When Should You Higher a Youth Worker?

So your church is thinking about hiring a youth worker? Except you’re wondering when the best time would be to do this.

Here are some helpful hiring tips that just might make this job search go a little easier.

1)“Sustainable Youth Ministry” by Mark DeVries recommends 1 full time staff person for every 50 youth who are active somewhere in the life of the church. 25 youth means a 20-hr person and so 12-13 youth would mean hiring someone for about 10 hours a week.

2)What to pay? Go to the January 2012 issue of Group Magazine and check out their latest salary survey. They provide loads of stats and variables to consider.

3)Where to post your church’s position? Simply Youth Ministry, Youth Ministry Architects and Youth Specialties have the best job boards. Of course, your denominational office is good. Colleges and seminaries are a must. Plus? There’s always Craig’s List.

4)Pick 3 non-negotiables and 1-2 “these would be great IF” qualities in a staff hire. Head towards that.

5)Don’t set the hire up for failure by holding off everything till “the new person gets here.” The youth ministry belongs to the church and so does the Youth Minister's vision and values. The person you hire should be able to match up with similar skills and purpose.

I hope that is helpful and Good luck!

How to Lose Support of Parents

If you don’t get anything else out of this post, get this: 

Young People’s Ministry is about caring for

 the students AND their parents.

In Young People’s Ministry we have been entrusted for the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of not only the student but their family and parents as well. We don’t always get it right. Below are 3 common places where Young People’s Ministry staff and volunteers miss the mark when it comes to the ministering of parents.

We Don’t Let Them Know What Is Happening in the Ministry-Young People’s Ministry can be one of the best-kept secrets in the church! How cool would it be if parents knew the lessons ahead of time and could have the opportunity to discuss it before they left for group? Or at least have some tools on the back burner to help them discuss at home what they learned at church. Too often we move from lesson to lesson and program to program without even the most basic communication to parents.

We Don’t Return Phone Calls-It doesn’t matter what type of communication you prefer. For many parents-hearing a voice over the phone is far and away the best message. When you don’t return a phone call it subtracts equity from your ministry. It doesn’t take long before you are overdrawn. If you aren’t a phone person… Who cares? You need to become one because a phone call is the love language of most parents these days.

We Keep the Spiritual Growth of Their Child a Mystery-As we care for their children, we need to keep parents in the loop of what is going on with their child emotionally and spiritually. A lot of youth and young adult workers want to gain the trust of the students they work with and so they make promises that they want discuss issues with parents. While I can understand the want to be “liked“ by the students, your first responsibility is for the care of your students. You only see your students for a fraction of the time… The parents spend far more time with them. Keeping them in the loop of how and what is going on with their child will en-dear you to them and will let them know that you truly care about their child.

There are many other ways to alienate parents. What are some of the ways you might add?

Leaders Are Learners

There is a famous quote that I really like:

“Leaders are learners-when you stop learning you stop leading.”

It’s a great quote, but it begs the question what makes someone a good learner? Here are a few possibilities to consider.

Someone Who Asks Thoughtful Questions - Someone who is curious and asks lots of good questions is hungry to learn. They are processing the information that has been provided, and now they are seeking clarification for an even deeper understanding. They know they need to learn and use the answers to those questions to propel themselves forward. If you want to show someone you’re listening, learning and leading, ask great questions.

Humility is Key - It isn’t easy, but a truly teachable person allows others to speak into their life through exhortation, encouragement, correction and coaching. Even when they aren’t asking for this. To be open to correction you didn’t know you needed. To be coached in areas you thought you had already mastered. To be pushed in directions you didn’t think you want (or need) to go. To learn from people who don’t know as much as you do.

Chances are the older, more experienced, more educated and more “successful” you are, the less teachable you are, too. While this is natural, it doesn’t make sense. In the fast-paced, ever-changing world of ministry, leaders simply can’t afford to quit learning.

Dealing with Disappointed Parents

One of the more common challenges in ministry is dealing with disappointed parents. You don’t have to be in Young People’s Ministry very long to have this experience. If you haven’t had this joyful experience…Is you will. And in some ways, it is exciting and encouraging when parents engage in their teenagers spiritual lives, even when that means they have taken an issue with your ministry.

Don’t sweep it under the rug or ignore it! Here are a few helpful steps to deal with parents quickly and  in a (hopefully) healthy manner.

Take a Deep Breath-This isn’t the first time that a youth or young adult worker has had to deal with conflict or disappointment. All of the greats in God’s kingdom have had to deal with disappointment -  you, too! God will use you and grow you through this experience.

Pray-Once you regain your breath, start here. Ask God to free you of anxiety, arrogance, or defensiveness. Ask God for the right heart, and commit to responding wisely and slowly.

Seek Counsel-If you’re unsure how to handle the situation, ask for help! Too often youth and young adult workers rushed this conversation or dismiss a serious issue in their attempt to get it over with. Take time to process the issue so you have some responses ready and some possible resolutions in hand.

Just Do It-You need to do this face-to-face. Own what part of it you need to. Learn from all of it. Have the conversation, set the appointment. Find a neutral place, and try to have a non-defensive posture. Make sure 100% of the issue is raised and addressed-the worst thing is holding back 10% on either side and having to do this all over again in 2 weeks after it blows up behind the scenes again.

Master the Art of “FEEL, FELT, FOUND.”-While it won’t work every time, this simple strategy is often quite effective.

“Mr. Smith, I can understand why you FEEL this way…”

“In fact, Mr. Smith, other parents have FELT the same way…”

“Here’s what we’ve (the other ministry leaders in the church including yourself) FOUND…”

Follow Up-When the meeting is over it isn’t necessarily over. Take the time afterward to process and then fix or address the problem. Do what you promised the parent. And follow-up. The worst thing you can do is not following up and might be more damaging than the original disappointment.

Key Elements to Youth Ministry

Key Elements to Reaching Young People from Warren Bevacqua

Student Leadership

One of the core beliefs that I have concerning Young People's Ministry is that Young People should be front and center in leadership.

This can be accomplished in a variety of ways. They can plan activities, lead Bible study lessons, organize mission opportunities, preach to the congregation, and teach other adults. If we do not put Young People into leadership roles, how else are they supposed to learn? 

Here are just a few benefits to giving Young People the opportunity to lead:

• It gives them real world experience and leadership.
• If they are the leaders of an event, they are invested and participation by other students will increase.
• It teaches them responsibility and accountability (if they don’t plan the program, then there is no program, and they have to and the responsibility.)
• Young People have various passions-Let them lead something that they are passionate about.

What other benefits would you list?

Allowing Young People to be in leadership and have mentors along to help guide them and love them unconditionally when they falter or fail is what student leadership is all about! 

5 Computer Tricks to Save You Time and Money

One of the most important parts of ministry is communication. But what is often the case in ministry is that the hours in the day are not enough to cover all of the needs. This is especially true if you work part-time in ministry, as I do. Here are five computer tricks that I’ve learned to help me be a better communicator without spending a lot of time.

1) Social Media Management in One Spot: You repeatedly here that the church needs to be using social media. So, you now have a Twitter account, Facebook page, Instagram account and a YouTube channel. Great! What you don’t have is time to give to each of these entities. So instead of managing each account separately use a service like HootSuite. HootSuite can give you dominion over all your Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and other social media profiles where you make updates and follow the streams in one place. Many of the services will let you schedule information blasts. If you have news to announce, and it is super early or late at night and you know no one will see it then, schedule that information to go out at a later, more opportune time.

2) Use Email Signatures: very often, you find yourself writing the same emails repeatedly. Save time and energy by using your email signature functions to create stock emails that only need minor edits before sending.

3) Keep Notes Handy: Fabulous ideas do not always happen during office hours. Have some handy methods for keeping notes and ideas. A notepad and pen work great, but what if those aren’t available? Use dictation tools available on most cell phones to create notes. Applications, such as Evernote, help you jot down your ideas and sync them to multiple devices and computers, including the web. As the name describes you can keep those notes forever or just until you can transcribe them in another form. You can then email those notes to yourself, post them to a blog, send them as a text message and more.

4) Close Your Email: Being ruled by your email inbox is the worst productivity practice ever! One email that is low on your priority list, can sideline you for 10 minutes or longer. Those interactions generally lead to more and longer email conversations. Schedule blocks of time to check email and set up alerts or alarms to let you know when to start and stop.

5) Automate Wherever You Can: With technology tools today, you can set up all types of actions to happen automatically. Using an email system, such as MailChimp, gives you many automated options for communicating with the group you are trying to be in ministry with. The best part is that it’s free. You can automate special messages like “Happy Birthday” or encouraging words via email to individuals to arrive on those special days and times.

These are just a few suggestions that I’ve run across that have helped me in the past. Give them a try and see what you think!

3 Practical Ways to Do Student Ministry Right

Youth ministry can be a challenging but rewarding experience. To make the most of this calling here are some practical ways you can do that ministry.

1) Talk through the calendar before you go public with it.
One of the biggest things I learned at my second church was making sure you clear your ministry calendar with your family calendar first. This will save you a ton of headaches as you navigate little league, board meetings, and  those  pesky things like birthdays and anniversaries. The 24 hours it takes to complete this step are critical to success in youth ministry life. Trust me.

2) Establish some (mostly) non-negotiable family boundaries.
What night is your date night? How many nights of the week are you out doing church stuff? When is the best time for the family to be all together? There has to be grace and flexibility on a regular basis, but outline what are the non-negotiables and create some boundaries for yourself in ministry. If you skip this step, you’re going to say “yes” to everything and “no” to your family. (my family used to call me "Mr.-meets-a-lot")

3) Build a team and empower them to help carry the load.
Youth ministry is bigger than one person—if it’s all about you, prepare for burnout. You can hang on for a while, but while you hang on, you’ll also bottle-neck growth in your ministry and other leaders. You are cheating others out of the opportunity to become leaders if you micromanage your ministry. Empower others to take significant parts of the ministry so that you don't have to.

Building a Team of Veteran Volunteers

Every ministry has its fair share of transient leaders-those volunteers who serve for a year or 2 before moving on to another area of ministry. Older high school students who volunteer during their senior year before heading off to college and parents of junior highers who serve for a year or 2 while their child is in the ministry, are the two predominant transient leaders in many cultures.

While there’s certainly no “silver bullet” for creating a team of ministry veterans, there are some things that you can do to be successful at building a team of veteran volunteers.

Focus on relationships more than on formal training.

If relational ministry is the type of youth ministry we acknowledge is best, then it would make sense that a relational approach to building a leadership team would take the same approach.

Empower like crazy.

I believe in the power of giving ministry away. As long as it fits within your purpose/strategy/mission/vision…Go for it! If you are a leader of a ministry team working with youth and young adults view yourself more as coach and encourager instead of a ball-hogging quarterback.

Share life.

As your team grows this becomes harder to do, but I found that a good chunk of our veteran leaders have stuck around because of the friendships that we’ve formed outside the walls of the church and activities of the youth ministry.

You are a Professional

Quality leaders want to be a part of something they perceive as being somewhat professional. Doing background checks, having good training, having clear guidelines, having their backs, and having a clearly articulated and understandable mission and vision. These are the kinds of things that quality leaders look for and want to be a part of.

Healthy, veteran volunteer leadership teams don’t happen overnight. Be patient, intentional in your efforts, and don’t quit when the going gets tough. Building a team of veterans is hard work… But it might be the most important and most rewarding hard work you ever do!

Think Big

There is a tension most youth workers face in a smaller ministry setting: They want their group to be bigger! Ironically most youth workers in a large setting face a similar tension: They want to be (or at least feel) smaller!  So if you are leading a smaller ministry, here are a few “big thinking” ideas that will help you where you’re at, and help pave the way for where you’re heading:

Think About Infrastructure
As you grow, how many volunteers will you need? Start recruiting volunteers now, so you are ready when growth happens. How will your follow up strategy need to evolve? Start tweaking it now! Do you have room to grow or will you need to ask to move your ministry to a larger broom closet? What will growth demand of your budget? These are just a few areas of infrastructure worth thinking about in bigger ways while you’re still smaller.

Think About Scalability
Look at virtually every aspect of your ministry and ask yourself if it’s scalable…in other words, can it handle a growth spurt? Pretend 10 new students joined your small groups—could your current system handle it?  Thinking big means organizing in such a way that growth can be accommodated without completely upsetting the apple cart. 

Think About Communication
More students, more problems! And one of the biggest problems larger youth groups have is in the area of communication. As your group grows, gone will be the good old days of calling every student once a week, or taking each volunteer out to lunch on a regular basis. You won’t be able to stop each parent in the church foyer to touch base.

The good news is we minister in an era that has seemingly unlimited tools and technology to meet our communication needs. Start experimenting now, so you are ready when growth arrives.

Prepare now for the students that God will trust you with in the future. Get ready…because they're on their way!

(I got these ideas from a weekly e-mail that I get about youth and young adult ministry)

Social Media's Impact on Personal Relationships

There is a great post over on ChurchMag.  They highlight the amount of time spent on social media and ask the question, How much is too much?  Check out the infographic and let me know what you think.

Stretching Your Budget

The economy doesn’t seem to be recovering as fast as we would like and church budgets are tighter than ever. Here are 6 ideas to help get the most out of every buck your church entrusts to you (if you’re fortunate enough to even have a budget):

Break-even Events

When you plan an event, make out a realistic budget and set a goal for how many students will attend. Some simple division and boom - you have the price point. Now stick to your budget and you won’t have to spend a dime beyond everyone’s admission. Obviously you’ll want to make sure the event is priced fairly, so do your best to balance the “bang for the buck” factor and still break even.

Cut back on Programming

A great way to stretch your budget is simply to hack away at what eats up chunks of budget in the first place. What are you doing that is ineffective and is taking dollars away from what is working? Would now be the right time to kill the program and redirect those funds to the right place? Use budget choices as a great excuse to let a sacred cow die.

Think Free First

The internet has made so many things free at your fingertips. You can get free texting, free polls, free Bible software, and so much more, at the click of the mouse! Before you buy, see if you can get it somewhere else for free.

Develop a Resource Team

These are the people in your church who don’t necessarily have the time to serve at youth group or go to camp as a counselor but they do have access to the stuff you might need. Develop a short list of resourceful or inventive people you can call on when you’re looking for random items like coolers or snow chains.

Double Dip – If you do have to buy something, think long term about how you can use an item again down the road. Are there other ministries in the church who can split the cost with you? If you do “share” this item, be sure to offer to store it when it isn’t being used so you have easy and primary access when needed.

Never Pay Full Price – Planning ahead allows you to order online from the least expensive reputable retailer. You might be able to get that video camera even cheaper/slightly used on eBay or Craig’s List, a quick search and you’re all set with a deal far better than the retailer down the street. And if you prefer to buy from a physical store, be sure to comparison shop and take the best price you’ve found on an item to your favorite store….they will likely match the price.

(I got these ideas from a weekly e-mail that I get about youth and young adult ministry)

3 Practical Teaching Tips When Speaking to Students

One of the key roles of a youth worker is speaking to teenagers. For some this is a gift that comes naturally—lots of youth workers are gifted speakers, while others have had to learn how to communicate effectively to an audience. Regardless of your skill level, these tips will either affirm what you’re already doing or help you push forward in your skills to speaking/preaching/teaching.

Find Your Own Preferred Style

Everyone has a preferred style of taking notes or jotting down reminders. Whatever your preferred style, go into a meeting with the student with some key points that you want to address with them. These could be questions, concerns, etc. If you must, you can out a manuscript so that you don’t miss anything, however, this seems less spontaneous and more like a lecture so be careful.

Practice It Once or Twice By Yourself

Prepare your lesson early enough to provide time to run over the talk out loud as if you were giving it live on stage. Work on your delivery, and add new thoughts and ideas to your outline as you progress through the run-through. So often great lines, dramatic pauses, or a fresh idea come through when you’re practicing. Too often what looks good on paper doesn’t work verbally, so get the kinks out before you’re in front of your students.

Debrief Your Talk

There’s nothing more valuable than being able to critique your self after a talk. Find someone that you trust and will in a loving but direct way share with you their thoughts about your talk. Debriefing your talk can help you improve how you give future talks, so this is very important. I find that my wife is a good person to do this with. She serves as a pastor and is a very good speaker herself. You may even want to get one of your youth leaders to help you with this process. However you debrief your talk… Do it! You’ll improve greatly if you open yourself up for honest feedback. The truth of the matter is this: People are critiquing you anyway; why not give them permission to share their observations!

(I got these ideas from a weekly e-mail that I get about youth and young adult ministry.)

Saying Thanks

Youth ministry programs can be very busy. This is especially so if you are a volunteer. It often feels as though you’re just moving from one activity to the next with hardly any time to catch your breath. With all this hustle and bustle of activity it is easy to forget  a simple “thank you” to the folks serving alongside you. My wife reminds me on a regular basis that it is always a good thing to say thank you and to apologize (but that’s another blog article for another time). Saying thank you to those that you work with can be a very powerful motivational tool that you cannot forget about, so here are a few tips on ways that you can thank people in special ways:

Say Thanks to Those Who Worked the Hardest.
In addition to a quick word of thanks, consider a hand-written note to those who gave their blood, sweat, and tears for this particular event. Keep the faithful happy and loved and they’ll serve you well for years to come. When you go the extra mile with the highly committed…they will likely go many more miles with your ministry!

Save Thanks to Those Who Usually Go Unnoticed.
The janitor who cleans the carpet after a 7th-grader spilled fruit punch. The church bus driver who has to navigate traffic while listening to your group sing One Direction songs at the top of their longs. The mom who slaved in the kitchen to bake goodies for your bake sale. When you remember the people so easily forgotten, it makes a huge impact. So think back over your event and think of people who are too often invisible and show them a little love.

Say Thanks for No Reason.
“No reason” thanks are the best. Say thanks as a surprise. Say thanks when it’s unexpected. Say “I noticed” when you see something that needs to be affirmed.

Make a list today of those you need to thank for this past school year. Keep a running list of the people who contribute this summer and make sure you say thanks to them, too.

I would end this article with a special thanks to you for your support by reading this blog.

THANK YOU!

Keep the Momentum Going All Year Long

As we begin another school year—for us it is easily the biggest time of the year. We've got momentum from school, the chaos of summer vacations is behind us, new friendships are forming, and faith is being shared regularly. Then come the Christmas slowdown and the spring, when seniors start setting adrift and checking out.

Is it possible to have fall-like energy throughout the year? How do we keep momentum going all year long?

NO, YOU CAN'T

Realize that the cycles of youth group are real—that there are seasons of ministry when you won't feel the momentum and when the attendance will dip. Honestly, there isn't much you can do about it, except strive for health and remain calm if you have a few more empty seats than normal. When attendance dips, take the time to build an infrastructure to better support growth in the big season ahead.

YES, YOU CAN

So once you've got a firm grip on reality, know that there are a few things you can do to at least help the situation in the future

1) Plan big events at key times

We only do a few events a year, and they are totally supplemental to our ongoing programs (youth group and small groups). But when we have them, they are at crucial times when we need a boost. In late October we have Pumpkinfest to help carry momentum through the slow holiday season.

2) Plan a key series at a typically low time

In our high school ministry we planned a series called You Own the Weekend that is built around student involvement and friendship that takes attendance way up in a time that is usually painfully low. Think creatively about a teenager's specific felt-need when you don't naturally have momentum.

So is it possible to keep momentum going in your youth ministry?

How to Communicate with Students

Here are some ways to communicate with students—ways that are Hot or Not. 

HOT: Facebook
This is where our money is at right now—the highlight of the tools we’re using to communicate with students. The only downside is that a youth ministry page requires constant updates and management to really be effective. And there’s a desire to spend time on our OWN pages instead of building up the church site. Facebook is where it’s at, so get on board to get it mastered just in time for your students to move on to something else.

NOTE: Our junior high ministry uses Facebook, but not as strategically as high school. We walk a fine line due to the reality that Facebook has age restrictions, but most junior highers are still there.

NOT: Email
When you’re communicating to parents, email is as hot as can be. The older people get the more possessive/stagnant they become with technology. Students on the other hand are quick to jump on what is next, usually before adults have even heard of it. If you are emailing students and it is working, realize that it is a miracle of God and won’t last very long. Email is out.

HOT: Texting
Probably right up there with Facebook is texting—it comes in two flavors: individual and mass, and both work incredibly well. Use a service like Simply Text or Duffled to build a list of everyone, and don’t discount the power of a personal text from their small group leader or youth pastor. Texting is where it is at right now for sure. 

NOT: Paper
You’ve gotten very good at Publisher 2003. I get it. You like clip art and flyers made on the church photocopier. We do too, but those days have past. Sorry to be the one to break it to you.

HOT: Facebook event pages
Different from your main Facebook page are the event pages you create for service projects, mission trips, or special events. These are usually syncing with many students’ phones now, so you get calendar reminders as well as triggers built into to social media. A classic win-win-win situation.

HOT: Calendars
Calendars, if they make it home, have a tremendous return. Put a magnet on the back and you might get on the refrigerator for 2-3 months!

NOT: mass postcards in the mail
The shelf life is just too short for a postcard for a series and the cost is typically prohibitive, too. I love these and am sad to see them already fading out, but unless you’ve got cash to spare or a cheap printer to crank them out this one is dropping quickly.

HOT: individualized postcards from small group leaders
This one will never go out of style. Try it out this week: Pick up some postage-paid postcards and scribble out a few handwritten notes this week and see if it works. Or just trust us…no technology will ever replace the power of a handwritten note!

(I got these ideas from a weekly e-mail that I get about youth and young adult ministry)

Great Resources for Students

Here are some great resources to get in the hands of your students.

1-Minute Bible by Doug Fields
You've committed yourself to more Bible reading plans than you care to admit, and you're 187 chapters behind in your latest attempt. If this sounds familiar, then the One Minute Bible for Students is what you need to get back and stay on track. Do the math. There are 1400 minutes in a day. It will take you One Minute to read a passage of Scripture.

Student Leaders Start Here by Leader Treks
Student Leaders Start Here is a practical, interactive workbook, to help students grow in leadership. It focuses on three topics that are crucial for developing as a leader, and gives students a personal leadership profile for their strengths and growth areas in each topic. Give this book to the individual student who is growing in leadership, or use it in your student leadership team and small groups when you follow the bonus pages for small group facilitators. 

Stripped Clean by Jeff Storm
Give your teenagers a guilt-free, up-close look at materialism—one that strips away the overwhelming messages of a consumer society. You'll see authentic changes in readers as they tear out pages to use in Jesus-centered activities 

Case for Christ Student Edition by Lee Strobel
Who Was Jesus? A good man? A lunatic? God? There's little question that he actually lived. But miracles? Rising from the dead? Some of the stories you hear about him sound like just that—stories. A reasonable person would never believe them, let alone the claim that he's the only way to God! But a reasonable person would also make sure that he or she understood the facts before jumping to conclusions. That's why Lee Strobel—an award-winning legal journalist with a knack for asking tough questions—decided to investigate Jesus for himself.

Live Large. Be Different. Shine Bright. By Josh Griffin and Doug Fields
In Live Large. Be Different. Shine Bright., Doug Fields and Joshua Griffin share about some important character qualities that will help teenagers live large, be different, and shine bright. A lot of what Doug and Joshua write about doesn't seem to get much sermon time, but these topics are definitely worthy of consideration and experimentation—topics like competition, laughter, cliques, encouragement and several others will help teenagers in the process of being a more vibrant follower of Jesus. 

More Than a Carpenter by Josh McDowell
With almost 10 million copies in print, More Than a Carpenter continues to be the most powerful evangelism tool worldwide. Josh McDowell's timeless examination of the true nature of Christ and his impact on our lives is one of the best-selling Christian books ever. Written by a former skeptic of Christianity, it is a hard-hitting book for those who doubt Jesus' deity and his purpose. 

Your Own Jesus by Mark Hall
A true storyteller and a teacher with a heart for ministry, Mark Hall traces the downward spiral caused by spiritual compromise with the world, and then charts the upward road to wholeness and restoration that comes when we claim our very own Jesus. When that happens, believers experience authentic fellowship with the one living God. Through fascinating personal stories, scriptural insights, and discussion questions for practical interactive study, Your Own Jesus: Student Edition will set readers free to live without compromise with the Jesus they come to know intimately and love fully.

Middle School Survival Series by Kurt Johnston, Mark Oestreicher, and Scott Rubin
There are six books in this series: My Faith, My Family, My Friends, My School, My Changes and My Future.  Each book consists of 72 easy-to-read mini chapters written specifically for young teens.

4 Ways to Be More Relational in Your Young People's Ministry

1)  Add a “welcome time” to youth group each week.
We’ve all seen this before, the “shake hands with 15 people around you” but when used sparingly it can be really effective. As your group grows, it’s surprisingly easy for the “basics” like a warm greeting to slip through the cracks! Our students have come to love this time—we’ve expanded it to several minutes so that people can actually have a short conversation rather then just a cursory greeting. This is a great chance for introductions to be made, too! We have a volunteer every week who works hard to get to know someone new and makes it a point to introduce them to us specifically each week.

2) Have everyone in place before and after the service.
If you are still running around finalizing details of your program when everyone is coming in, it’s gonna be tough to be relational! Work hard to do program-related stuff before students arrive; if you’re still dialing things in as they’re walking in, it’s simply too late. And tell everyone on your volunteer team they are “dead to each other” once youth group starts.

3) Build down time to hang at every event.
If you’re at a youth conference, camp, or other big event, the planners have been paid to fill up every waking moment with something. In many cases, youth leaders choose a late-night option or yet another training session when what the group might need is some discussion time. Maybe a break is in order, and you need to ditch a session and go get some frozen yogurt and just talk over what they’ve already learned. Relational ministry fights the go, go, go approach.

 4) Train your leaders in the art of asking good questions.
Help your leaders ask good questions—open-ended questions that require thoughts instead of a simple yes or no. Help them have an instantly ready queue of questions to ask someone they are meeting for the first time. Give them the tools to help them fight the awkward silences of first getting to meet someone.

(I got these ideas from a weekly e-mail that I get about youth and young adult ministry)

How to Start a Parent Ministry

Every good youth program needs to take into consideration how they will minister to the parents of their students. If you don't minister to the parent as well as your student, you are missing some great opportunities to reinforce the values you want to teach. Here are a few just on how to create a ministry to parents.

First…focus on the obvious. 
Before you accomplish some grand vision of partnership with parents, think about the obvious places parents are looking for help: The transition from elementary school to junior high, from junior high to high school, and from high school to college are all massive for parents.

What do they need? 
Talk to parents and see what they would like or need. The last thing you want is to create an event or program they feel they don't need. Trust us, we've done that several times and it's humiliating. Talk to some core parents, and some on the fringe, and ask them to give you a perspective of what would be beneficial to their family. 

Communicate 
You could probably start a text message list quickly and cheaply and take a huge leap forward. Maybe start a blog that shares what you taught at youth group last week—maybe with a few discussion questions for parents to follow-up with during the week. As you come across great resources for parents, consider posting a list in the church bulletin board (virtually or the one in the hallway). Start with a couple easy things to begin partnering with parents. 

When their child starts taking sports seriously, starts working for the first time, or has his/her first serious relationship. If a family is going through a divorce, death or other traumatic event, there are lots of obvious, and very natural, places for you to begin ministering to parents without the formalities of meetings and newsletters!