When it comes to how to lead youth ministry effectively, certain habits are crucial. I learned this while setting up life groups, or regular times for young adults to meet and discuss sermons, share Bible study, pray for one another, and just do life together.
Trying to create this environment for young men was especially challenging. Quite honestly, young men can harbor some shallow spirits. Plus, they can easily fall victim to the persuasion of the crowds.
So what’s the secret? Want to know how to lead youth ministry successfully? (And by successfully, I mean a youth group with consistency in attendance, limited turnover, and growth in size but most importantly growth in students’ character.)
During one meeting, a young person said, “This is the only place I experience real character development.” That motivated me to jot down ideas I feel have yielded youth group leadership wins in my work. If you lead a youth ministry or student life group, these habits will create positive momentum toward spiritual growth.
How to Lead Youth Ministry Well: 7 Key Habits
1. Teach up!
Use teachings and ideas that challenge young people by speaking at a level above the platform they currently stand on. Challenging kids sends so many intangible messages. Primarily, it communicates that you believe in their ability to rise up to what you’re teaching. You speak not to who kids are but to who you believe they can be.
What good is it to teach a standard that exists at the level young people have already achieved? Call kids to a higher standard and place a mark in front of them that’s worth achieving. When youth group leadership is consistently ahead of kids’ developmental curve, they’ll continue to look to you for the next call in their life.
2. Meet kids where they are.
Not to contradict with the habit of “teaching up,” but I believe acceptance drives influence. Only after you’ve come down to meet kids at their current maturity level will you have permission to speak to their hearts. Once you have permission to speak to their heart, then you have the opportunity to challenge them, as we just discussed.
Don’t confuse acceptance with tolerance. It’s okay to accept someone without tolerating what they do. Communicating that you won’t tolerate their behavior is not an indication that you don’t accept them. When done lovingly, however, it communicates that you care about them and believe they can be greater than their behavior.
3. Authentic beats cool every time.
I’ve seen people try to appear cool to a 13-year-old boy in an attempt to gain influence. Their motives are pure, but their intentions get lost in their imitations. Can I give you a news flash? Kids can smell a fake, and so could you when you were young.
Sadly, if you’re labeled a fake, you’ve failed. In my ministries, I’ve been told that I’m cool, to a level that I’m desensitized to it. Although I’m thankful for compliments, what I believe kids mean is they think I’m authentic.
4. Go after kids; don’t wait for them to come after you.
This should come out of the overflow of confidence you have around students. I’ve met so many adults who’ve express a fear of teenagers. That’s so foreign to me! Always place tremendous importance on pursuing students on a one-to-one level. It expresses that each person is very valuable to you and that they have permission to interrupt your day at any time.
Don’t be concerned with trying to talk to hoards of students all at once. Think about it: If you talk to one student a day, every single day, you will have talked to 365 students in a year.
Some people won’t take the time to talk to the one student because they’re too caught up trying to economize their time and talk to the crowds. Keeping things personable sends a positive message of intimacy, acceptance, and value.
