Building sustainable Youth Ministries... One church at a time.
FAQ's
Q: Is there a book like Sustainable Youth Ministry for the whole church?
A: This is a question we're getting quite a lot and in fact we're doing more and more seminars for Pastors on just this topic! We're guessing there are such books, but we haven't found them yet. Some churches are choosing simply to adapt the priciples in Sustainble to the whole church. We have seen the principles from the book apply particularly well to Children's Ministry.
Q: In the book you talk about the $1000 a kid ratio. How'd you get that?
A: After having done over 100 assessments with all kinds and sizes of different churches, we settled on this number as what seemed to be "normal." Though some churches spend more per kid and some spent less, we've found this number to be a pretty faithful representation of what "normal capacity" looks like.
Q: Our church is steeped in traditions and refuses to change. I have a hard time getting our volunteers who've been on board for many years to understand that youth ministry si more than an hours on Wednesday and an hour on Sunday. I am beginning to lose momentum and energy. Is there any advice you can give me?
A: One of our mottos is "evolution, not revolution." If you can joyfully sustain a direction for the youth ministry, people will eventually come on board. You probably have already discovered that selling a "new model" of youth mininstry is nearly impossible with the folks you've got on board.
We prefer to help people move one step, one person at a time. Likely there is one volunteer who would be willing to do things just a little differently, pursuing kids a little more intentionally. This is a one on one transformation process.
Your volunteers need to sense that you are responsive to their input. The key at this point is to get everyone embracing the same vision...seeing kids grow toward maturity in Christ, living as lifelong disciples. The model is secondary...purpose driven, family-based, whatever...these are secondary to having everyone sharing the same vision and then sharing with you in praying through what God would have your church do next.
They key is to help the church discern their vision for the youth ministry, rather than selling your vision to them.
Q: What are some ways we can interest our teens in God's word?
The older our kids get, the more they need adults outside the family who can help them learn to love God in ways that we might not be able to.
You might also take a look at www.homeword.com. Those guys do a lot of work trying to answer this very question.
Q: It is my desire to instill a love for god in the whole family, not simply the teens, but I am having very little success. My teens go thorugh times of real passion for Christ, but soon give up because they see no examples of that same passion at home. I have tried to get my Pastor to help me in discipling the adults, but he only reaches out to them if he is asked....and frankly, I can count on one hand the times I have been asked to dsciple.
A: We've got some good news for you...Your current pastor's style will not keep you from discipling kids. In fact, your effectiveness at discipling kids may have an impact on the entire church culture.
You will feel increasingly powerless when you focus on what your pastor is or isn't doing. That is really not something you can handle. I have had 9 bosses as senior pastors, so I can tell you that where your pastor is is very normal. I'd relax about what he's not doing and focus your energy on building relationships with students and leading them toward maturity in Christ.
This is long, slow, frustrating work (otherwise there would be lots of us out there doing it!). Practice the "long obedience in the same direction." After you have been able to shift the culture of the youth ministry, then your boss might begin to take notice of your recommendations. But until then, focusing on his failures will just be a distraction from what God has called you to do.
Q: What is Family-Based Youth Ministry anyway?
A: Family-Based Youth Ministry is about accessing the God-designed structures of the nuclear family and the extended family of the church to help young people grow toward mature Christian adulthood. Today, FBYM is one of the most successful models for youth ministry in America. Rather than trying to find the perfect youth leader, FBYM helps churches implement a youth ministry and structure that any youth leader can learn. In this way, the ministry stays on course, regardless of how many different youth leaders pass through your church's doors. Mark DeVries named and defined this model over 15 years ago in his book by the same title and the book was just revised, updated and re-released in 2004. You can read more about the book, Family-Based Youth Ministry published by InterVarsity Press through this web link.
Q: We are having a Family-Based meeting with our youth and their parents. Do you have any guidelines or suggestions as we gather, adults and youth together? I know adults can easily dominate and I want to ensure the youth have a voice in the conversation.
A: Thanks, for letting us in on the fun of the family-based initiatives you are launching. I've got a few ideas for you as far as giving the kids a voice...
Got a question for us? Let us know!
