Page 43 - Youth Discipleship Student Textbook

3. Do they have a talent or skills that will benefit the youth ministry? Most people will have
some skill that they can contribute. Find out what their talents and skills may be and how
they would fit together and complement others on the team.
4. Can they communicate and relate to youth?
5. Can you see them participating and contributing to a ministry team?

5. Meet with you ministry team and go over the philosophy of youth ministry. Make sure they fully
understand what is planned and what the goals of the youth ministry are. Make sure every member of
the ministry team agrees with all the points of your philosophy of ministry. Amos 3:3 says, “Do two walk
together unless they have agreed to do so?”

6. Create an organizational plan for meeting dates. Plan what you will do when the youth come
together. Will you start out with singing? A testimony time? Bible study? Fun event? Refreshments?
In other words, come up with a schedule that fits you philosophy of ministry and that will accomplish
your goals for the students. You may plan weekly meetings, special events, ministry opportunities, etc.
Brainstorm with your team and come up with a plan that you can write down on a calendar.

7. Advertise your plan. Make sure the students in your church and in the greater community know that
you are planning a time and place for meeting. Make sure you have something special that you can
include in the communication that will attract students to the meeting. Remember, youth students
have special needs. Most teenagers have powerful desires for autonomy, a strong connection with their
peers, feeling important and respected, and the need to develop their own personal identity separate
from their parents. Perhaps your event can partially meet one of those needs. That will motivate
students to come and find out what is going on in your youth ministry.

8. As you see certain students in your youth ministry begin to respond to the direction you are seeking
to take them, perhaps select a few to meet with personally to have a time of discipleship. Pick a time
and place for a meeting with them. Be sure to avoid the appearance of evil in meeting alone with a girl
in the youth group. Meet with them in groups, not alone. Shortly we will be studying how to take a
committed youth through the process of discipleship.

9. Again, a word of caution: Don’t model your youth ministry after the entertainment of the world.
Years ago, I attended a Youth Ministry conference and one of the speakers was a youth minister who
had over 200 youth attending his meetings. We were invited to come to see the youth meetings in
person, so I went. I had a youth group of 13 students and wanted the group to grow in numbers. I
wanted to know what he did to draw so many students!

When I arrived at the church, the room was dark except for strobe and colored lights on the stage. The
students were all sitting on the floor and there was a bunch of them. They started out with a skit
entitled, “the enlarger.” They took a small item, threw it behind a screen, and a larger item would come
out. They started out throwing in a small ball, and a large ball came back out. They threw in various
items, each flying out much larger. Finally, the had a stuffed monkey dressed in a diaper and threw it
behind the screen. Out came the youth pastor, totally undressed, but with a diaper on. I was shocked!
The kids all cheered and laughed.

The meeting proceeded with other fun and games, loud rock and roll style music, the kids all waving
their hands to the beat. I have seen rock concerts on TV, and this looked exactly like one. They

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