How to Build a Successful Church Youth Group

A youth group is a portion of a church ministry specifically geared toward helping adolescents connect with God and learn valuable religious lessons that can be applied to the daily struggles they face. Building a successful youth group can be a challenging yet rewarding process. Youth ministers must be dedicated to teaching a new generation about Christian beliefs and values and helping them maintain those values during difficult times. Successful youth groups will demonstrate both a love of the Lord and love for each other.

Instructions

1. Take care of all basic organizational needs before launching your youth ministry. You'll need the approval of the pastor and church board of directors, a place to meet, and basic activity funding.

2. Set rules and stick to them. Like a standard classroom, a youth ministry is a place for learning. Learning cannot take place in a tumultuous environment.

3. Structure lessons the kids can relate to on a personal level. The Bible is full of stories about adolescents and the difficulties they face with family, religion, and personal obligations. Use these stories to help your youth group connect with biblical teachings.

4. Plan activities the group can participate in outside of church. This will help the youth bond with each other and provide more frequent opportunities for you to minister to them.

5. Get to know the parents of the members of your youth ministry. A child's parents can give you valuable insight into his struggles, beliefs, and goals. This will help you to better connect with each child. Parents can also be an asset by volunteering to help monitor children on long trips or during large group activities (see reference 1).

6. Encourage the children to invite their friends along on outings and to youth group meetings. The more children attend, the higher the chance that some of those children will find Christian enlightenment through your youth ministry (see reference 2).

7. Direct the youth group in a community project such as raising money for a charity or non-profit organization. This will teach the children how to come together as a group to help others and reinforce your youth group's solidarity.

8. Demonstrate unconditional acceptance and encourage the members of your youth group to do the same. Adolescents have a tendency to ostracize one another. Teaching acceptance will help them not only learn to accept others, but to understand that God accepts them no matter what.

Tips & Warnings

• Believe in what you teach and live by example. You can't expect the members of your youth group to have a strong faith and demonstrate good behavior if you do not.

• Seek help or guidance from other church members or the senior pastor if you need it. The number of helpful volunteers you get might surprise you.

References

• "Youth Ministry and Parents: Secrets for a Successful Partnership;" Leif Kehrwald; 2001
• Successful Youth Groups Support Teens' Conflicting Needs

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish