministry, isn’t it? Momentum is the thing that keeps students . . .<\/p>\n
excited.
\nengaged.
\ncoming back.
\ninviting friends.<\/p>\n
As youth pastors, it seems like we’re always trying to figure out ways to\u00a0create\u00a0and then\u00a0sustain momentum\u00a0throughout the school year.\u00a0<\/strong>We want to engage teenagers and keep them engaged and coming back all year long, but . . . how?<\/p>\n
A lot of youth pastors try to create or sustain momentum with\u00a0short-term fixes,<\/strong> like . . .<\/p>\n
flashier programs.
\nbigger events.
\nmore giveaways.
\ncooler Instagram posts.<\/p>\n
Those short-term fixes may work for a moment or two, but\u00a0wow\u00a0<\/em>are they exhausting. If your only solution for creating and sustaining momentum this year is to outdo your last program with something bigger and better, you’re going to die of exhaustion by January. And by the way . . . is that\u00a0really\u00a0<\/em>what we want our ministries to be known for?<\/p>\n
If our goal is to engage people for a moment,<\/strong>\u00a0short-term fixes would work really well. But we\u2019re trying to engage people for a lifetime<\/strong> \u2013 not just in our program, but in a lifelong journey to know Jesus better and join Him on His mission in the world.<\/p>\n
Our programs aren’t the<\/em> point, but if we do it right, they could be a starting<\/em> point.\u00a0<\/strong>So for the sake of that bigger picture . . .<\/p>\n
How do we keep teenagers excited?
\nHow do we keep teenagers engaged?
\nHow do we get teenagers to keep coming back?
\nHow do we get teenagers to invite their friends?
\nHow do we create more momentum?<\/p>\n
The answer isn\u2019t new. The answer isn\u2019t complicated.<\/p>\n
This generation of young people is less impressed than ever by our productions. They don\u2019t want bigger, better, or flashier programs. They want authenticity and connection. A cool program might attract them in the short-term, but relationships will retain them in the long-term. <\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
(For more on this idea, check out the section, “Warm Is the New Cool,” in Growing Young<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>by Kara Powell and Brad Griffin of Fuller Youth Institute.)<\/p>\n
We need to strategically . . .<\/p>\n
Research popularized by Chap Clark and Kara Powell indicates that teenagers who stick with their faith<\/a> in the long term walked through their teenage years connected relationally with five or more believing adults.<\/p>\n
If you know me, you know I’m convinced small groups are our very best chance<\/a> at fostering relationships between teenagers and adults. Small groups, when done well, guarantee a teenager will build a relationship with at least one caring adult. That’s a big deal! It may not solve every problem or meet every need, but\u00a0creating a small groups culture<\/a>\u00a0is an essential first step in connecting teenagers with consistent, caring, believing adults.<\/p>\n
A teenager’s faith is hugely influenced by their relationship with the adults in their life, but we can’t forget about the influence of their peers. If you’ve done this youth ministry thing for a while, you’re probably painfully aware of how much the opinions of their peers impact their decisions.<\/p>\n
Shout out to every youth pastor who’s familiar with this text exchange . . .<\/p>\n
YOU:<\/strong> Are you coming to youth group this group this week?
\nA HORRIBLE TEENAGER:<\/strong> Who else is going to be there?<\/p>\n
As frustrating as this can be (especially when we’re trying to figure out how much pizza to order on a Wednesday night), this relationship with their peers is completely normal (and even healthy) for teenagers.<\/p>\n
Teenagers influence each other in significant ways, so if we want to . . .<\/p>\n
keep teenagers excited
\neep teenagers engaged
\nget teenagers to keep coming back
\nget teenagers to invite their friends<\/p>\n
. . . then we’ve got to create a community for teenagers that is meaningful for them and their peers.<\/strong> And again, that has nothing to do with what’s happening on your stage. It has everything to do with what’s happening in their relationships.<\/p>\n
But students won’t learn to develop healthy relationships on their own. That’s another reason small groups matter so much\u00a0\u2013 because teenagers need adults (like small group leaders) to help guide them toward authentic, warm community.<\/p>\n
In fact, everything<\/em> we do should point toward plugging teenagers into a consistent community of their peers (and that includes both believers and nonbelievers). Whether it’s an event, a camp, a service project, or a typical weekly program, our ministries have to prioritize cultivating a community that is authentic, warm, and personal. It will take work. It will be messy and imperfect. But it will be worth it.<\/p>\n
If you want to build momentum, connect every teenager with a community of their peers.\u00a0Because when a kid starts drifting from their faith, it won\u2019t be a flashy program that brings them back. It will be the influence of the people around them.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
Maybe that’s not the answer you were looking for. Maybe you were hoping for a quicker fix, a silver bullet, or a 10-step plan for creating and sustaining momentum. Sorry \u2013 unfortunately, I don’t have that kind of answer. As far as I can tell, there is only one way to create the kind of momentum that actually leads somewhere meaningful. Free Xboxes and cool events might lead students somewhere, but I’m not sure it will always lead them into a lifelong journey of following Jesus.<\/strong> If that’s your goal, I’m convinced that better relationships are the better answer.<\/p>\n
Deeper relationships are our best chance at keeping teenagers . . .<\/p>\n
excited.
\nengaged.
\ncoming back.
\ninviting friends.<\/p>\n
It’s not flashy. It’s may not draw a huge crowd. But helping teenagers develop deeper relationships with adults and with each other is our best shot at creating momentum not only for our ministries, but for our students’ future faith journeys.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Momentum\u00a0is kind of a big deal in youth ministry, isn’t it? Momentum is the thing that keeps students . . . excited. engaged. coming back. inviting friends. As youth pastors, it seems like we’re always trying to figure out ways to\u00a0create\u00a0and then\u00a0sustain momentum\u00a0throughout the school year.\u00a0We want to engage teenagers and keep them engaged and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":44710,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"
[et_pb_section bb_built=\"1\" admin_label=\"section\"][et_pb_row admin_label=\"row\" background_position=\"top_left\" background_repeat=\"repeat\" background_size=\"initial\"][et_pb_column type=\"4_4\"][et_pb_text background_layout=\"light\" text_orientation=\"left\" use_border_color=\"off\" border_color=\"#ffffff\" border_style=\"solid\" background_position=\"top_left\" background_repeat=\"repeat\" background_size=\"initial\" _builder_version=\"3.0.72\"]<\/p>
How do we . . .<\/p>
engage teenagers?<\/p>
engage volunteers?<\/p>
create momentum?<\/p>
Sometimes we try to answer those questions with short-term fixes,<\/strong> like . . .<\/p>
flashy programs.<\/p>
fun events.<\/p>
awesome giveaways.<\/p>
cool Instagram posts.<\/p>
If our goal was to engage people for a moment,<\/strong> those things would work well.<\/p>
But we\u2019re trying to engage people for a lifetime<\/strong> \u2013 not in our program, but in a journey to know Jesus better and join Him on His mission in the world.<\/p>
Your program isn\u2019t the point, but if you do it right, it could be a starting point.<\/strong><\/p>
So how do we . . .<\/p>
engage teenagers?<\/p>
engage volunteers?<\/p>
create momentum?<\/p>
The answer isn\u2019t new. The answer isn\u2019t complicated. The answer is simply relationships.<\/strong><\/p>
\u201cWarm is the new cool.\u201d<\/strong> \u2013 Kara Powell and Brad Griffin, Growing Young<\/em><\/p>
This generation of teenagers isn\u2019t impressed by your production.<\/p>
They don\u2019t want more programs.<\/p>
They want authenticity and connection.<\/p>
The same goes for your volunteers.<\/p>
The coolness of your program might attract them, but relationships will retain them. <\/strong><\/p>
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>
So remember, if you want engagement and momentum, the answer is relationships.<\/p>
The WHAT is simple.<\/p>
The HOW can be complicated and messy.<\/p>
That\u2019s because relationships are complicated and messy.<\/p>
So let\u2019s break down what this might look like.<\/p>
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>
STUDENTS NEED . . .<\/strong><\/p>
Relationships with adults.<\/p>
Relationships with each other.<\/p>
Relationships with adults.<\/strong><\/p>
Small groups are our best chance at fostering relationships between students and adults.<\/p>
You know this. You\u2019ve structured your ministry to support it. But if we\u2019re not careful, we can get lazy and complacent. We can drift.<\/strong><\/p>
Students who stick with their faith in the long term are students who had relationships with 5 or more believing adults.<\/p>
Not knew about <\/em>5 adults.<\/p>
Not were taught by <\/em>5 adults.<\/p>
Not recognized <\/em>5 adults because they often saw them on stage.<\/p>
They knew <\/em>and were known by <\/em>5 adults, besides their parents.<\/p>
We can help facilitate this through small groups, but we can think bigger than small groups too.<\/p>
Everything we do should point back to a relationship with a consistent adult.<\/p>
Weekly program \u00e0 relationship with an adult.<\/p>
Events \u00e0 relationship with an adult.<\/p>
Service projects \u00e0 relationship with an adult.<\/p>
Serving weekly \u00e0 relationship with an adult.<\/p>
Camps and retreats \u00e0 relationship with an adult.<\/p>
When a kid misses church for a few months, it won\u2019t be your program that brings them back. It will be a text from an adult who noticed they were missing.<\/p>
If you want to increase engagement and develop momentum, prioritize students\u2019 relationships with multiple adults.<\/strong><\/p>
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>
Relationships with each other.<\/strong><\/p>
Students need to learn how to grow in Christlike relationships with their peers \u2013 believers and nonbelievers.<\/p>
Small groups work because they get to do that under the guidance of a trusted adult.<\/p>
They won\u2019t develop healthy relationships on their own.<\/p>
You\u2019ve already structured your ministry to support this, but (again) if we\u2019re not careful, we can drift.<\/p>
Everything we do should point toward plugging teenagers into a consistent community of their peers that includes both believers and nonbelievers.<\/p>
Small groups \u00e0 community with both believers and nonbelievers.<\/p>
Events \u00e0 community with both believers and nonbelievers.<\/p>
Camps and retreats \u00e0 community with both believers and nonbelievers.<\/p>
When a kid starts drifting from their faith, it won\u2019t be your program that brings them back. It will be the influence of the people around them.<\/p>
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>
If you want to increase engagement and develop momentum, prioritize students\u2019 relationships with each other.<\/strong><\/p>
\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>
VOLUNTEERS NEED . . . <\/strong><\/p>
Relationships with you.<\/p>
Relationships with each other.<\/p>
Relationships with you.<\/strong><\/p>
Do for your volunteers what you want your volunteers to do for students.<\/p>
Pastor them like you want them to pastor students.<\/p>
You may have recruited your volunteers based on a lot of things:<\/p>
Your cool program.<\/p>
Your mission.<\/p>
Your team.<\/p>
That might bring volunteers through the door, but it\u2019s not enough to keep them there.<\/p>
If you want your volunteers to stick around, engage, and invest, you need to build a consistent relationship with them.<\/p>
We\u2019re going to assume you have a good system for training and communicating with your volunteers.<\/p>
That stuff is urgent. Relationships seem less important on a weekly to-do list.<\/p>
To invest relationally, you need to have CONVERSATIONS, COMMUNICATION, <\/strong>and CELEBRATIONS <\/strong>(thank you cards, birthday cards, specific affirmations).<\/p>
To do that well . . .<\/p>
When a volunteer starts to drift, your program won\u2019t keep them engaged \u2013 but their relationship with you might.<\/p>
Relationships with each other.<\/strong><\/p>
Most of us serve in our local church because we want a place to belong.<\/p>
Volunteering is about more than giving back. It\u2019s about getting plugged into a community.<\/p>
Your relationship with your volunteers matters, but the community you\u2019re creating for them matters too.<\/p>
Just like students are looking for \u201cwarmth,\u201d authenticity, and connection, your volunteers are too.<\/p>
To help them build relationships with each other, you need to have regular MEETINGS <\/strong>(get them together for a purpose), DISCUSSIONS <\/strong>(get them together for a conversation), and CELEBRATIONS <\/strong>(get them together for a party).<\/p>
When a volunteer starts to drift, your relationship with them might not be enough to keep them engaged \u2013 but their relationship with a community might.<\/p>
This school year, let relationships be your highest priority.<\/p>
Whether you\u2019re talking about students or volunteers, this is true . . .<\/p>
the coolness of your program might attract them, but relationships will keep them. <\/strong><\/p>
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