For many churches, youth ministry is deeply desired but often out of reach. Ministries to students often begin with a chicken-or-the-egg conundrum. As a pastor or volunteer, you may want a fun youth ministry with big programming and lots of excitement, but you don’t have the volunteers or resources to make it as attractive as (insert megachurch across town here).
The stark reality of ministry is that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Context matters. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some really healthy ways to begin, grow, and sustain a youth ministry that fit your congregation and context.
Prayer is the most essential part of starting a new youth ministry. Before reaching out to students or finding volunteers, centering yourself in God’s vision for youth in your community and church is a must. Make these prayers personal and corporate; youth ministry is a ministry of the congregation, not just the pastor or volunteer. Take some time—a month or two—and pray regularly over God’s call for your church to minister to the young people in your community. As these prayers settle into your soul, begin to look for eagerness among your congregation. When a congregation prays together, often individuals will hear a word from God that sparks passion in them for the ministry. Create a leadership team with these passionate people; they don’t have to be young, cool, or even know the first thing about engaging with young people—it’s a learning experience. They simply must be passionate and willing. Then continue to pray as a church and as a youth ministry team.
Now, look for where students are. Are they in your congregation? Are they at a community center or on a sports field? If you have students in your congregation, that’s a pretty easy starting point. Talk with them, find out what activities they’re involved or interested in, and look for healthy ways to support them in their endeavors. Remember that for many students, the basketball court, football field, or concert hall have become a kind of refuge. If you want them to find sanctuary in the church, you have to meet them where they are first.
Safe space and safe people are essential for youth ministries. Ensure that the entire youth ministry team has been properly trained in ministry-safe programs and create environments in and out of the church for those leaders and students to meet safely. Coffee shops can be great youth meeting spaces if utilized appropriately. And you don’t have to build out some awesome youth space on a $10 budget. That money could be used on admission to a band concert instead. Ministry only moves as fast as relationships, so invest your resources relationally before you invest in programs or renovations.
Ministry only moves as fast as relationships, so invest your resources relationally before you invest in programs or renovations.
Regularity and introductions become the name of the game in moving from individual relationships with students to a youth ministry where students are sharing in life together as peers and with their sponsors and leaders. Invite students together, and then, over time, make those invitations regular and expansive. Before you know it, you’ll have five to ten students meeting in the local community center every week to play and hang out.
Now, after these initial preparations, begin to invite them to pray with you, introducing them to Jesus. It can be tempting to force Bible studies to be the center of a youth ministry from the get-go, but as the adage goes, “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” Youth are no different. They want to develop a relationship with you, which could encourage them to find a relationship with Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Lastly, continue to pray in your personal prayers and with the congregation. Youth ministry is hard, but God’s steadfast love can make a way through so many boundaries. Youth ministries are started, sustained, and grown through consistency in listening to God’s will for the young people of our churches and communities. There are plenty of guides to help you build out cool youth programming and learn to speak “gen whatever,” but they aren’t nearly as critical as the guidance from God through prayer.
Youth ministries are started, sustained, and grown through consistency in listening to God’s will for the young people of our churches and communities.
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