This week’s poll: what is the perfect youth group sermon length?
JG
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Josh Griffin has been in youth ministry for 15+ years and serves as the High School Pastor at Saddleback Church. [read more]
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Geoff Stewart serves the Jr / Sr High School Pastor at Peace Portal Alliance Church in Surrey B.C.
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I think time isn’t the concern as much as it is a matter of taking as long as it takes to rightly explain it so they can understand. Sometimes this can be 20 minutes, sometimes this can be up to 45 minutes
I aim at 30 min. but due to the dynamic of the room (interuptions, feedback, laughter) I often touch the 40 min mark. I need to do a better job of time discipline.
It would be really interesting to do another poll that asks “How long do you actually teach?”
I like it when I attend a conference and a pastor will say that a person can only listen for 20 minutes and then I watch or listen to their services online and they teach for 45 minutes.
35-40 minutes would probably be more accurate for what i do but that wasn’t a choice.
if you’re taking more than 20 minutes, you should probably make it a two-part series. you’re likely either giving them too much to process in one sitting, or you’re rambling and repeating yourself way too much.
I agree Brad. I also think that some people are able to hold some student’s attention longer while others lecture on and on as if the longer they talk, the more likely it is that something will sink in. That’s why it’s also important to have honest evaluation. If you’ve got some great sponsors who will help you find your sweet spot, that’s great. I know I appreciate my crew. My friends and I have also “secret shoppered” each other’s group time (by invitation of course) as a discipline of evaluation. It’s important to know when you’re beating your kids and when you’re getting through to them…. oh, and one more thing that I believe is that we should all become students of teaching. Always be looking for ways to improve your art.
It takes a special person to be able to go more than 25 minutes and hold a kids attention. There are exceptions, I think at camps or retreats kids are willing to sit through a bit more, but a lot of speakers think they are that exception…and they are not.
I know it is harsh, but seriously, I have heard way too many good people go on and on thinking that their long messages are going to be the catalyst to changed lives.
That was me above…
But one more thing, if you want to go longer than 25 minutes, break into small groups and have them process what was said. I heard a statistic a few years back (yes I know 84.5 percent of all statistics are made up) that says that people (not just kids) retain 10 percent of what they hear and 90 percent of what they discover…small groups with good questions help kids discover the truths that we are trying to convey.
Again, sorry about the harshness, I have just dealt with the fallout of so many ministries where the leader things that if they go on forever they will somehow help their ministry.
repetition is how we learn. repetition is how we learn. repetition is how we learn.
Research shows not much is learned after 15 minutes…
I know I’ve forgotten way more than 90 percent of what I’ve discovered. It totally depends on the genre of teaching as many have already mentioned. If you can tell an interesting story for 40 minutes, that’s way different than trying to be an interesting teacher for 40 minutes. I tend to fall in the category of trying to not communicate in the same way for more than 10 minutes, although I suspect I should be aiming for more like 6-7 minutes. Exegete scripture, tell stories, break into smaller groups, illustrate with a video or a game, ask questions. I want my teaching to feel more like a journey we took together, rather than a transfer of information.
I really appreciate this poll and the comments. I agree it is much more important to keep someone’s interest and to be relevant. If you can honestly do that in 15 minutes–or in 45 I think that’s awesome. Most of the youth I work with are really easy to read–they’ll let you know when they’re done!
it should be good irregardless of time. And the teacher to youth must master the art of commercials. The students learn to absorb in chunks of 8 minutes. Figure this out and you will be more effective.