We finished up a fresh parent night the other night and wanted to give some highlights in case something would benefit your ministry. I shared some on last week’s Simply Youth Ministry Podcast, and have gotten a few emails about it so thought I would share the idea fully here:
- 7:05 - everyone meets together – Overview/Vision/Heart of High School Ministry. At the end of this opening we divided up into “tour groups” that went to 5 different stations – informal sessions that introduced people and gave an inside look at our programs. This was a “meet-and-greet-look-under-the-hood” type of night.
- 7:15 - tour stop #1 - Weekend worship Service – Visual - the point person explained what a weekend looks like, explained when we meet and identified the target of the service.
- 7:25 - tour stop #2 - Small Groups - Relational - the point person explained that this is how our students get connected, that this is the next step from the weekend, and how a caring volunteer shares life with a group of students.
- 7:35 - tour stop #3 - SHAPE - Educational - the point person here explained what SHAPE means and how one of our goals is to help their student take a step to get involved in serving in a ministry at the church.
- 7:45 - tour stop #4 - PEACE (missions) - Experiential - the tour guide here talked about how we’re going after three areas – we want to reach people, serve the community and go to the world with the message of Jesus. Basically here’s where we’re headed in getting people here and sending people out from here.
- 7:55 - tour stop #5 - Volunteers - Influential - The final stop on the tour was to ask them to join us! We explained our screening and training process so they feel safe, but also showed them opportunities where they could serve.
- 8:05 - everyone meets together – Q&A, coffee and treats. And if you visited all of the stations – a coupon for 50% off our fall retreat.
OK, maybe it didn’t work quite this well as it looks right now on this blog post, but it was solid. Yes, it was more work … but way more effective, too.
JG
Josh Griffin has been in youth ministry for 15+ years and serves as the High School Pastor at Saddleback Church. [
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Geoff Stewart serves the Jr / Sr High School Pastor at Peace Portal Alliance Church in Surrey B.C.
Thanks for sharing what you do. So much of what we hear is theory or what you could do. But it is great to hear what you are doing. Very encouraging.
Did you video tape? They would make great youtube segments.
Thanks!
Josh I love the idea of giving parents 50% off of te retreat for attending the stations but, how do fund the discount?
Jon
It could be spread out over the costs of others attending the event, or it could be included in the budget of the event.
JG