By Aaron Buttery, C4SO’s NextGen Leader

Many student ministries go through three life stages—and chances are, you find yourself in one of them today. Once you’ve identified your ministry life stage, we’ll help you understand how to navigate it.

Stage 1: Ready

Maybe you’re sensing it is time. Perhaps many of your elementary school-aged children have (suddenly) become middle schoolers! Your children’s ministry has been flourishing, but now those kids are rising up into student ministry. Or maybe you have looked around and seen young people at your parks, skate areas or athletic fields, and as a church, you have a desire to share Jesus with the next generation. Sounds like you are ready to raise up a student ministry. Here are a few key steps to start well.

  1.  Pray for awakening in the next generation. Gather three to seven people to begin praying. Meet together weekly to pray, and pray individually throughout the week.
  2.  Recruit and train at least three adult leaders. Before you start “youth group,” pour into the adults who will walk alongside them. Start with three leaders for a student population of up to 12, then add one more leader for each additional five students. Train the leaders how to be with young people and how to ask good questions. Ask the leaders to complete the requirements of C4SO’s Child and Youth Protection and read over the Youth Protection Policy. Take time with this, even a whole summer, so that your adult leaders are ready.
  3.  Decide where and when to start. Consider where you will be meeting. Are you meeting students at the skatepark? You probably won’t start a Bible Study right away, but slowly and relationally introduce Jesus. Do you know of some students at your church already? Consider forming a team of student leaders who can help shape the new student ministry. 

Note: If you start your youth ministry with super fun, high-entertainment offerings, can you sustain that? Is it the expectation you want students to have? Begin how you hope to continue.  

Stage 2: Refocus

You may have students who are engaging with Jesus, bringing friends and contributing to the life of the church outside of student ministry. It seems counterintuitive, but this is the moment to refocus. It is too easy to coast, to simply repeat the formula from past successes. Here are a few key steps to refocus well.

  1.  Listen to your young leaders. What percentage of (real) decisions do your students make for the student ministry? Are young people part of making decisions for the whole church? Refocusing means listening, learning and following young people as they experience and express the leading of the Holy Spirit.
  2.  Experiment. When have you tried something that might not work? Not just a game, but maybe a whole retreat or trip—something consequential. Develop and then practice the experimental mindset of the apostles to refocus on what is needed for mission today. When the apostles listened to the marginalized people in Acts, they refocused in a Jesus-centered manner.
  3.  Explore comprehensive discipleship. How does your student ministry engage in comprehensive discipleship? This would include:

    –Actively seeking to meet students you have never met
    –Intentionally crafting environments for students to say yes to Jesus
    –Developing unique and ongoing communities of spiritual formation, where young people are experiencing and expressing the fruit of the Spirit
    –Commissioning students to be leaders in their relationships, school, home and church.

Stage 3: Restart

The pandemic, the ever-shifting youth culture, or a change in volunteers and staff are all reasons you may be in the restart stage. You already have a student population and something has brought disruption, so a fresh start is important. Here are a few key steps to restart well.

  1.  Go small. You don’t need to restart with the same big programs or expectations. Small communities are the best place for young people to process change. Change is hard, and students need to be seen, heard and experience trust. If you are restarting, consider beginning with small groups that are places of becoming like Jesus together. Banded discipleship is powerful, simple and can provide both healing and maturation.
  2. Go slow. Restarting often means that the holy work of healing or reconciliation is needed. Restarts take time and way more intentionality than “pizza and a game.” Consider what regular meeting schedule is sustainable for your trained adults and then stick with it. During these gatherings, create a one-to-three ratio of speaking and teaching. For every one minute an adult or leader is “teaching,” give students three minutes to discuss, ask questions and process. Then, teach for five minutes, followed by 15 minutes of discussion, and repeat.
  3.  Get help. Train and love on the adult leaders involved in your student ministry. Place them in their best spot based on their skills, passions and energy. Start a team of student leaders to help you navigate and understand the tensions and challenges they are experiencing with the restart. Invite the church to pray for your student ministry by including it in your Prayers of the People during church services, etc.

Lastly, we want to help. We have walked with several churches over the last year in each of these stages: Ready, Refocus and Restart. Rectors or ministry leaders, reach out to schedule a conversation about how we can support you and your students.   

Aaron Buttery leads and facilitates C4SO’s NextGen Leadership team and serves as Director of Student Ministry, Next Generation Leadership, ACNA. As a 20+ year NextGen ministry leader, a two-time church planter, and leadership coach with Spiritual Leadership, Inc., he is the primary contact in C4SO for questions, ideas, and excitement about young people and growing young leaders. Contact him at aaron@c4so.org.