I am a huge fan of getting students outside the walls of the church. Whether it’s for fun, teaching, evangelism, community service, team building, or whatever, engaging students in a new or different environment is where we really get to know them. It’s not rocket science, and you are probably sitting there and agreeing with me, but does your ministry calendar reflect it? If we’re being honest, many of us may only have one or two events or retreats planned for this semester. But why?
When addressing the main point here, are your events and retreats reaching their full potential, we have to look at both QUALITY and QUANTITY. We all desire to put out our best work and to give our students the best experience, but this can come at a cost. Yes, quality is important in what we do; it should be a driving factor to do our best for God and for our students, but does an overemphasis on quality hurt our ministry and reach when it comes to quantity? This might be a hot take, but I think many of us have sacrificed what could have been incredible time spent with students because we told ourselves we didn’t have the time or resources to “make it what it should or could be.”
Let me give you 3 ways to focus on both quality and quantity in your events and retreats (don’t sleep on the last one!):
1. Start with a clear objective and focus
From the start, ask yourself the why question. What purpose does this event serve in my ministry? How does it fit with what I’m trying to accomplish with these students? Sometimes, that answer is going to be profound because it lines up perfectly with a mission or vision statement. Other times the reason will be selfish because you just want to hang out and have fun. Either way, make sure you know what the objectives are as you begin.
2. Find a good rhythm for your group and stick with it
Predictability isn’t always a bad thing. When students have some idea of what to expect, there’s a level of comfort that helps open doors for ministry to happen. For example, I loved to do camp in the summer (NTS Camp of course!) and a retreat halfway through the year. When this rhythm started it wasn’t immediately met with huge numbers, it took a couple of years to build comfort and trust with more students.
Finding a good rhythm doesn’t have to mean doing the same things over and over and over! It looks more like a playbook than a blueprint. A blueprint is a set document that you build off of exact specifications. Whereas a playbook has a general outline with options to choose from. Here’s what that could look like. Let’s use the camp in the summer and retreat halfway through the year as the start. Then we know we want to add 4 fun events this school year, 2 each semester. We will have 4 serving events as well. This is a rhythm that we can repeat and hot-swap different plays from the playbook for.
3. You’re capable of more than you think
Ministry can seem demanding and let’s be honest, all of the ministry blogs, forums, and Facebook groups don’t paint the best picture of ministry life and its demands. Don’t hear me wrong, I’m not here to downplay the work involved in running a solid Youth Ministry. What I am here to say is you’ve got more in the tank than you’re giving yourself credit for. If you’re truly called to it, Youth Ministry is a wild journey that is an absolute blast! When’s the last time that you stepped back and said, “Wow, I get paid to do this?!” If you’re reading this and you’re a little mad at me or you just think I’m wrong, let me challenge you to try to let go of the “quality” ruler for a little bit and try to just have fun in ministry again. Round up some students and go to the beach, wake up early and take donuts to a school and just hand them out (maybe get permission first, don’t get arrested), gather up your three or four core students and go out for coffee. No agendas, no pressure, just build relationships!
Let me end by saying that you have the best job on the planet! You get to hang out with, train up, and cause a ruckus with students all for Jesus. I hope you remember that as you plan and prepare for what this ministry season will bring.
Kyle Wood
Director of Operations and Communication