Youth ministry cannot just be about what is going on in your church but also must be about equipping your students and leaders with youth ministry resources so that they can go out reach the community around them. Not just so they can bring them back into your ministry, while that is part of this, but also so they can meet the needs of people right where they are. This blend is so important because Jesus has called us to "go.' This means that we must go outside of the walls of our churches and not just wait for them to come to us. But the full statement is to "go and make disciples." Therefore we must also find ways to bring people in who we reach so they can become part of a loving community and be discipled. I want to take a few moments though to give you some tips on how to do outreach. Not from some high and mighty position where I think that I have it all figured out, because I do not. But instead from a place of wanting to share with you some things that I have learned over the years that helped me transform how I do outreach and also helped me make sure that I was not doing more harm than good.
1. Student driven.- Any outreach you do needs to be student driven. First of all, it needs to be done by your students or at least they need to play a major role in what is going on. Our ministries can no longer be about telling students to bring their friends to come and see our show. Therefore you must equip your students to go out and reach their friends in their communities and on their campuses. You need to train them in how to share the Gospel and how to minister to the whole person. And then you need to make sure that you love and support them when the road gets hard. But also, if you are doing an outreach on your church campus, let students help plan and run the event. Because the other part of being student driven is that you need to make sure that the event you plan matches the culture of the community you live in and the needs that it has. And who better to help you with that than the students who live in it every day.
2. Mix it up.- I do think you should have a blend of events on your church property that are geared towards community outreach and also sending your students out into the community itself. Because again, at the end of the day the goal is to help students experience life change so they can be discipled and become life changers. And a big part of this is them being a part of the church. Plus, the community around you needs to know the church is there and that the church cares about them. So yes, I do think from time to time you should do events like back to school bashes, basketball tournaments, cookouts, game nights. etc. But remember, even with those it still should all be student driven and about your students connecting with other students who come.
3. Gospel centered.- I have said this several times and want to say it again. Everything we should do should come down to us finding a way to eventually share the Gospel with others. So if your students are going and doing outreach outside of the walls of the church, make sure they are trained in how to share their faith with others. And if you are doing an event inside the church, make sure that the Gospel is part of your event in some way, be it from the stage or in personal conversations.
These are just a few of my thoughts on outreach. I would love to hear from you though. What are you doing to reach out to your community and to equip your students to be prepared for those opportunities?
1. Student driven.- Any outreach you do needs to be student driven. First of all, it needs to be done by your students or at least they need to play a major role in what is going on. Our ministries can no longer be about telling students to bring their friends to come and see our show. Therefore you must equip your students to go out and reach their friends in their communities and on their campuses. You need to train them in how to share the Gospel and how to minister to the whole person. And then you need to make sure that you love and support them when the road gets hard. But also, if you are doing an outreach on your church campus, let students help plan and run the event. Because the other part of being student driven is that you need to make sure that the event you plan matches the culture of the community you live in and the needs that it has. And who better to help you with that than the students who live in it every day.
2. Mix it up.- I do think you should have a blend of events on your church property that are geared towards community outreach and also sending your students out into the community itself. Because again, at the end of the day the goal is to help students experience life change so they can be discipled and become life changers. And a big part of this is them being a part of the church. Plus, the community around you needs to know the church is there and that the church cares about them. So yes, I do think from time to time you should do events like back to school bashes, basketball tournaments, cookouts, game nights. etc. But remember, even with those it still should all be student driven and about your students connecting with other students who come.
3. Gospel centered.- I have said this several times and want to say it again. Everything we should do should come down to us finding a way to eventually share the Gospel with others. So if your students are going and doing outreach outside of the walls of the church, make sure they are trained in how to share their faith with others. And if you are doing an event inside the church, make sure that the Gospel is part of your event in some way, be it from the stage or in personal conversations.
These are just a few of my thoughts on outreach. I would love to hear from you though. What are you doing to reach out to your community and to equip your students to be prepared for those opportunities?
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