How to Bring Your Youth Worship to a New Level
In the New Testament, Mark 12:30 instructs worshippers to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." For pastors leading church youth groups, this is certainly the underlying goal behind your worship services. It's easy, however, for worship services to become routine, but there are a number of methods you can use to enhance your congregation's worship experience and take services to a whole new level.
Other People Are Reading
-
Youth Group Worship
-
Regardless of denomination, many churches feature special youth-oriented services geared toward teenagers. Larger churches will typically have a youth pastor who ministers specifically to the younger members of the congregation, and will lead weekly worship services for teens. A youth worship service will typically feature a sermon targeted to teenagers, as well as musical performances, group singing and even skits and games. Services can vary from church to church, and different sects will approach worship in a manner appropriate to that particular belief system.
Icebreaking Games
-
You won't be able to push your worship service to the next level if the teens in your youth group don't know each other, and there are a variety of ways you can encourage teens to get to know each other. Youth Ministry Ideas website suggests you try ice-breaking games, such as "Shuffle Your Buns," which can be a fun way to encourage teens to get to know each other. Arrange a group of chairs in a large circle and have the members of the youth group sit in the chairs, with one less chair than people. Have one teen step in the center of the circle. You say, "Shuffle," and indicate a direction. As all the teens shuffle over one seat, the student in the center will scramble to set in an open chair. If he's successful, the person without a chair will then move to the center, and the cycle repeats.
-
Ownership
-
Writer Russell Martin suggests you can improve worship services by giving group members ownership over the service. By encouraging your youth group to help plan the worship service, choose music, create skits and possibly even contribute to the sermon, they'll feel more engaged in the service, which can lead to a more meaningful worship experience for the entire group. Not only will this cause the worshippers to become invested in the services, you may also be grooming a future church leader without even knowing it.
30-Hour Famine
-
Encouraging your youth group to participate in special activities can create greater engagement and cause worship services to become more meaningful. One way you can accomplish this and bring your worship services to the next level is by events such as World Vision's "30 Hour Famine." A youth group can participate in this annual event — which can be undertaken on two different dates — to raise money for children facing famine in Third World countries. During the actual weekend, the teenagers will gain a deeper understanding of what famine means by going for 30 hours without food, during which time they'll participate in activities that World Vision claims will make the weekend "a totally fun, educational and life-changing experience."
-
References
- Photo Credit Stockbyte/Valueline/Getty Images
