I asked some youth pastors what their current needs were and this was one of their questions:
How can I get a more consistent groups of kids coming to youth group?
The answer is in the question. You get more consistent students when you are a more consistent youth pastor. Youth pastors who are always chasing the new and shiny will often see new kids show up but will lose some of the kids they have because they have created a shallow pool to swim in when those students wanted to go deeper.
I had a student ask me one time about why I wasn’t preaching deeper messages and I shared with them that we had a lot of students who didn’t know Christ and I was trying to help them understand the gospel, I was wrong. I should have been feeding my consistent kids consistently and they would have helped me with the new believers.
Here are 7 ways you can be more consistent
Consistently Create a Fun and Engaging Environment
Youth are drawn to places where they feel welcomed, accepted, and can have a good time. This means creating a positive atmosphere during youth group meetings. Incorporate games, activities, and events that cater to their interests.
Don’t be afraid to try new things and get their input on what they find fun. A fun environment isn’t just about entertainment; it’s about creating a safe space where they can be themselves and connect with others.
It’s not about offering more entertainment or exciting games, it’s about offing a consistent atmosphere of joy, friendship and opportunity to grow.
Consistently Build Relationships
Relationships are the cornerstone of any successful youth ministry. Young people are more likely to consistently attend if they feel a genuine connection with their leaders and other students. I do my best to Invest time in getting to know them individually.
I love it when students stop by my office before service or Sunday School. These are great times of investment even if our discussion are only a few minutes. Students feel heard and and seen because they have 100% of my attention.
If I know they have a school event, sports games, or performance, and they’d like me to come, I do my best to attend. Being a part time in youth pastor and in a different phase of life (read that is I am “slightly” older than most youth pastors, I do my best to show genuine interest in their lives, their hobbies, and their struggles.
I make the most of the times I do them than worry about the time I don’t see them. I know they follow me on Instagram so I try to re-post things to my stories that they might enjoy or might encourage them in their faith.
Building relationships takes time, intentionality and consistency but it’s the most valuable investment you can make.
Offer Relevant But Biblically Consistent Programming
The content of your youth group meetings should resonate with the challenges and experiences your students are facing but jumping from topic to topic may not be the best course of action. As youth pastors, our main objective, as I see it, is to disciple students and yes, talking about relevant topics is a part of that but should consistently be wrapped in a biblical context.
I love free flowing discussions with teens because I learn a lot but I have an agenda, to steer these conversations back to scripture, back to the gospel. Without a biblical foundations, youth meetings become therapy sessions that may give students some relief but offer’s no course of action to live for Christ, which should be the goal of every youth ministry.
There was a season where I set up my podcast stuff and offered to let my students discuss topics like peer pressure, social media, identity, and mental health but through a biblical lens. I use creative teaching methods, such as discussions, videos, and real-life examples, to make the message engaging and relatable. When youth see that the Bible has practical application to their lives, they are more likely to connect with it but we must offer it consistently.
Consistently Promote Your Youth Group
Don’t assume that your young people know what’s going in your youth group. They’re brains are all over the map and social media is offering them thousands of messages to keep their brains busy. You have to break through the noise if you want them to show up, consistently.
Utilize social media platforms they frequent, create eye-catching posts using Canva, and encourage current students to invite their friends. Partner with your church’s communication team to promote events in the church bulletin or website.
Word-of-mouth is also powerful, so encourage students to share their positive experiences at your youth meetings. Do interviews or have a content contest to see who can get the most likes on their posts, about the youth group, in one week.
Check my article: 35 ways to get the message out.
Consistently Empower Student Leadership
Student leadership is a fun to say yo have, but how real is it? How often do you give away the ministry? I’m not talking about setting up chairs, I’m talking program development, sharing the word, praying for others, etc. The meaty stuff that requires you to take more ownership and accountability.
Empowering student leadership is not giving them a role in the yearly Youth Sunday dog and pony show. Consistent student leadership development means making it a part of the DNA of your youth ministry, weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly.
Weekly – Tasks based on interest and/or skill, roles bases on God’s gifting (teaching, preaching, encouraging, etc.)
Monthly – Student led or student infused nights. Let them run the service. Teach them about leadership, lay the foundation and then let them plan and execute the service.
Quarterly – Let students shadow another ministry leader in your church to help them with their ministry, plan an outreach, etc.
Yearly – Youth Church take over with the goal of integrating students more into the life of the church, These students are not the churches labor force… they are co-laborers in Christ.
To put a bow on this: Consistently create space for students to lead.
My Youth Meeting Playbook bakes this into your youth meeting planning process so you do not forget.
Consistently Partner with Parents
Parents are the key influencers in their children’s lives. Allow me to offer some basic bullet points for consistently connecting with parents.
Keep parents informed about youth group activities, events, and curriculum.
Communicate regularly through email, newsletters, or parent meetings.
Seek their input and involvement whenever possible.
Find places on your team for parents to serve and to allow them to see the whole of the ministry and not just the shiny parts.
When parents are on board and understand the value of the youth ministry, they are more likely to support their children’s participation.
Consistently Pray
The bible beat me to this one when the Apostle Paul says,
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. I Thessalonians 5:16-18
Pray always means when you eat, work, serve, in scheduled times and in the wild, pray for students, your pastor, your church, yourself, you family. There is no bad time to pray.
Ultimately, the success of any youth ministry depends on God’s guidance and blessing. Praying consistently produces consistent results in you first and then in your youth ministry.
Getting an audience is hard. Sustaining an audience is hard. It demands a consistency of thought, of purpose, and of action over a long period of time. – Bruce Springsteen
What separates the good players from the greats people remember is consistency. – Premiere League Soccer/Futbol Coach, Ryan Mason
You don’t have to be great every week at youth, but show up consistently and greatness will come, you’ll get better over time, but starts with consistency.
If I can help you grow as a youth pastor, let’s set up a call to talk about coaching. Send an e-mail to thediscipleproject@gmail.com with the title: I want consistent coaching.