Best Practices of Youth Ministry: Part 2

Okay, yesterday was fun: We got a few comments saying stuff like, “Hey…everybody is already doing small groups.” This two-day series isn’t titled, “Cool stuff nobody is doing.” It’s a look at the best practices that most groups ARE doing, and hopefully giving you a few things to think about along the way. Like yesterday we want to make sure you hear that there is no PERFECT way to do youth ministry; our hope is that these best practices of churches across the country will help you in shaping yours.

BEST PRACTICE: Relational youth ministry is the best kind of ministry.
Caring adults pouring into our lives made us the people we are today. We could easily list out the influential people in our lives who aren’t famous and will never write best-selling books—they just did the hard work of walking through life alongside us, coaching and shaping us into the men God wanted us to become.

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FREEBIE #5 via Group Mission Trips!
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Great youth ministers are empowering great men and women of God to have a direct relational influence in the life of the teenagers in their church. Want to build a great youth ministry? Bring in great leaders.

QUESTIONS:
• Where can you improve using leaders relationally in your ministry?
• When was the last time you thanked God for the incredible leaders you have in your ministry? Take time today!
• Who do you need to seek out and invite to be a part of your team?
BEST PRACTICE: Youth ministry shouldn’t be done in isolation
Early in youth ministry, many youth workers tend to build a “church within a church”—a church for students inside of a church for adults. And while this specialization certainly lends itself to targeted messages and great community, it can also make it difficult for a student to transition into the adult congregation. A healthy youth ministry doesn’t exist in its own little silo.

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FREEBIE #5 via Group Mission Trips!
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QUESTIONS:
• Take a good look at your youth ministry right now. Is it in its own little world? What can you do to change that and build bridges?
• Think about your recent graduates; did they also graduate from their faith?
• What steps can you take to make sure that your youth ministry is clearly part of the whole church congregation?

What other best practices are you finding in youth ministry?