Youth Ministry and the You Tube Genration (part 3, conclusion)

Youth Ministry and the You Tube Generation
Part 3: Making it Practical

The principle that students are not satisfied being media and ministry consumers, but are looking to be producers, has tremendous ramifications for youth ministry. As a youth pastor, I've watched students graduate from the youth ministry and from the faith in Christ at the same time. I've heard as many as 80% of our students are leaving the church upon graduation, though I'm not sure the official study. Certainly large numbers are leaving.

The students who have remained most faithful to God throughout my years in ministry are overwhelmingly the students who have been actively involved in sharing the responsibility for at least some part of the ministry. True, the more mature Christian students are typically the ones who shoulder responsibility - but my challenge is this: if we turn even part of the ministry over to students sooner, and involve them more in the process, then I believe we will retain more in the long-term. With the added benefit that, as we saw in part 2, we are approaching ministry more biblically.

So how can we practically do this? What are some ways that students can take ownership of THEIR youth ministry?

1. Students can make announcements. I've seen adults desperately try to get students' attention for announcements using videos, drama, even dressing in drag once (yeah, that wasn't me, for the record). But a student giving the announcements commands more attention from the crowd because it's "one of us." Rotate the students, and challenge them to come up with the most creative way possible to communicate the information. Set up a schedule. Students don't have to be especially "spiritual" to do this.

2. Students can lead worship. Most youth ministries already allow involvement here, so I'm not going to dwell on it, other than to say be sure you're allowing new students the opportunity to break into the club and use their gifts as well.

3. Students can lead games. They'll have better ideas that the group will like, anyway. Sure, at first an adult might have to monitor for safety or other concerns, but once the students have the hang of it they'll have a blast thinking of great ideas. They can whip the crowd up to involvement easier than adults, usually, too.

4. Students can conduct small groups. Give them materials to work with, and let them at it. Again, an adult might have to be close at hand (especially at first) to make sure things go okay. But let the students take the initiative.

5. Students can preach. Other students respect hearing one of them give the Word. A student can say, "I'm right there with you, figuring this out as I go, too." It might be necessary for an adult to review what a student will say, or train them in some basic sermon preparation tips - but that's good and part of the leadership training process! What if a student says something off-script that is wrong? Well, in that case, you'll have to gently guide the student (and, maybe, the crowd) to the truth. But I've rarely seen that happen - students take the responsibility for sharing the Word of God seriously (and, usually, they're terrified they'll mess up, so they're pretty careful).

6. Students can plan events. If you aren't already using students to plan your events - involving them in everything from the idea through the execution phase - then you're not using a great resource God has given you. Students have great ideas. If it's their idea, they'll be more excited about it and are more likely to bring their friends. Meet regularly with students and talk with them about what kind of events they want to see, then enlist them to help plan, prepare, execute, and cleanup. Lead them through the process, then eventually turn it over to them.

7. Students can handle visitation and greeting. Welcoming and including new students is something the students should be doing already, but most youth ministries don't make it intentional. Have students selected to greet others when students walk-in, and run check-in if your youth ministry does that. Have students selected who are willing to make phone calls, send emails, or drop by to visit newcomers to the group. A visit from another student saying "thanks for coming" goes much further than a visit from an adult - let's face it: we're just struggling to stay cool and relevant.

8. Students can lead ministry teams. Let them take on ministry teams that are important to them. Let them focus on recruiting other students to be a part of it. Maybe you'll need adult presence at the meetings, but let the students take the lead. It will make them more enthusiastic and allow them to really offer themselves and their gifts to God in a new way.

These are just some starter ideas. But essentially, there is very little that I do as a youth pastor that a student or group of students is not capable of doing. Youth pastors must just make an intentional effort to turn the ministry over to the students and let our youth ministries become "by students, for students."

One place to start is something I practiced in Indiana. The first Wednesday night each month we had a "student-led service." The rule of thumb was: no adults on the stage at all. I met with students to plan the whole thing, they selected what would happen and who would lead what service element, and then they pulled the evening together. It gave them great exposure to ministry and in some cases respect for what I went through every week. It allowed them to really own their youth ministry and to become ministers.

Let's make a commitment to engage the You Tube Generation by applying biblical principles of ministry and transforming our ministries into true Student Ministries.