Many churches struggle with growing their youth groups, but it is possible to make strides and ensure young people can continue learning, growing, and having fun in your church community. Here are some tips on how to grow a small church youth group.
- Create an Engaging Environment – The first step for any successful youth ministry is creating an environment that engages and encourages the young people in your church. Consider offering relaxing activities such as movie nights or game nights for your youth group so that they have a relaxed and enjoyable experience when they come together. You could also bring them out into the community by organizing service projects or field trips that involve going places the youths may not have gone before.
- Connect with Community Leaders – As a church leader, it is important to identify leaders in the community who can help support the growth of our youth group in different ways. For instance, reaching out to local businesses can provide opportunities for fundraisers to help raise money for resources like new technology or equipment needed to run engaging activities for young people. Additionally, engaging other local clubs and organizations can provide more opportunities for connection and activity ideas for young people.
- Use New Technology – Introducing new technology into your organization is one of the most impactful changes you can make in order to draw in more youths to join your church congregation. By investing in devices like laptops or tablets, you give yourself access to countless digital tools that will engage younger members of your congregation while also helping them stay up-to-date on day-to-day operations within the church ministry. This will create an atmosphere of interactive learning and growth while increasing accessibility of teachings and activities through virtual means as well.
- Foster Growth Through Mentorship Programs – Mentorship programs allow young people to learn from members of their church family who are older or more experienced than themselves, which can lead to incredible amounts of personal growth among all involved parties. A mentorship program should be designed with care; it needs to have clear objectives with measurable progress linked back directly to its success within the program overall — once this strategy is established across multiple parties within the ministry, watchful coaching from parents should ensure growth among those involved remains on track towards its intentioned goals throughout time spent within the program itself over multiple years if needed as well!
- Encourage Active Participation – When running events or activities within a small youth group such as bible studies or Sunday school classes, it’s important that each member feels comfortable enough expressing their viewpoints without fear of judgement from other members — remember: everyone has different opinions and understanding levels when trying something new! In addition keep these conversations friendly yet stimulating by challenging everyone equally while at same time allowing individuals equal chance at speaking up during events held regularly by continuing open dialogue between speaker(s) & listener(s) which will support further meaningful bond formation amongst all involved parties too!
Maintaining a healthy core membership base often starts with keeping up connections between members regardless how many/few there may be—this includes taking note (and acting) upon feedback when asked too; this way everyone stays actively invested & engaged while feeling valued & appreciated at same time! To make sure no one gets left behind either try connecting via messages/calls outside physical gatherings (& even online chats -like Zoom) much like what was originally suggested earlier about having virtual meetings where applicable too– because staying connected really does matter most here if we wish foster growth among our small church communities today & tomorrow alike!
Source: Youth Ministry Lessons