Inspiration for the September Kickoff

on May 25th, 2008

You’ve used the same format for the last 5 years.
It was innovative at the time, but you’re now in a rut.
You’ve got a ton invested in the way you’ve always done it,
but you’re not sure you’re as effective as you could be.

If you’re anything like me, this is the time of the year when weekend services can become mundane and formulaic. Attendance has plateaued or is even dropping off before summer, and  it is hard to stay motivated in the moment to try something new. As you think about your “relaunch” next September, here’s a few sources for possible inspiration:

Visit another church
I remember heading down to visit a different church every few weeks for inspiration. Part of it was to just soak up a service in a place where people didn’t know I was a pastor and I could enjoy some spiritual quietness with God. The other half of it was that I was eagerly watching everything they did and seeing how it could translate. I’m not talking about being an idea pirate, I’m saying keep your eyes open and find an excuse to see another church in action and look for transferable concepts.

Watch services online
There’s a ton of churches showing their services online. Curiously, very few student ministries are doing that. Regardless, there’s plenty of opportunity to see a ministry far removed from your geography by watching their services online. If you can’t visit them in person, visit them on the internet. And conferences are a good course to watch online as well – usually the best of the best weekend programming end up at a conference, so whatever they show/post there is usually some really great stuff.

Hit a few other channels
There’s some good in reading through the latest youth ministry magazine or browsing through youth ministry podcasts.Hit up YouTube to see what people have uploaded recently under the search “youth ministry funny” or “youth ministry drama” and you might be surprised what you will find. I’m amazed to see such good ideas just floating in the free space. And don’t forget about blogs and websites – there’s great series ideas, talk outlines, and more available a click away.

Try a few “what if games” on a white board - dump all of your preconceived ideas on to a clean white board and start saying “what if.” What if we moved the format around like this? What if we added a recurring time every week here? What if we taught a series completely on video? What if we had a takeaway for each series? What if we had small groups as part of the weekend service? What if we had a different speaker each week? What if we changed rooms? Times? What if a student spoke every weekend? If you’re looking for inspiration, the question “what if” could become your best friend.

JG


View More:

Leave a Comment

steven at 7:46pm May 26

Thanks for this…I’m in the rut, the lull, the what in the world am I going to do, is my time here done, what’s next, I’m bored, I’m unmotivated frame right now. It’s good to know that I’m not alone with this.

Tim at 9:59pm May 26

Great suggestions, although I think you missed the most important one: prayer. A close second is vision.