PASTORVON.com (E.G. von Trutzschler) » FOR TEACHERS AND YOUTH WORKERS » TIPS FOR THE YOUTH WORKER


HOME » FOR TEACHERS AND YOUTH WORKERS » TIPS FOR THE YOUTH WORKER » A COLD YOUTH GROUP COMMENTS about this page: Things that work for one group may not work for another and it pays to be cautious in using anothers ideas. Here is a reminder and two experiences In which I had to use some creative thinking. You might pick up an idea or two here. A GOOD THING TO REMEMBER: Parents tend to believe their children and all of us tend to believe the first person we hear! You can count on this! My youth group was in one of its cold cycles. We weren't growing. The kids weren't bad, they were just self centered and clannish. They were perfectly content with themselves and saw no need to be friendly to visitors. I saw the way they ignored the occasional visitor. I did my best to compensate by talking with the visitor and going out of my way to make him feel welcome, but when the kids themselves are cold it creates an impossible situation. There could be no growth until these kids would see the need to be friendly. After thinking on this for a while, I came up with somewhat of a solution. I could go after the problem with some good teaching from the Word but first I needed to get their attention to the issue. Money is one value kids understand. Being a home grown capitalist I came up with an idea I thought would grab their attention. I drove across town and met one of the teens I knew from another church. He was an average kid not particularly good looking. He would make an excellent "visitor." I was sure none of my youth group knew him. He agreed to come to our meeting the next Sunday evening. I handed him an envelope with twenty dollars inside and told him to bring it along with him to the meeting. His instructions were simple, give the envelope as a gift to the first person in our group that showed himself friendly. I really didn't feel that there was much of a chance I would lose the twenty dollars. He smiled and was eager to become my experimental "visitor." Sunday evening I picked him up in my van and took him across town toward our church. I let him off three blocks away from the Church. He was to walk in to our meeting area about ten minutes to seven. Things went as I expected. He arrived on time and stood around. No one even spoke to him. When our meeting started he sat alone in the last row of seats. As I started into my teaching time I paused and mentioned to the group that we had a visitor with us and that he had a special reason to join us tonight. I then asked him to stand and introduce himself and to tell what his instructions were. At this many of the group turned around and looked at him. He did a great job. Loudly and clearly he said, "My instructions were to give this envelope with twenty dollars in it to the first person who was friendly to me tonight." There was an audible groan from the whole group. I knew I had hit pay dirt, so I started off swinging, "Isn't it strange what we will do for money but can't seem to do for God?" I took it from there and spoke on being friendly. Did it work? It did for me. They never forgot the lesson on what you lose when you are not friendly and our cold cycle was broken! SO YOUR GROUP IS A DUD! In one of the churches, I inherited a small youth group weak in teen leadership. The group like the church had been small for years. The kids were tired and ingrown. There was no dynamic in the mix. The social environment was anything but attractive. Among the kids in the neighborhood, the church and it's youth program had a looser reputation. After evaluating the situation for a few weeks, I knew that growth under the existing conditions was out of the question. I would be foolish to try to build on the present combination of kids. Changes would have to be made. Some creative thinking was in order! I decided on working two tracks. One track was keeping the existing program as is. I got an adult to take the program and keep it going. Maintaining status quo takes very little effort! My second track was the hard choice and it took work. I intended to use myself as the hook and go after some normal healthy kids. I found where the kids hung out and went to their activities. I got to know them and made friends particularly with leader types. When we had enough kids and interest we formed a small group loosely based on activities. I asked them to invite their friends. I became catalyst of the fledgling group and activities were the draw. I was the leader with the ideas and I had the ability to implement them. Little by little the group grew, and, gradually I changed the focus from fun and activities to Jesus Christ and ministry. The new group of kids respected me and loved me enough to go along with the developing changes. This new second group consisted mostly of kids outside the church with some teens from other churches joining us. They were without a good youth program. When the newly created group was large enough we moved to the church as a location and absorbed the first group. This brought new life and excitement into church group number one. Gradually teen leaders in the group were developed and the group itself became the attracting dynamic leaving me free to recruit and develop adult leadership and administrate. (Warning, never administrate yourself out of ministry!)

HOME » FOR TEACHERS AND YOUTH WORKERS » TIPS FOR THE YOUTH WORKER » A COLD YOUTH GROUP

COMMENTS about this page: Things that work for one group may not work for another and it pays to be cautious in using anothers ideas. Here is a reminder and two experiences In which I had to use some creative thinking. You might pick up an idea or two here.

A GOOD THING TO REMEMBER: Parents tend to believe their children and all of us tend to believe the first person we hear! You can count on this!

My youth group was in one of its cold cycles. We weren't growing. The kids weren't bad, they were just self centered and clannish. They were perfectly content with themselves and saw no need to be friendly to visitors. I saw the way they ignored the occasional visitor. I did my best to compensate by talking with the visitor and going out of my way to make him feel welcome, but when the kids themselves are cold it creates an impossible situation. There could be no growth until these kids would see the need to be friendly. After thinking on this for a while, I came up with somewhat of a solution. I could go after the problem with some good teaching from the Word but first I needed to get their attention to the issue.

Money is one value kids understand. Being a home grown capitalist I came up with an idea I thought would grab their attention. I drove across town and met one of the teens I knew from another church. He was an average kid not particularly good looking. He would make an excellent "visitor." I was sure none of my youth group knew him. He agreed to come to our meeting the next Sunday evening. I handed him an envelope with twenty dollars inside and told him to bring it along with him to the meeting. His instructions were simple, give the envelope as a gift to the first person in our group that showed himself friendly. I really didn't feel that there was much of a chance I would lose the twenty dollars. He smiled and was eager to become my experimental "visitor." Sunday evening I picked him up in my van and took him across town toward our church. I let him off three blocks away from the Church. He was to walk in to our meeting area about ten minutes to seven. Things went as I expected. He arrived on time and stood around. No one even spoke to him. When our meeting started he sat alone in the last row of seats. As I started into my teaching time I paused and mentioned to the group that we had a visitor with us and that he had a special reason to join us tonight.

I then asked him to stand and introduce himself and to tell what his instructions were. At this many of the group turned around and looked at him. He did a great job. Loudly and clearly he said, "My instructions were to give this envelope with twenty dollars in it to the first person who was friendly to me tonight." There was an audible groan from the whole group. I knew I had hit pay dirt, so I started off swinging, "Isn't it strange what we will do for money but can't seem to do for God?" I took it from there and spoke on being friendly. Did it work? It did for me. They never forgot the lesson on what you lose when you are not friendly and our cold cycle was broken!

SO YOUR GROUP IS A DUD!

In one of the churches, I inherited a small youth group weak in teen leadership. The group like the church had been small for years. The kids were tired and ingrown. There was no dynamic in the mix. The social environment was anything but attractive. Among the kids in the neighborhood, the church and it's youth program had a looser reputation. After evaluating the situation for a few weeks, I knew that growth under the existing conditions was out of the question. I would be foolish to try to build on the present combination of kids. Changes would have to be made. Some creative thinking was in order!

I decided on working two tracks. One track was keeping the existing program as is. I got an adult to take the program and keep it going. Maintaining status quo takes very little effort!

My second track was the hard choice and it took work. I intended to use myself as the hook and go after some normal healthy kids. I found where the kids hung out and went to their activities. I got to know them and made friends particularly with leader types. When we had enough kids and interest we formed a small group loosely based on activities. I asked them to invite their friends. I became catalyst of the fledgling group and activities were the draw. I was the leader with the ideas and I had the ability to implement them. Little by little the group grew, and, gradually I changed the focus from fun and activities to Jesus Christ and ministry.

The new group of kids respected me and loved me enough to go along with the developing changes. This new second group consisted mostly of kids outside the church with some teens from other churches joining us. They were without a good youth program. When the newly created group was large enough we moved to the church as a location and absorbed the first group. This brought new life and excitement into church group number one. Gradually teen leaders in the group were developed and the group itself became the attracting dynamic leaving me free to recruit and develop adult leadership and administrate. (Warning, never administrate yourself out of ministry!)