Subscribe to the NetworkSafe But Unpredictable
I want our student ministry to be safe … but totally unpredictable. Let me explain what I mean.
Safe
Our goal is that our student services are outsider-aware – that we are friendly to people there for the first time. That when anyone walks in, they realize we’ve been planning this for a while and have something important to say. I also want our regular students to trust us – that if you take that bold step and invite a friend we’re not going to embarrass you or them with the program or the people. That the weekend service, on any given Saturday/Sunday, will be a safe place to bring someone to hear about Jesus or be challenged in the faith they already have. I want our students to feel so safe/welcomed/proud that they would want to introduce their friends to me. Practical: add a “welcome to first-timers” even if they’re aren’t any attending your service/event. Cast the vision for it on a weekly basis. Work with a core group of students to find out what a “safe environment” means to them in regards to them trusting you enough to invite a friend to church. Avoid insider language, illustrations that exclude certain people groups.Unpredictable
At the same time, I want us to be unpredictable – you never totally know what’s going to happen when you walk into church. Yes, it will always be safe, challenging and outsider-friendly, but we’ve probably got something special planned that you didn’t expect. Too often the order of service and tradition trumps the desire to present the Word in a creative and “sticky” way. Too often we rest in the “safety” of the way we’ve always done it at the expense of people’s attention. We don’t have services for the purpose of creating buzz and I even like traditions, but people truly being fully engaged and then applying truth is most important. Practical: change up the order of service every month or every other series. Change the seating arrangement, bring in a special speaker, add in a new teaching style, don’t have music/double the music, etc.
I hope this New Year we’re always safe … and never predictable.
JG
Unpredicable… totally true – I’ve had more comments from students and leaders on the fact that we took out the chairs than that we had a great title for our series! I think they appreciate the creativity of something even as simple as that.
Have always loved changin things up or down…Always looking forward to when God turns a corner, keeps us fresh, focused, and flyin by the seat of our pants! Wooooohoooooo!!!!!!
I agree that unpredictable is good. Retreats are nice because they break up our routine. My hope is that unpredictable comes to mean something way bigger than different seating or different order. I’d love to see a group that’s so crazily passionate in their following of Jesus that seating isn’t even a footnote to what’s going on that night.