Q&A
Saturday, Jan. 31, 1998
Building up a small Christian youth group
I am being considered for a Youth minister position at (a) Baptist Church and if the Lord sees fit for me to obtain this position I will have the responsibilty of building this group up.

Currently there are only about three active youth members. My question is what is the best procedure to go about to build this group up. I would like some suggestions on how to go about this process, and what are the best ways to attract these young people to this youth group. I would be grateful for any suggestions that you could give me.
Travis K. Smith
Chesnee, South Carolina
tsmith@gardner-webb.edu

Answer from Hal Melton
Director of youth ministry coordination for N.C. Baptists:

Travis, it is good to hear from a fellow sandlapper!

I'm so glad that you are looking forward to serving as youth minister at a church in which three youth and their families need you to help them grow a youth ministry.

When my family and I moved back to Cary, we began working with five youth at a newly organized church. We met in the basement of a real estate building for church, but had most of our youth meetings at one of their homes in the beginning. I am as close to several of those youth as I am to any of the many youth with which I have worked (even though they are now married). You are in for a very special ministry experience!

Several things to think about:

1) In Youth Ministry as with any ministry of the church, the relationships of the adult leaders with the youth will be the foundation on which all programs and other events will take shape. I would suggest you and several adults/parents spend some significant quality time with these three youth building these relationships.

One of the best ways to accomplish this is to spend time with them doing what they like to do at times other than on Sunday morning. Recreation is key here. If you need some ideas, contact me or pick up a book at the Baptist Book Store on both competitive and non-competitive games. Letting our hair down as adults and having fun with the youth help them to see us as approachable, trustworthy persons who care about them. We are still adult leaders, but real people who enjoy life too! This is the starting place for building up numbers as well as developing relationships that will help youth grow spiritually - through listening to our teaching as well as observing our modeling.

2) Don't fence yourself into thinking only in terms of what you can do with your small group. When we had only a handful of teens at our church, we did things like lock-ins, mission experiences, Christian concerts, etc. with other churches who have more youth. Hopefully there is a church (either in your association or across the state) where you know the youth minister and can "tag along" with some events that are just better with a few more youth involved than you have right now. Then as you grow, you have a clear picture of how to plan your own events, because you have seen others modeled for you.

3) Pull together a Youth Ministry Council made up ofall three youth, at least one parent, the Sunday School teacher, and yourself to plan the ministry. Even the smallest youth ministries can benefit greatly from dreaming together a plan to grow individual youth and the youth group as a whole. The old saying "to fail to plan is to plan to fail" really does hold true. Whether you plan for the next month, quarter or year is up to you and your needs. But to simply say, "OK, what do you want to do next week?" is not going to develop a healthy youth ministry program at your church. For one, it only gives you one week to develop any great ideas that the youth and adult leaders have. Talk about pulling your hair out!

The other benefit that planning ahead gives you is balance. Looking at calander planning sheets and using a different color of ink for worship, Christian education, service/missions and recreation will help you to see if you are approaching youth ministry with a holistic healthy approach.

For more information, get a copy of Richard Ross' youth ministry planning kit called "Youth Ministry: From Boot-Up to Exit".

4) Get some solid youth ministry training for as many adults in your church as you can. This spring the Youth Ministry Lab at Meredith College, May 15-17 will be a fantastic weekend of training for all adult youth leaders in the church - staff members, lay people and parents. The cost is only $55 per person which includes lodging, meals, a Lab notebook, snack breaks and the program fee. For and information an registration brochure, just email Alice Johnson at