Tag: planning

Planning Ahead: Welcome Incoming Middle School Students and Families

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As fall programming approaches, your ministry is probably preparing to welcome new middle school students into the ministry for the first time. For our ministry, middle school starts at 6th grade as we follow what the majority of schools in our area do.

These new students are often flying high after being the top dogs in their elementary schools but also feeling the angst and social pressure of starting fresh in a new environment. Do you remember your middle school years? If it was anything like mine, they were filled with awkward moments, societal pressures, new friendships, figuring out my identity, and of course all of the other struggles that come with being an adolescent.

We can all agree that the transition into middle school can be difficult, and with that reality in mind, we must think critically about how we can help to welcome these new students and their families into our ministries. Today I want to share with you a few successful ways we have tackled this over our time in ministry.

Begin building relationships early.

If our first touch point with incoming 6th graders is when fall programming starts, I’d argue we are missing the mark. Instead, when they are 5th graders we should be seeking to build connections with them. If we take time to step into the elementary ministry and get to know 5th graders and their families, it will help make the transition to middle school ministry easier as they will already have an established relationship.

Connect families with small group leaders.

Reaching out and letting families and students know who their small group leaders are is a great way to help 6th graders feel seen, welcomed, and valued. Encourage your leaders to reach out and build rapport with parents and students, and to consider hosting a meet up where everyone can get to know one another.

Host a summer gathering that includes incoming families.

A great way to make an intentional connection with incoming 6th graders is to host an event where they are invited and can meet other current students and leaders. Our summer programming centers around monthly events and we intentionally reach out to our incoming 6th grade families and invite them to join us.

We set apart time for the new families and students to meet their small group leaders, gather information from our team, ask questions, and to build relationships. Moments like this help new students and families build relationships and release some of the tension that comes with stepping into a new phase and ministry.

Honor and welcome them.

Kicking off fall programming is a great time to welcome in your new students and help them know that they belong. This could be through your setup and decor, praying over them in front of the youth group, hosting a special event to celebrate moving into middle school, providing a special gift and/or a special note, hosting a luncheon for students and families, or pairing them with an upperclassman who can help them acclimate to student ministry.

Be available.

One of the best things you can do for students and families is to be available. Depending on your church context, your people may not know where your office is, what your office hours are, or where programming takes place. Helping families and students know where things are and that you are available for them helps them know that they belong.

We intentionally show families where our student ministry offices are, make sure they know we are here for them, and highlight the resources we have for families. In a time of transition it is important that your students know they have a person/people who will be present and available for them.

What are some ways you intentionally welcome new families and students into your ministry?

Trip Tricks: Be Prepared

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Have you ever had something unexpected happen on a trip? Perhaps it was a vehicle issue, sickness or a hospital run? Maybe allergies spiked due the work you were doing or bee stings, housing arrangements not working out, or a variety of other circumstances.

I’ve personally experienced all the above and then some during the trips I have been on. Some of these issues you can handle in kind but others require you to be prepared as best you can.

When I was newer to youth ministry I didn’t think about the “what if” situations that could happen. My inexperience didn’t make me a bad youth pastor, but it did put me at a disadvantage when certain situations arose.

Looking back now, I can see various ways I wish I was prepared to handle those moments, and I want to share them with you. I hope to help you be better prepared for, if, and when those moments happen.

Keep a level head.

This is the very first thing you must have a handle on when things go awry or not as you planned. Students and volunteers alike will reflect your energy and temperament in all circumstances. If you are acting frantic, if you are experiencing a meltdown, or you seem scared or worried, they will all respond in kind.

Instead what you should do is approach each circumstance with an even response and mild temperament. When you can pause, breathe, and collect yourself, you will be able to make informed and beneficial decisions as they are needed. It will also help your group to remain calm and not panic in the moment.

Have a good first aid kit.

A first aid kit is something I’ve always made sure to have because of the years I spent working in the security industry. First aid kits that are purchased at Walmart or Amazon don’t always have all the items you will need. Bandaids and ice packs are good things to have but you will often find yourself needing a variety of items that aren’t included in a basic kit.

What I’d recommend is checking with someone who is a nurse or EMT to find out what items you should have in a first aid kit and how many of those items there should be. Then you can create a custom kit for your trips.

Know your resources.

I’ll never forget the one time we were at a camp and had a medical emergency. A student suffered a horrible concussion and needed emergency treatment. We were sent to an urgent care facility but they weren’t equipped to handle that situation so we had to call EMS to take us to a trauma hospital over an hour and a half away.

If we had known that the hospital was where we needed to be, we could have gotten there sooner (and yes, the student’s completely fine and was released that same day). That situation taught me to know what my resources were wherever I was taking students.

If you are going on a trip it’s important to know where hospitals, doctor offices, and fire departments are. Know how to get to certain places like auto part stores and mechanics. Try to plan out rest stops, gas stations, and places to eat on longer trips. Have people back home and on your trip that you can go to with various issues (having someone who knows cars is awesome and having a nurse or doctor on the team is a wonderful thing).

Train your leaders.

Another thing that will help you to be prepared on your trips is training your leaders in a variety of situations. You can get them CPR and first aid certified. You can help equip them with how to respond during emergencies and various circumstances.

You can assign them roles for each of those moments as well. Even asking leaders to simply herd and distract students while you handle the main issue is key because it allows for you to be focused on rectifying the situation.

Being over-prepared isn’t a bad thing.

My leaders jokingly chide me about how much stuff I bring on trips and how big my backpack is. I have my own first aid kit, extra items students may need, all of my documents in case they’re needed, plenty of Advil, and basically anything else I may end up needing.

Do I always need what I pack? No. But would I rather have and not need than need and not have? You better believe it.

When I think through a trip, a ministry event, and even just regular programming, I always try to be as prepared as possible to handle whatever happens. That doesn’t mean that I’m trying to be omniscient, but instead seeking to care well for my people by being prepared and ready to jump into whatever happens.

Quick Tip: Recharge After a Trip

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When this post gets published I’ll be serving with a group of leaders and students in Hunt, Texas. This is our first mission trip of the summer and it’s one that is focused on helping a community rebuild and heal after devastating flooding.

I love taking students on mission trips and retreats. These moments are so important in the spiritual journey of students and I get the privilege of seeing God work in and through them in amazing ways. I always come away from these trips excited about what God is doing and seeing all the change that happens in the lives of my students as they serve and lead. I truly love going on these trips and sharing in the experience with my leaders and students and it’s one the many things I love about my job.

But can I be real with you? I’m also wiped out after these trips. I’ve realized I’m starting to get older and sleeping on a camp bunk or sleeping bags on the floor doesn’t always agree with me. Only getting a few hours of sleep for multiple nights on end runs me down. Being on for multiple days and not having any down time makes me feel depleted.

In fact, maybe you’re like me but when I get back from a trip and everyone has finally left to go home, I sit in my car for five minutes in silence. No more “Nick,” “Hey, Nick,” “Nick, can I.” It’s just…quiet. This is just one of my ways I recharge. The reality is trips require a lot from us and while they are amazing and beneficial, they also can be depleting to those who run and facilitate them.

So if trips are depleting, how do we actually recharge when they are completed? The truest answer I can give you is this: it depends on the person. I know what recharges me, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same for you. For me, recharging includes pausing and resting after a trip. That means I take some time off to recoup and catch my breath. I also love to clean up and put things away after a trip (I know I have a problem). I also enjoy having familiar food whether it’s a pizza from our local pizza shop or having a nice home cooked meal. But I’ll be honest and let you know that 99% of the time it’s a pizza because it’s easy, delicious, and means no prep.

For others it may be hanging out with friends, it might be reading, watching your favorite show, spending time with your spouse, or just a good nights rest in your own bed (can I get an amen?!). My point is this: you cannot keep running on coffee and adrenaline. I get it: coming back from a camp, a retreat, or mission trip you can feel that rush but I promise you that if you just run on that you’ll begin to feel depleted very quickly.

I wish someone had told me about the importance of recharging after trips. I wouldn’t take time off, I would just go right back to work. But that method will lead to faster burnout and depletion because you aren’t taking care of yourself. We must take intentional steps to ensure we have recharged and recovered so we can be the best version of ourselves to our families and the people we lead and disciple. Not taking time to recharge is actually harming ourselves and those we love. So, after a trip, my encouragement is simple: recharge in the way that best suits you. But make sure to be intentional about doing so. This isn’t just a quick power nap, but something that intentionally nourishes you so you can continue in the calling God has given to you.

Don’t Just Wing It

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“Don’t worry about it. It’s just one week and they won’t care. Just wing it.”

I’ll never forget this conversation that happened early on in my student ministry career. It was a busy week with multiple unexpected add-ons and I was struggling to put together a lesson for my students. I asked a friend for some advice on what to do and they gave me the above quote.

Honestly, when they said that to me, my first thought was, “Yeah, that’ll work.” But the more I ruminated on it, the less receptive I became. I managed to restructure my week and put together an intentional lesson for my students. Was it my best? No. Was it super impactful? Maybe, that’s up to my students to say. But was it intentional and thoughtfully designed for them? Yes.

Too often ministry gets busy. Our weeks and lives are often thrown off by random meetings, activities, our personal lives, and more. Rarely do I have two weeks in a row that are the same. There’s always something to do and it feels like our work is never done. But that shouldn’t stop us from intentionally putting together lessons and messages for our students.

Students have long been the recipients of lackadaisical teaching. Whether in the church or school settings. In fact, some of my interns this year told me stories of teachers using AI to craft their lessons or just showing videos for weeks on end. This is not a shot at teachers because the majority of them are amazing, but instead a treatise on the reality of the teaching and guidance our students are receiving.

Students desire authenticity. They want interpersonal connection. They want to ask questions and wrestles with things they are being taught. They want to know people care. They long to be seen.

When we wing it and don’t put intentional effort and thought into our ministry, we are causing more harm than good to our students. I’m not saying there aren’t times when we have to put something together on the fly, but that should not be how we conduct ministry regularly.

As ministers of the Gospel we have a responsibility to God and the people we serve to do our best when it comes to leading, speaking, and discipleship. We cannot and should not simply “wing it” as an approach. Our students deserve the best because that is what Jesus offered to His disciples and encouraged all of them to offer the people to whom they ministered.

So what should we do if our schedules are overwhelming, if we feel stretched to our max, if it seems like we are constantly underwater and fighting to just make it through each week?

I think first and foremost you need to step back and see what can be changed or removed from your plate and schedule. Are there things you don’t need to be doing? Are there aspects of your ministry you could offload? Could you change your rhythms or restructure how you manage your time?

I also think it is worthwhile to assess how your teaching is formatted and your ministry setting. How long do you teach for? Would it be helpful to trim that back? How is your program structured? Could you reassess how it flows in order to better help you with planning and weekly preparation? Are there trusted individuals and volunteers you could empower to help teach, prepare, and facilitate your ministry?

Another aspect to consider is talking with your direct supervisor. Being honest and sharing where you are at is not an admission of failure or inability. It’s a sign of strength. We are not meant to do all the things nor should we. Instead, we need to share the load and asking for help takes us away from a me-centered approach to truly what Jesus had in mind by empowering multiple people to serve and facilitate the ministry.

My encouragement to you is this: be thoughtful, intentional, and relational in how you lead and teach. Don’t just wing it, but be purposeful. By doing the things that we shared, not only are you being intentional with your ministry, you are also protecting yourself from burnout, offering the best to your students, and empowering others to lead.

Planning Ahead: Senior Commissioning

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It is never too early to begin preparing to honor your seniors. I am a firm believer that when we celebrate our graduates it should be more than simply marching them on stage and presenting them to the congregation. These are young adults that we have poured into for years through the discipleship process and we are now sending them out as ambassadors for the kingdom of heaven.

This isn’t just a celebration, it’s a commissioning. We are sending students all over the world in a variety of spheres, and they will have limitless opportunities to reach others with the Good News. That means we must be intentional, thoughtful, and relational in how we commission them, which requires planning ahead to ensure success and intentionality.

No matter how many seniors you have, you should begin preparing in January of their graduation year. Stepping into these moments and thoughtfully preparing for them will help make them thoughtful and intentional. Here are a few key ways to make this time special for your seniors.

Make it intentional and thoughtful.

I’ve referenced this a handful of times in this post but I haven’t shared how we actually do this. You know your students and families. You have sojourned with these young adults through the ups and downs of their lives. You know their stories.

What I’m saying is this: you know how to best make this moment intentional. You know what speaks best to your students and what will encourage them.

You can do this through a church-wide commissioning where they are prayed over. It may be through honoring and celebrating them at youth group. You could allow your seniors to share their anecdotes and encouragements to their peers at a senior night. You could put together a special brochure honoring your graduates, send them a personal card, or provide a special night for their small group.

These moments are up to you, but the intentionality and thoughtfulness you put into them will help honor and celebrate your graduates.

Provide next steps.

I’ll be honest with you and share that this was something I didn’t always do well. When we were serving in Iowa, I just assumed our college ministry would automatically pick up where we left off, but that wasn’t the case. I’ve learned we need to provide next steps to ensure our students have opportunities to continue connecting with the local church.

For graduating seniors, you have put in seven or more years building relational equity and trust. That means that your insight and voice matter when helping students take next steps. Intentionally connect them with your college and young adult ministries. Utilize college ministries for those going to college. Find opportunities for students to serve in your church and where they are going.

Next steps aren’t just about a handoff, it’s about continuing the discipleship process in meaningful ways to help your graduates thrive.

Utilize the body.

This is something we have started to do at our church and I love it because it helps our students to see they are supported and loved, and also an important part of the church.

One of the ways we utilize the body is by having them pray over our students during the commissioning. It’s a powerful moment as we ask for families, friends, small group leaders, and others who have walked with these students to come and lay hands on them as we send them out on mission.

We also ask our entire church body to stand and pray for our graduates as we commission them and for them to commit to being for our seniors as they continue to grow. You could also utilize the church to help honor your students by asking them to host a meal for the seniors and families. You could also ask for the church staff and church as a whole to sign cards and commit to praying for the graduates.

Create intentional moments for families.

When I think about our senior commissioning, I’m always trying to find intentional opportunities to include families. Inviting families on stage to pray over their students is one way we seek to do this.

We also set aside time for families to encourage, pray for, and speak truth over their graduate during the reception. We have heard how busy families are and how thankful they are when we slow things down and provide space for them to intentionally engage with one another. Helping families engage is key and it’s something our graduates will remember for years to come.

Provide a special gift.

Do you remember what your gift was from your church when you graduated (if you got one)?

I think I got a book when I graduated. I’m not sure what the book was and I’m pretty sure it became a doorstop during college. That’s not a shot at my youth pastor at all. I know him and I believe the gift was meant to be thoughtful, but there was no explanation or guidance to it. It was simply “here’s a book.”

I’m fully aware that budgets vary throughout ministries, and I’m not arguing for big or expensive gifts, but rather one that’s thoughtful and personal.

It could be a student’s favorite candy bar and handwritten card. Maybe it is a book inscribed with a personal note and a gift card to Starbucks so the student can share their story with their friends. Perhaps it’s a gift bag with candy, snacks, fun little celebratory gifts, and a special gift for the graduate. The purpose with a gift is to provide something that is special, intentional, personal, and practical.

Planning Ahead: Fall Leader Training

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We just wrapped up our student programming for this school year and are moving into our summer schedule. It’s surreal to think that this school year is already coming to a close because it feels like just yesterday we kicked off the school year. But in the midst of all the memories and celebrations, this is also a great time to begin to plan ahead for fall leader training.

Before we begin our fall programming, we host an annual leader training in August that covers a large swath of material. We walk through logistical information, legal information like mandated reporting and meeting with students, ministry updates, doctrinal beliefs, and more. This is our big training that we host each year and it incorporates a lot of different elements, but it’s also something that has evolved over the years to be more intentional and formational.

With that understanding it is imperative that the planning happen farther out so the training can be as purposeful and helpful as possible. Leaders are the backbone to our ministries and our training must be intentionally planned so we can best equip and care for them. The following points are not necessarily outlining all the details that you should cover, but more so highlighting key aspects that should be included to make your training the best it can be.

Make it relational.

I’ll be honest: for years I thought simply having everyone gather together with snacks and coffee made training relational. But the truth of the matter is that I was simply hitting them with a firehose of information with a sprinkling of potential relational opportunities added in. However, that’s not really relational.

So instead, we tweaked our training to incorporate opportunities for fellowship, getting to know one another, and to hear and learn from one another. The result was fantastic: leaders were thankful about the training and excited to be there. When we center training sessions around relationships, it allows our communities to grow and flourish.

Utilize practical principles and resources.

Many of our leaders have been with our program for multiple years. That means they thoroughly know our logistical information and when we take a prolonged amount of time going over it, we see their eyes glaze over. Now that doesn’t mean we don’t go over it, but instead we condense those moments and allow l newer leaders to connect one-on-one with our leadership. Then that affords us more time for practical principles and resources.

We highlight books and podcasts, we bring in experts to train in certain areas, we lean into spiritual formation, and allow for collective equipping, team building, and a space to share ideas.

Have fun.

I am a big proponent of incorporating fun into training. Being able to laugh, joke around, tell stories, and play games helps to build community and fellowship among your team. It also alleviates the tension or weight that can come with a longer training as it provides a needed break from the tension and rigor. So find ways to have fun and laugh with your team during the training and see how that shapes your sessions and interactions in positive ways.

Provide food.

Part of hosting intentional training means finding ways to encourage and care for your leaders. And one of the best ways to do this is to provide food. That doesn’t mean you need to break the bank and provide prime rib (but if you do let me know so I can attend), but it should be something that is different from what you provide to students and also something that shows you care.

It could be coffee and pastry trays, a nice luncheon, party subs, special candy on the tables, fun punches or mocktails, or even just having fun creamers to make the coffee a little more special.

Incorporate spiritual rhythms.

Spiritual rhythms are something I think student ministries overall should lean into more frequently, which means we must incorporate them within our training. Taking time to pray in different and engaging ways is vital. Worshipping together and praising God helps to transform our hearts. Reading Scripture highlights God’s heart for His people.

These are not the only rhythms we can incorporate nor do they have to be utilized in the same way that we have always utilized them. Instead, seek out creative and thoughtful ways to draw your people nearer to Jesus and cultivate their hearts as disciples of Jesus.

How do you make your leader training intentional and meaningful?

Planning Ahead: Empowering Students to Participate in Lent

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If you’re like me, you grew up in a church tradition that did not incorporate participation in Lent. It wasn’t until I was in college that I learned Lent wasn’t just something for Catholics, and that many of my Protestant friends also participated. Still, Lent wasn’t something I considered participating in until I heard a podcast on the topic, and felt challenged to join.

For the past several years, I’ve found different ways to participate, each one bringing more depth and understanding to my relationship with Jesus, and my yearly journey toward Easter. I’ve learned that Lent is about so much more than just “giving up” something. It’s about engaging in rhythms that prepare our hearts for the Christian life and our calling to follow Jesus wholeheartedly.

I think Lent can be meaningful for our students, too, if they are empowered and equipped to participate well. If this isn’t something your ministry is already doing, let me encourage you to consider it. I also want to share some ideas, which I hope are helpful whether you’re already doing Lent as a student ministry initiative or considering it.

Reimagine intentional fasting.

Fasting is typically the “big” aspect of Lent that we think of, and it can be a beautiful rhythm to engage in intentionally. When it comes to our students, I think we have to treat fasting with care as some students’ relationships with food can be complicated.

Rather than simply focusing on fasting from food, I would encourage you to challenge your students to ask themselves, “What thing has the potential to be, or has become, an idol in my life that I can give up during Lent?” Help your students drill down on the things that most often draw their attention away from God, or that they use to self-medicate, that they can feasibly fast from for over a month.

Students might be tempted to list things like school, friends, sports or other activities, which they can’t realistically take a break from. So you may need to offer guidance and help them determine what can be removed. Maybe it’s social media and using that as their primary way of connecting with friends. Maybe it’s intentionally stepping away from homework for 15 minutes each day to read the Bible and pray in a quiet space.

If a student does want to fast from a food item, encourage them to choose something that isn’t good for them, or has the tendency to become an “emotional support” food. This could include fasting from desserts and candy, soft drinks, or junky snack foods.

While they’re fasting, students should be encouraged to turn their thoughts to God, especially if they’re struggling with it. The reminder in fasting is that we desperately need and depend on God, more than the thing we’re fasting from and missing. In those moments of struggle, they can choose to engage in a spiritual rhythm. (More on that below.)

Include an intentional “feast day.”

When I was learning about Lent, I liked the idea of making Sundays a “feast day.” And while that meant indulging in something I was fasting from, more importantly, I loved the idea of celebrating the goodness of God. So rather than just having a day of indulgence, I wanted it to be intentional.

If students are creatively fasting, feast days may look different for them. Maybe it makes sense for them to fast the whole Lenten season, or maybe they can intentionally allow engagement on Sunday.

Another way to look at feast days is doing something as a group if you gather on Sunday mornings. Open up the floor to a time of sharing what students are learning, how they are celebrating God, and what they are thankful for. You could also provide treats that provide a physical feast element for students to partake in.

Do a group study.

I have loved doing daily studies throughout Lent that help me focus on the themes of the holiday season. Doing one as a group can help students engage on their own, but also feel part of a larger community participating in Lent together.

The YouVersion Bible app often has a Lent study or two available, which can make it easy to participate as a group if you initiate the study and invite the students to join. Another option if you have time is to create your own study, which affords the ability to cater it to your specific group. Just make sure to give yourself plenty of time to create it if you go this route.

Focus on spiritual rhythms.

Lent is also about engaging in other spiritual rhythms, not just fasting, though they can go hand-in-hand. I grew up hearing that prayer was an integral part of fasting, as it helps us remain strong. Lent is also an opportunity to pray for something consistently for a set period of time and watch for God’s answer.

Another spiritual rhythm I love to engage in during Lent is meditation on Scripture. I frequently choose one verse to focus on or memorize. Before I get out of bed in the morning, I read the verse and pray to start the day.

Another traditional part of Lent is giving. This can be monetary, and you can find a ministry, organization or person to support as a group. Or, if your students don’t have money to give, you can help them identify needs of others and find creative ways to participate. Maybe they can give of their time to help with childcare or service projects. Or they can give of their talents to play music or create art for homebound seniors.

These are just some of the rhythms you can direct your students to engage in during Lent. They can also journal, practice intentionally sitting in silence, or create something based on what they are learning (art, poetry, a story, a song, photographs, etc.).

Incorporate observances into your weekly programming.

If you’re doing Lent as a group, can you tie it into weekly meetings? Think of lessons that dig into the themes of Lent, or a series that follows Jesus’ ministry and journey to the cross. Maybe you want to incorporate communion into one or more of your meetings.

You can provide unique ways for students to engage during lessons with quiet time to meditate, pray in color, or memorize a passage as a group. You can also turn Sundays into a time of celebration where students worship, sing, and create art together.

Or you may decide to create an Easter experience for your students as Lent draws to a close. We’ve written a couple of posts along these lines, one about creating an Easter encounter and another about helping students engage with the holiday. This could serve as the conclusion to your students’ observance of Lent.

Planning Ahead: Teaching Calendars

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Welcome to a brand new series called “Planning Ahead.” This series is intentionally designed to help youth workers think through strategically planning for specific events, dates, and bench markers in ministry.

We will talk about fall kickoffs, Christmas parties, Lent, training sessions, and more. Our hope with this series is to provide you with practical steps to help you succeed in ministry by setting benchmarks in planning and sharing insights we have learned along the way.

If your experience starting out in ministry is anything like mine, I wasn’t taught strategic planning. I didn’t know how important it was to plan ahead or build out a teaching calendar. I didn’t see how intentionality wasn’t just intended for teaching and preaching but also in how we structure, prepare for, and implement important events and key programmatic pieces within our ministries.

I’ve learned how important planning ahead is not just for my own sanity but also for our students, families, and volunteers. When we plan ahead we show intentionality, communicate value and worth, help everyone to understand what we are doing and why. We are able to unify under a shared vision and goal.

So with that in mind, today I wanted to share about intentionally building out teaching calendars by answering some common questions surrounding them.

How far in advance should we plan?

When it comes to a teaching calendar, I plan a semester ahead and I typically don’t plan for a whole year. We curate our content for a semester at a time and try to have it finalized months before the next semester rolls around.

That means we typically have our fall teaching calendar finalized around May or June and our spring teaching calendar finalized around October or November. When you plan this far ahead, it allows you to start recruiting teachers, planning for different events, and strategically choosing teaching series.

How do we pick what we will teach?

When I first started in student ministry, I picked topics that I thought were relevant or that sounded cool. Curriculum with catchy titles and graphics were always a win. But we need to think beyond just what will be relevant or “cool” and instead plan with intentionality, purpose, and vision. That means when you are choosing what you will teach, you do so in light of those things as well as choosing relevant and necessary topics.

So plan your teaching around your vision, themes that you’ll focus on in your ministry, and key dates or momentum seasons. You can also begin building a 3, 4, or 7 year curriculum track based on how your program functions. You could choose a 3 year curriculum for middle school and a 4 year curriculum for high school that repeats (with updated changes as needed) to help students move through key life phases and seasons.

What should be included?

This is a question I used to wrestle with when I was younger because I would second guess myself. But here’s the thing: you know your students best and that means you know what they need to hear and be guided in. Trust your instincts and lean into your group dynamics.

But I would also encourage you to pay attention to culture, what Gen Z and Gen Alpha are searching for, and what students are grappling with overall. You can do this by talking to other youth workers, joining online communities, stepping into various cohorts, and following organizations like CPYU, FYI, Barna, others. If you utilize those key pieces to think about what is being taught, you will have a solid teaching calendar.

How many calendars should you have?

Sometimes I see ministries with multiple calendars and frankly that can get confusing. Instead of having multiple calendars, look to simplify down to one. Yes, you may need to have a calendar for families and one for leaders, but trying to simply the amount of calendars also allows your communication to be simplified and concise which provides clarity for everyone.

I won’t lie to you and tell you that if you do all these things that you’ll always hit it out of the park. We all swing and miss at times. But I will tell you that you will see more success and you can fine tune the necessary areas to fully pour into your community.

How Long Should You Speak For?

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Let me ask you a couple of questions: how long do speak for when you’re speaking to students? Does that length vary depending on whether it’s middle school or high school students? Is the timing dependent on the programmatic day or feature?

When I first started out in youth ministry, my messages were incredibly short because I was terrified of speaking in front of a group that I thought would judge me. I was a college freshman and was helping lead a middle school ministry. There were so many times I fumbled along and rushed through the message because I assumed middle school students couldn’t and wouldn’t pay attention for longer periods of time.

Compare that with when I was fresh out of Bible college with a preaching degree, and my message time swung to the other extreme. I began teaching for longer periods of time because I felt more confident in my study and preparation. I wanted everyone to know how to dig super deep into Scripture and see all the work I had done. But if I’m honest with you, it was very self-serving and I can’t begin to count how many students I would see with glazed over eyes beginning to fall asleep.

So if the two extremes don’t work well, what should we do instead? I’m not willing to call myself an expert in this by any means, but after working with students for over two decades, I think I have a decent barometer on how long we should take when teaching our students. What I want to share today are some suggested time lengths and some tips for engaging speaking for the different settings in which we teach.

Each of these timeframes are suggestions and not indicative of every single group. These are meant to be broad brush strokes and I would encourage each ministry leader to gauge where their group is at and how long they can engage with what is being shared. The other truth is that depending on the teacher and their teaching capability, you may be need to elongate or shorten teaching times.

Middle school.

I love middle school ministry. Students are quick to say whatever is on their minds so it’s rare that you wonder what they are thinking. They’re inquisitive and thoughtful. They ask great questions.

But their attention span is often shorter than high schoolers and adults. Rather than bemoan the various reasons that their attention span is shorter (I’m looking at you social media), we should be thoughtful in how we choose to engage with that reality.

I have found that typically fifteen minutes is the sweet spot for teaching middle school students. If you are teaching straight with no breaks, this is roughly the timeframe that works best. Utilizing different teaching styles, question and answer formats, or even breaking for discussions can allow the teaching time to be prolonged.

Another way to break up the teaching time and to afford yourself a longer teaching timeframe is to incorporate video clips. I would encourage you to keep your video clips to under a couple minutes when at all possible, because the longer the video the more likely students are to either only remember the video content or tune out (if they find it boring).

High school.

This is my primary teaching focus for our ministry, and I’ll be honest with you and say I struggle with staying on time. If you ask Elise, she knows I tend to be pretty wordy. But I’ve been in our present context long enough that our high school students have afforded me more grace and still listen if I go longer than I should.

I have learned though that the best length of time to speak to high school students is twenty to twenty-five minutes max. Similar to middle school students, if you’re going to speak at the longer end of that matrix, incorporate different methods of interaction and engagement. Give them time to discuss different parts of the lesson. Show video clips. Ask for volunteers to read the Bible passages. Utilize games when appropriate.

Different programmatic days.

Typically different events or special services denote a different style and length for teaching. If you’re hosting an event that is evangelistic in nature and has brought in a large contingent of unchurched students, it may be a better idea to have a shorter, more concise Gospel message.

If you’re hosting an immersive Easter or Christmas experience for your students, a longer message might be appropriate. A fall kickoff where everyone has come back together to celebrate the start of the school year would be better suited with a shorter and more focused lesson time. Taking time with a discipleship oriented leadership team would mean a longer teaching and discussion shaped timeframe.

Even thinking through Sunday mornings versus youth group nights, your teaching timeframe will look different. For our group, we look at Wednesday nights as our 100 level programming and Sunday mornings as our 200 level programming.

We know that on our youth group nights we have a wider swath of unreached students coming to youth group and that on Sundays most of our students are tracking with Jesus and desiring to grow in their relationship with Him. That affords us more opportunity on Sunday to focus on teaching time and discussion.

We still try to break up the teaching time with different formats like table discussions, question and answer, and videos when possible to help switch up how students are engaging and learning. For us that means our Sunday teaching and discussion time is roughly thirty-five minutes but we allot more time for table discussion to help students think through practical applications.

Trip Tricks: Mission Trip Interview Tips

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We just closed out our mission trip applications for this summer and are thrilled with the amount of students and leaders who want to serve this year. Part of our methodology for summer programming is to lean into mission trips as it correlates with our vision of disciplemaking.

An integral part of our application process is sitting down for an interview with each student who signs up. We discuss their application, work through their references, get to know them better, and discern if this trip is the right trip for them.

This process helps to ensure that the team going on the trip can work together, mesh well, and have the right philosophy for the trip. It also allows the trip leader to know their team, to begin to see how the team will integrate, and to begin to see pressure points that may develop.

Another aspect of this interview is that we are able to ascertain where students are at in their faith. I am a firm believer that mission trips are not just for the students who have it all “figured out” or even just for Christians.

Mission trips can be missional to the students who are going to serve. But in walking through an application that should have pertinent faith questions, you can begin to understand where each student is in their journey with Jesus.

In preparation for each of the interviews, I would highly suggest the following before you sit down with your student:

1. Read the application and take notes.

Write down any questions you have, underscore things you wish to touch on, and make notes about any themes, challenges, or encouragements that you see. Be prepared to follow up on those notes during your interview with the student.

2. Pray for the student.

Part of our application asks our students to list ways we can pray for them. These requests are then shared with our church through prayer cards when we do fundraising, but it also provides a way for you to pray for your students before, during, and after the interview process.

Take time to not just pray for the requests they shared in the application, but also ask if there are any other requests that they may have when you sit down for the interview.

3. Prepare any guidance or follow up that will need to be done.

One thing we ask each of our applicants to do is share their testimony. Sometimes we need to offer guidance in writing the testimony out or even in helping them to understand what their testimony is. Whether it’s the testimony or other guidance, be prepared to speak into specific areas during the interview.

4. Follow up with references if needed.

Part of our application process involves students getting a parental and personal reference. If concerns are raised by their references, or if there are specific aspects that warrant follow up, make sure to do so before the interview so you’re adequately prepared.

Proper preparation for interviews will help to ensure they go well and you are building a unified team that will work well together. Being proactive and intentional in the interview process helps you to lead well and instill trust in your students as they prepare for the trip.