Youth and Children’s Ministry Priorities Coming Out of Lockdown
It’s an exciting and anxious time for all of us in the youth and kids ministry world as ministries return in person. There are a whole bunch of things that you need to do and many of them in a new way. It can be overwhelming.
The Ministry Support Team is here to help you navigate the logistics and champion your cause to get your ministries running and hopefully thriving again. But what things should you be doing right now? What things should you put on hold for another time? How do you prioritise and get clarity when you’re tired and there’s lots to do?
Here’s a suggested flight plan for you to get on track with what’s important.
1. Get your house in order
It’s easy to be busy with all the immediate tasks that demand our attention. It is worth taking a moment to tidy up and work out what are the most important areas we need to put time into.
- Clean your office and get your desk clear. Ensure ministry spaces and storage are tidy and in order.
- Look at your diary and plan your time. The diary has been very different for the past 4 months, some things will not be in there that are now back on. In talking to many youth and kids minister’s at the moment, people are missing important dates, meetings and events and saying there’s lots on. Well yes, there is, but there always is in November and December, you’re just out of whack…
- Start planning for 2022. Add all the major events, the regular programs and ministries, the camps and conferences and then give that calendar to everyone who needs it in the children’s and youth ministry of your Church; staff, parents, leaders.
- Book the camp sites, accommodation and tickets for those camps and conferences next year now. Many families have been booking holidays for 2022 already. We need to get those dates and camps booked and in their diaries so they don’t double book and miss out.
- Tidy up your contact lists. Make sure the contact details are accurate, contact people to check so they can get all the info you are about to send them. This task is a core part of ministry follow up but often it is put on the back burner. You lose people when this task is not done well!
2. Communicate clearly and often
Contact all the parents, youth and kids to inform them of exactly when the ministry programs and services are coming back onsite and what steps they need to take once they arrive. It’s like you’re starting again, welcoming every person as if they were a newcomer attending your services, youth groups or kids programs for the first time.
- Use email. Parents value that professional communication and are often on email for work and life.
- Or use text messages. Text is proven to cut through the noise and get response rate results quite quickly from both parents and youth alike.
- Use social media. It’s helpful to schedule the posts in the various groups you have for Facebook and Instagram for parents and youth alike as different platforms will reach different demographics.
If this seems too hard and technical and lots of work, then divide and conquer. You do the emails, get a younger leader to do the social media and find the tech head to help you set up the text message system, it will be worth it.
Take the time to make the phone calls!! I know, people don’t like making phone calls these days, but just like when people get a letter in the mail, they absolutely love it and feel valued. It’s kind of the same with phone calls, youth in particular love it when their leaders take the time to give them a call. In my opinion, it’s what can make or break getting a youth or kid back to youth group or kids club, etc.
In Luke 15, Jesus speaks of the parable of the lost sheep, it teaches us that he cares for ALL people, his sheep, as he is the good and perfect shepherd.
4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ [Luke 15:4-6 NIV]
The thing that strikes me every time in this story is that Jesus is willing to go after the ONE lost sheep, because he values each and every one of them. The parable teaches us to care for ALL children and youth, to follow up every single of them all the time. We need to be relentless in our care and concern to see all those connected with our youth and kids ministries, and even those who are not yet, to be willing to walk off the main road to find the sheep who might be lost and lonely and looking for a way back to Jesus, to his people, to God’s family.
Right now, families, young people, kids are looking to connect and do what is normal once more. The time is NOW for churches to step up, fill the social void and show leadership for their people by welcoming everyone with open arms to their services, programs, kids and youth ministries.
Lastly, leader recruitment for next year is in the important and almost urgent category now and if you give it good attention now, it will mean 2022 starts off strongly. Write a list of the people to talk with about serving in ministry next year, outline the expectations and commitment to them, share the vision for the ministry and sign them up for 2022!
Remember, Youthworks Ministry Support Team are here to help you do effective ministry to families, children and young people. We have a few key conferences coming up that help your church with leadership development, SRE ministry and more. Check out the website for more info and to lock in those tickets:
· Leaders in Training conference for year 10-12 youth
· SRE conference for SRE teachers
If you are a youth or children’s minister, these next few months could be the start of wonderful growth and renewal in your ministry if you take the right steps with communication and organisation.