Creating Harmony in Your Youth Ministry
Most churches are not large enough to have separate ministries for their youth so they have the challenge of creating harmony in a group of energetic junior highers, high school students and sometimes young college and career age adults.
Your senior high and college/career kids can be annoyed for a thousand different reasons, and especially by the energy of a kid in junior high. They will not be annoyed though if they feel like they own a few of those junior high kids. Almost like a big brother or big sister.
First, take some of your college/career and senior high key influencers alone or in small groups. Tell them, "Look I know they irritate us." (Make sure you say "us.") "I understand they have wild energy because they're just young. But there are stories behind these kids and many of them come from hurts and pains and brokenness. They need this youth group and more than just needing the youth group, they need some of you that are older to take time with them. To learn their first name and make them feel as an extension of Christ's love that you care about them."
Let them know you don't expect them to spend a million hours with them, but give each of your key influencers two names and phone numbers of junior high students so they can privately, even if it's nothing more than reaching out to them in the service, make them their friend. Sometimes you may want to tell a little of the story behind the student. But they will impact your junior high students if they do nothing more than make them feel like one of the amazing adults in their youth group that they so make heroes knows their first name.
When you are able to do this, the junior high kids are way less of an irritation, because they are kids that your high school students and college and career kids own.
Most churches are not large enough to have separate ministries for their youth so they have the challenge of creating harmony in a group of energetic junior highers, high school students and sometimes young college and career age adults.
Your senior high and college/career kids can be annoyed for a thousand different reasons, and especially by the energy of a kid in junior high. They will not be annoyed though if they feel like they own a few of those junior high kids. Almost like a big brother or big sister.
First, take some of your college/career and senior high key influencers alone or in small groups. Tell them, "Look I know they irritate us." (Make sure you say "us.") "I understand they have wild energy because they're just young. But there are stories behind these kids and many of them come from hurts and pains and brokenness. They need this youth group and more than just needing the youth group, they need some of you that are older to take time with them. To learn their first name and make them feel as an extension of Christ's love that you care about them."
Let them know you don't expect them to spend a million hours with them, but give each of your key influencers two names and phone numbers of junior high students so they can privately, even if it's nothing more than reaching out to them in the service, make them their friend. Sometimes you may want to tell a little of the story behind the student. But they will impact your junior high students if they do nothing more than make them feel like one of the amazing adults in their youth group that they so make heroes knows their first name.
When you are able to do this, the junior high kids are way less of an irritation, because they are kids that your high school students and college and career kids own.
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