7 Aug 2023

Starting the Fall Off Right!

By Ronald|2023-08-07T08:55:53-07:00August 7th, 2023|Youth Ministry Ideas|4 Comments

Fall is finally upon us, and if you’re anything like me, you’re buzzing with excitement for what this new season holds for your student ministry. There’s something inherently invigorating about the start of the school year – new faces, fresh enthusiasm, and endless opportunities for growth in faith. So, how do we harness this energy and create an unforgettable fall kick-off for our students? Let’s dive into some tips to help you make the most of this exciting time!

Seize the Moment: Plan a Memorable Kick-Off

The start of the school year is a golden opportunity to create a memorable kick-off event. Whether you’re dedicating an entire evening or even an entire month to the kick-off, make it a big deal! Organize engaging activities, games, and maybe even a theme that resonates with your students. This sets the tone for the rest of the season and builds anticipation.

Set the Course: Reset Goals and Cast Vision

As you welcome both new and returning students, take the time to reset your goals and cast a clear vision for the year ahead. Ensure that everyone in your student ministry knows the ‘why’ behind what you’re striving for. This could involve sharing your ministry’s purpose, goals, and values during the kick-off event. A strong sense of purpose can fuel enthusiasm and commitment among your students.

Facilitate Connections: Highlight Opportunities to Engage

Fall is all about restarting and building new routines, so emphasize the various opportunities for students to connect and get involved. During the kick-off, make it crystal clear how they can plug into small groups, service projects, worship teams, and any other activities your ministry offers. Provide sign-up sheets or online forms to streamline the process and ensure everyone can find their place in the community.

Capture the Magic: Document the Kick-Off

In the whirlwind of events, it’s easy to forget to capture the special moments. Make an effort to document your fall kick-off with plenty of photos and even videos. Not only do these mementos serve as heartwarming reminders for the students, but they can also be wonderful to look back on as they move up or graduate in the future. Plus, sharing these memories on social media can help build a buzz for your ministry and attract even more students.

Nurture Lasting Relationships

Remember, a successful fall kick-off isn’t just about the event itself; it’s about building lasting relationships. Encourage your leadership team to be intentional about forming connections with both new and returning students. Whether it’s through one-on-one conversations, mentoring programs, or casual hangouts, creating a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere can help students feel valued and supported.

So there you have it, fellow youth pastors – a roadmap to creating an amazing fall kick-off for your student ministry! This is a season of renewed energy and eager hearts, and by implementing these strategies, you can set the stage for a year full of growth, community, and spiritual development.

Remember, each student who walks through your doors is on a unique journey, and your role is to guide, encourage, and inspire them as they navigate their faith. Have an incredible fall kick-off, and may this season be one of transformation and abundant blessings for both you and your students.

Need a game to kickstart your fall?

Get your group up and active in this classic game that will have students grouping up and performing festive actions.

Have your students up and milling around. You will show a number and a school-themed action on the screen. Participants then need to get in groups (aka “clumps”) that match the number and perform the action displayed. If you play it as an elimination game, the last group to form, or without enough people to form the group, is out.

Click here to download and play!

24 Jul 2023

Ministering to Students Who Aren’t Showing Up

By Justin Knowles|2023-07-13T13:16:16-07:00July 24th, 2023|Uncategorized, Youth Ministry Hacks|9 Comments

We just recorded a podcast for Youth Ministry Hacks (CLICK HERE to listen) about the importance of following up in youth ministry. Follow up is such an important aspect of ministry but something easily overlooked because it’s easy to miss to move on to bigger and better things.

One of the things I get asked the most about in youth ministry is what is the exact system we have set up in order to make sure student don’t fall through the cracks? Below is what we have set up right now. Does it work? If I am honest, we don;t know yet. We only really started the whole process in all phases about 2 months ago. It seems to be doing it’s job. I do know we will be looking at it and adjusting it as we go, but it seems to at least fill some holes we had noticed over the past two years of having lots of news students but not being at “sticky” as we have been wanting.

We are in a season where we have the ability to track who is coming to our campuses and we want to make sure we are effectively following up with every student who walks through our doors throughout the year.

We will run a weekly (new students), a monthly (this month vs last month) and a quarterly (CCB roster scrub) report.

The following is how we need to be following up with each group of students that we can run reports on:

1st Time Student Follow Up:

When a new student comes to SCY for the first time they fill out a QR code with their info. The info gets put into a list where the youth network team will then create a new student profile and put it in a queue for the youth lead to follow up with.

Here is how the process is set up in CCB:

Thursday
- “Glad you came” postcards get written up (cards have been provided) and addressed with a note and put in the mail.
- Follow up text from the lead.
- Follow up text from the group leader they were placed with the previous night.
- Parent email, introducing the lead and the ministry
Tuesday
- Queue will prompt a follow up invite with a text from the youth lead to invite back to groups the following night.
Thursday
- Youth lead will check to see if that student came back to groups.
  - If student did, connect with them and let them know they are so glad they got to come back and will help them get more connected in the ministry
  - If the student did not, they will keep them in the queue and invite them back the following week for 3 weeks.

Monthly CCB Report – Students who checked in last month but not this month

We have the ability now to run a monthly report of every student who checked into a group the previous month who has not come back the current month. This is a good way to follow up with kids we have not seen in a bit and a good way to see if any of the first time students have been plugged in.

Follow up should look like the following:

All follow up should happen within two weeks of receiving the roster by campus.
A “We miss you” postcard addressed with a note from the lead be sent in the mail.
A call or text to the student
- “Hey! We have noticed you have not been here in a few weeks. Just letting you know we miss seeing you! We hope you are good. Is there anything that we can be praying for you about or do for you and your family? We hope to see you soon!
- Something along those lines.
An email to the parent with a very similar text.
If the CP knows the family, they can reach out to the parents.

Quarterly CCB Report – Students who have checked in this year, but who have not come this quarter

We have the ability to run a report to see students who we have not checked in at youth for 3 months. This is a great opportunity to reach out to youth and parents to let them know we notice, to check in and invite back.

Follow up should look like the following:

A “We miss you” postcard addressed with a note from the lead be sent in the mail.
A call or text to the student
- “Hey! We have noticed you have not been here in a few weeks. Just letting you know we miss seeing you! We hope you are good. Is there anything that we can be praying for you about or do for you and your family? We hope to see you soon!
- Something along those lines.
An email to the parent with a very similar text.
If the CP knows the family, they can reach out to the parents.
That student should be removed from any CCB group roster so we can have accurate information in regards to youth rosters as they are a leading indicator for the success of youth at Sandals.

Whatever church management system you have, it really doesn’t matter, you can take this process and apply it. If your group is small or if it’s massive, the important part is being intentional with the process of follow up to make sure you are covering all bases and making connections with students.

Hope this is helpful.

@justinknowles3

24 Jan 2017

8 Simple Steps To Make Your Ministry More Welcoming

By Christopher Wesley|2017-01-24T03:24:14-08:00January 24th, 2017|Leadership|1 Comment

Growing up I moved around a lot and I hated being the new kid. There was always that fear of rejection that could be paralyzing. Chances are there are teens walking into your ministry for the first time with the same fears. If not addressed it could be the reason they won’t return.

Creating a hospitable environment is key to eliminating that fear. It’s an aspect of your ministry that cannot be overlooked. To create an environment that communicates, “You are in the right place.” you need to: (more…)

13 Dec 2016

How To Get New Students To Come Back To Your Ministry

By Christopher Wesley|2016-12-07T14:20:57-08:00December 13th, 2016|Uncategorized, Youth Ministry Ideas|0 Comments

When a teen is walking into your ministry for the first time they are probably wondering, “Will anyone notice that I’m here?” It’s a scary question to answer because no one wants to be judged or rejected.

If you want teens to give you more than one shot you need to be intentional about your environments and ministry roles by: (more…)