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Monthly youth leaders column

September is another year!

The cycle of youth ministry tends to see September as the ‘new start’. Some of the young people have moved on and some are joining new groups. It’s so easy to see a new start as just like it was a year ago — I just have to gear up for the Friday night meeting, the Sunday meeting and try to be a bit better organised than I was last year.

If you feel like that then you’re approaching the new year in an organisational way not in a ministry way.

I spent 12 years in one church and so I had quite a few September start-ups and tried, after the first two or three, to make each September contain something fresh. Perhaps the first stage is not obvious

Prayer

Before the term kicks in, what are the priorities for the group for the coming year? That question needs time for reflection and prayer before action takes place. What are the spiritual demands this group are going to make on leaders during the coming year? What are the things we need to teach — not that we just teach into felt needs but we certainly need to be aware of the spiritual needs of the group. A quiet day of reflection and prayer is no replacement for a day spent organising and planning — they are both useful preparation for a new year of ministry.

Leaders

Your team is crucial — they need to be prepared for the new year and catch something of the vision for what is to come. If it’s possible to get them together before the first group meeting so that your team is together before the first group meeting, it can be very helpful. You could spend the evening talking about the year ahead and the young people you serve and how ‘exciting it’s going to be teaching Ephesians’ and look at the Bible together before you get to actually teaching it to the group. Allow leaders to share with each other, the pressures they feel under in their own lives and encourage a real spirit of prayer.

Planning

I’m told that before a ball is bowled in a test match, the team have worked out, in detail, the way to bowl to every batsman in the opposition team. We will encounter opposition as we teach the word of God faithfully and one of the ways our opposition would love to undermine us is in our lack of planning. When you start in September you need to know the plan for every group meeting until at least Christmas and preferably who’s doing what. Some leaders like some time to prepare their talks and, if we live on a hand to mouth weekly basis, many people find that it is too pressured. The attraction of spontaneity has often led youth leaders into last-minute planning. Why not give your team a diary for the term ahead with all the commitments they will be expected to fulfil, including leaders’ meetings with a note on the bottom which says, ‘Please let me know if you’re not going to make it to any of these meetings’. I have often dealt with leaders who feel aggrieved by the lack of commitment of their team only to find that most meetings are arranged by email the day before.

Resources

What do you need for the new term? When I was in full-time work, I really enjoyed August because it gave me time to check that all the resources were ready for the new start. If you’re running a club/drop-in, make sure all the gear works, any food is bought, the data projector works well with your lap top, and so on. Returning young people will see that time has been put in and that you mean business for the year ahead

First meeting

They say first impressions are lasting and your first meeting is important. Never give the feeling that it’s the old team and material that have just been rolled out for another season. This is a fresh start. It’s good to introduce your team again and maybe give some verse(s) which set the tone for the year ahead. And be ready — make sure you have a decent running order for the evening and that everything you need for the evening is in place. Our prayer is that God will richly bless you, not only with a good start but with a year of ministry which will be a blessing for the young people in your group.

Dave Fenton

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<< September 2007 >>