Most of us work in churches where we can’t get away with skipping church-wide events. If we are missing our church notices. Sometimes we want to be at these events and other times it feel like we are so busy and we wish we could be doing something else.

For me, I have come to realize that I need to take every church wide event and make it a win for our youth ministry. Today we did a “Walk Thru the Old Testament” with an organization called ‘Walk Thru The Bible’. I was apart of bringing them to our church because I think we need to help our people grasp the bigger picture of the Old Testament. That being said, it’s a tough event even for the best teenager. It is 8 hours long and you learn a ton of information (even though it’s fun). So I did what I could to make it a win for our youth. I gave them pop instead of the water and juice the kids were receiving( We did make sure it was hidden from younger kids sight with glasses). I spent time talking to each of them one on one through the breaks (this was easy with the number we had out) And I made sure that I was a great example and did every action alongside of them.

We do a number of yearly church-wide activities: A movie night, a games night, an Amazing race, a BBQ, and other various activities. Each of these presents itself as a chance to either just slink the the background, or make it an event the youth will love. I don’t get many crowd students, but I do get a lot of core students to these events. And this is a time I can pour into them in ways I can’t with larger numbers.

I have come to believe; because there were times when I have just slinked through events; that if you leverage these opportunities you make a greater relational impact with your students.

How do you leverage church body events to your ministries advantage?

Kyle Corbin has been serving youth as a volunteer or pastor for over 10 years and blogs exclusively here on LoveGodLoveStudents.com. He is currently the youth pastor at the Bridge Church in North Vancouver B.C. Hit him up on Twitter @CorbinKyle