the beginning of a new school year!

The question has been asked about my experiences with hot to transition or welcome the incoming students in an effective and impactful way. To be honest, this is one of the areas of student ministry that I have struggled with over the years, especially as it relates to the size of your student ministry. I have worked in healthy growing churches where our student ministry was thriving... the challenge was always to make a smaller group of students fit into and feel accepted by the larger crowd; a tough challenge in any organization. I have worked in smaller churches which struggled to draw a crowd of any sizable amount and the lack of enthusiasm for the incoming students was palpable. What to do as we approach another new school year and another season to welcome the new incoming class into our ministries?

Of one thing I am sure of... and Doug Fields has always been right on target with this nugget of truth. Find adults and older students to be in relationship/friendship with your new "class" who absolutely "love Jesus and like students"! Our kids deserve adults in their lives who like them for who they are and are not always feeling the need to change them over to mature Christian leaders from the very first moment in the very first meeting. You know when your team of adult leaders are connecting with students... they are talking with and laughing with the students rather than standing around at the edge of the room talking with each other. If adults volunteers show up to your meetings and talk with each other and only talk with the kids when it is time for the "lesson" you need to find some new adult leaders!

On the program side of things, I have always designated a "special Sunday" where we welcome the new students and their parents to the ministry. I have tried to put a fresh spin on the classic idea of "promotion Sunday". Usually, I designate the time slot when the youth group usually meets and we take the kids for the morning and help them get to know their new friends at church through a variety of mixer games and teachable moments involving our scripture focus that drives our ministry. (Do you have a scripture passage that your student ministry claims as its guiding force? Do you have a mission, vision and value statements which drive the direction of your ministry? More on that later!) I usually spend the morning with parents sharing the "nuts and bolts" of the ministry and I try to cast vision so that they will "buy into" the direction we are going and they will want to jump in and help! Usually late that same Sunday, we have a big event for Middle school students and High school students, separately. In the off chance that people are really busy on the "kick-off" Sunday, then we spend the afternoon together... usually outside and some cool park, etc. playing games, eating food, and learning to make new friends. I want the whole day/time together to be a celebration of community and what God is doing in our lives!

It hasn't always gone smoothly but I hope over the years kids have felt welcomed and loved. That is all I really want out of the first couple months as new kids assimilate into our ministry... they will learn to love God, feel that love and be accepted by others on the journey. I would love to hear what you all do to welcome the incoming students into your ministry... let me know! Great ideas in youth ministry are always "borrowed" and tweaked! Celebrate the new beginning of another new school year. Peace