The Correlation Between a Relational Youth Ministry and Student Participation

Josh on January 28th, 2010

Saddleback’s High School Ministry has experienced incredible growth over the past two years. Here’s a little of what I shared at HSM Staff Camp this past week to my team as we focus on what’s next for HSM:

I think there is a direct correlation of strong relational youth ministry and participation.

When a ministry focuses primarily on programs and steers clear from getting their hands dirty in the real-life issues facing a student, growth will be short-lived. Now, please hear me on this – I love programs, I sometimes wish we had lasers in our youth room. But I know that while fun is very much one of our values and programs are very important – the best youth ministry happens in small groups, or one-on-one, sharing life. The best youth ministry happens when a caring adult is invested in the life of a student.

HSM is at a turning point in our ministry – I believe that we have two choices – we can rely on more programs and hope to keep the growth, or we can focus on “good enough programs” and turn as much energy as possible into people. When we pour into a volunteer, we exponentially affect our youth ministry. When we pour into a student, we turn a nameless person in the crowd into a participant.

  • What would happen if that kid who visited your ministry for the first time went from “came with a friend” to “genuine seeker”?
  • What if a Sunday morning kid went from “forced by my parents to be here” to “diving deeply into my own faith”?
  • How about if “that one kid” became your example of what a student leader looks like?

I think it is possible – but only with a laser focus on relational ministry. Not on lasers.

FUTURE A
I imagine a typical life-cycle here – a youth ministry that eventually plateaus in participation and ends up with a nice highly-programmed youth ministry. The growth was amazing, but sometime (maybe even years) later  interest wains and the ministry begins to return to the new normal. The youth pastor leaves for another ministry while participation is still pretty much on top, and ever since there is only talk about “the glory days” of old. Still good youth ministry, still lives being changed, but leaves me with a lot of “what might have been” questions and thoughts.

FUTURE B
I imagine a future where programs still exist, but primarily as vehicles for conversations. We still focus on creative programs and be inventive about teaching the Bible, but there’s more than the show. Leaders always have time for people. We have ranks of volunteers waiting for small groups of students to fill them. And then it happens – after a little dip in participation (some kids only came for the lasers) participation grows to new heights. Because people are primary.

So just how are we going to pull this off? More soon.

JG

Comments (4)

Jarrod Newton at 12:34am January 29

I love this Josh. Lots of people talk about ‘people not programs’ but I think leaders are nervous about going there because a program is a nice tangible thing that makes it easy to justify to your boss why they shouldn’t fire you.

Thanks for your vision, your commitment and your heart for the Kingdom. And thanks for sharing the journey with the rest of us =)

John Harney at 5:41am February 1

About 2 years ago we started this radical shift too. Even killing small groups because it had become more program than relationship. It’s been really hard explaining to potential adult volunteers about “what” we do, but those who catch the vision are making kingdom differences.

I’m excited to hear this, and glad to have a brother on the journey, so we can share together. I need to get you out to VA sometime, would love your perspective. Come with Taffy and the band in March!?