You MUST Have a Youth Ministry Game Plan –4

In our last three articles, I have been sharing the paramount importance of having a youth ministry game plan. Let’s review for a moment.

A youth ministry game plan is thinking through the process of what you want your teens to “look like” when they leave your ministry and how you are going to get them to that place. A youth ministry game plan details the big picture if what ministries and opportunities will be provided to students and the goals and objectives of each of those programs.
We learned in part one that a Youth Ministry Game Plan will attract and keep quality volunteers. In part two, we learned that a game plan will attract and keep teens. In the third article, we discussed how an effective Youth Ministry Game Plan can keep the church supportive. Finally, let’s see how a game plan to can help you.

4. An effective youth ministry game plan will keep you focused.
Finally, a great advantage to having a youth ministry game plan is it keeps you, the youth leader, focused on the goal. There are an abundance of opportunities available for youth ministries. Every week, my mailbox at church gets stuffed with advertisements from everything from mission trips to ski trips to cabin rentals to DVD sets and the latest and hottest curriculums. There are a plethora of items to choose from that the companies promise will “explode” my youth ministry to an “extreme” level. For me personally, my ministry also has many opportunities and ideas that come from people. Moms and dads and church leaders all know of a great place to go, thing to do, concert to attend, or movie to see. And I appreciate all of their thoughts and help.

When there is a youth ministry game plan in place, then youth leaders like you and I can hold the incoming opportunities up to the game plan and ask, “Does this fit?” If it does, keep it. If not, then dismiss it. The game plan keeps in the forefront of your mind those youth ministry issues that are most important to your church. The plan keeps the youth leader focused.

Let me give you an example. In my ministry, we have youth retreats which are a very effective means of encouraging my regular attendees and are great assimilation tools for new kids. In fact, 80% off teenagers I get on a retreat I can assimilate for at least one year in the ministry. Historically (for reasons I will not bore you with here) that retreat has been in October. Within a month before our youth retreat there are normally some very large concert/amusement park events not far from our church. I am bombarded with advertisements and normally asked if we will be taking a large group to one of those events. And each year, we do not formally have a trip to those events. Why is that? That decision is made based on our game plan. Our retreat costs $35 for the weekend. The concert/amusement park events are in the $50+ range. For many, many of my students, if their parents give them the $50+ for one event, it is very unlikely they will get the money to go on our retreat. This is important because the amusement park concert does not assimilate 80% of the participants, but the retreat does. I stand by the game plan.

Do not misunderstand me; I have no biblical objection to the large Christian event being offered. I just know that I can get the kids in the ministry longer term through the retreat weekend because that is a key element of our youth ministry game plan.

We have spent the last several articles discussing the importance of having a youth ministry game plan. Let spend a few moments taking a look at what a youth ministry game plan includes. The following is not exhaustive as the youth ministry game plan concept will be referred to often in subsequent chapters. The following are just some thoughts to get your mind working on your own fantastic game plan!

A youth ministry game plan starts at the end, not the beginning. The first thing you need to do is ask yourself this question, “What do I want my 12th graders to look like when they leave the ministry?” In other words, what does the ideal 12th grade graduate “look like” spiritually? Can he share his faith? Does she have firm understanding of the Bible? Can he defend his faith? Does she understand her spiritual gifts? Do they have firm grasp of basic theology? Do they have a solid grasp on relationship boundaries and the call for sexual purity? I could go on and on. But a game plan starts with interacting with these big questions.

A youth ministry game plan then details what ministries and programs will be used to get kids to that place you considered above. Within this, a leader must decide the purpose for each of the weekly meetings. For example, let’s assume your youth ministry includes a Sunday morning school class, a Sunday evening program and a Wednesday night program. Now, what are the purposes for each of those? Certainly all three of those meetings are going to be a place where Jesus Christ is foundational and the Bible is the heart and core (just checking to see if you read chapter one) But, are they all going to be Bible studies? Is one night going to have a certain focus versus the other night?

Outside of your weekly meetings, what other outside programs will mature your kids in the Lord. Is summer camp a priority for your game plan or summer missions? Will you use retreats or leadership development seminars with your kids? So the game plan will include not only your “at church” meetings outside events. Where do they fit in the big picture?

A good ministry game plan should also consider the best place for new kids to visit and be assimilated into the group. Certainly we would all take a new student in any of the ministries but is one of your weekly programs going to be aimed at outreach to other kids? Is that important to you? Your game should consider this.

Let’s bring this whole discussion to a conclusion. Youth ministries that do not have a game plan tend to wander, be distracted and ineffective at really reaching kids with the Gospel. Because of this, students and leaders alike get discouraged. When students and leaders get discouraged, they quit. And when they quit, they are hard to win back. I am not going to be so brazen as to announce that when you develop a youth ministry game plan all of your problems will go away. But I will tell you this for sure, if youth leaders will take the time to really think through a game plan and articulate to those who are impacted by it, then many, many youth ministry problems will go away.

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