let's make a plan.
1. Contact your Diocesan Youth Missioner. This is someone who will partner with you in establishing and developing your ministry -- it's literally their job! You can email the Youth Missioner for the Diocese of Atlanta here.
2. Put together a team. Who in your community is interested in this ministry also? Look for two parents, two youth, and two non-parents to start. Meet together, pray, and ask the question, “What should we do and why should we do it?”
3. Advertise and host a kickoff gathering for parents. Let the parents meet you and your youth team so they know there is a plan for the school year. Give everyone simple, straightforward ways that they can be involved. Give them your answer to the question above (What should we do and why?) as well as a list of your events and dates for the year.
4. Meet with your students regularly. Youth group meetings should be at least one hour and occur regularly (either monthly or weekly, depending on your parish) and should happen in the same location. For each meeting, make sure you have both some fun and formation planned.
Here is a possible schedule of a typical one-hour youth program:
Make sure the youth have the opportunity to lead compline and offer up their own prayer requests. (Your group may want to meet longer or include a meal. If so adjust accordingly.)
In addition to these regular meeting nights, regularly schedule a night devoted to fun or a night devoted to service into your calendar. Be sure these take place at your regular meeting times so that visitors see the youth ministry at its usual time and place.
5. Find programming and content for your meetings. Virginia Theological Seminary and the Center for the Ministry of Teaching has made the Episcopal Curriculum for Youth freely available here. Each unit is filled with great lessons that can be adapted to any situation. This also gives you a great theme to follow for a month of great youth programming. More ideas and resources are available on our website here. (Your Youth Missioner may also have some tips.)
5. Find a network of youth ministers to share ideas with. Are there youth ministers you who would like to meet for coffee? Reach out! (Or, if you're shy or don't know anybody, your Youth Missioner can help.)
You may also want to join an organization like Forma, which connects you to 300+ Christian Formation professionals who are eager to learn from and support each other through their Facebook group and annual conference. Our Office of Youth Ministries is a sponsor of Forma, which means that membership is available to every youth minister in our diocese. Contact us for more info.
6. Take lots of pictures and use your words! Show and tell is important for parents, vestry, and your rector. Consider the following...
The most important thing is to let parents, vestry, and staff know what you're doing. Contact your Youth Missioner for a one-on-one strategy session around how to easily and effectively communicate with your ministry stakeholders.
7. Meet regularly with your youth team. It doesn't have to be every week, but pick your meeting dates (whether they're monthly, quarterly, etc.) and make sure you give your team plenty of heads-up about when you'll gather. Use these meetings to celebrate what is happening as well as evaluate what's working and what can improve.
Always ask these questions:
2. Put together a team. Who in your community is interested in this ministry also? Look for two parents, two youth, and two non-parents to start. Meet together, pray, and ask the question, “What should we do and why should we do it?”
3. Advertise and host a kickoff gathering for parents. Let the parents meet you and your youth team so they know there is a plan for the school year. Give everyone simple, straightforward ways that they can be involved. Give them your answer to the question above (What should we do and why?) as well as a list of your events and dates for the year.
4. Meet with your students regularly. Youth group meetings should be at least one hour and occur regularly (either monthly or weekly, depending on your parish) and should happen in the same location. For each meeting, make sure you have both some fun and formation planned.
Here is a possible schedule of a typical one-hour youth program:
- 10 minutes - Welcome and check in with something active going on
- 20 minutes - A game
- 20 minutes - Discussion, lesson, or educational activity centered around Jesus whether it is news article, world topic, or straight out of the bible
- 10 minutes - Close with prayer or Compline
Make sure the youth have the opportunity to lead compline and offer up their own prayer requests. (Your group may want to meet longer or include a meal. If so adjust accordingly.)
In addition to these regular meeting nights, regularly schedule a night devoted to fun or a night devoted to service into your calendar. Be sure these take place at your regular meeting times so that visitors see the youth ministry at its usual time and place.
5. Find programming and content for your meetings. Virginia Theological Seminary and the Center for the Ministry of Teaching has made the Episcopal Curriculum for Youth freely available here. Each unit is filled with great lessons that can be adapted to any situation. This also gives you a great theme to follow for a month of great youth programming. More ideas and resources are available on our website here. (Your Youth Missioner may also have some tips.)
5. Find a network of youth ministers to share ideas with. Are there youth ministers you who would like to meet for coffee? Reach out! (Or, if you're shy or don't know anybody, your Youth Missioner can help.)
You may also want to join an organization like Forma, which connects you to 300+ Christian Formation professionals who are eager to learn from and support each other through their Facebook group and annual conference. Our Office of Youth Ministries is a sponsor of Forma, which means that membership is available to every youth minister in our diocese. Contact us for more info.
6. Take lots of pictures and use your words! Show and tell is important for parents, vestry, and your rector. Consider the following...
- Sending a monthly email newsletter to your students' families. Mailchimp is a free and user-friendly solution for this, and it allows you to add photos and announcements.
- An Instagram account is the best way to connect with youth via social media.
- Starting a Facebook Page for your youth group is a great way to let both parents and congregation members know what is going on. (Check out Faithfully Facebook as a strategy plan for youth ministry.)
The most important thing is to let parents, vestry, and staff know what you're doing. Contact your Youth Missioner for a one-on-one strategy session around how to easily and effectively communicate with your ministry stakeholders.
7. Meet regularly with your youth team. It doesn't have to be every week, but pick your meeting dates (whether they're monthly, quarterly, etc.) and make sure you give your team plenty of heads-up about when you'll gather. Use these meetings to celebrate what is happening as well as evaluate what's working and what can improve.
Always ask these questions:
- How are things going?
- How can we do this better?
- What do we need to do to make that happen?
Remember...
There will be experimentation, disappointment, and learning -- these things are features of ministry, not bugs. The core of any youth ministry should be expressing the good news of God's love to as many people as possible, so do your best to be a consistent, kind, safe presence for your students. Beyond that, keep showing up with curiosity and constancy... and watch God work.