Do You Want Youth Ministry To Have A Bigger Influence On The Church? Here’s Your Plan

Who’s had a huge influence on your life? Was it a parent or a teacher?Is it your child or maybe a teen in your ministry? If age doesn’t matter when it comes to influence then why do churches tend to separate them with certain programming?

Too often youth ministry can be seen as a burden to a church, when really it’s an opportunity to impact every generation. Recently I was listening to an interview with leadership guru, Ken Blanchard (You can listen to that interview HERE) where he discussed the power of cross generational mentoring. Instead of a young person only learning from someone older, it’s an opportunity  for the older participant to deepen their faith as well.

It’s through cross generational mentoring where members can form life changing relationships. It’s an opportunity to embrace wisdom and learn how to keep up with a quickly changing world.

If your church embraces a cross generational mentoring model not only will younger generations benefit, but so will older ones. So, how does one start?

To get Cross Generational Mentoring going in your church:

1. ENCOURAGE INTERGENERATIONAL MINISTRY TEAMS

Intergenerational ministry is when you have adults serve alongside of teens. You give an adult an opportunity to invest in the talents of a young person. It creates an apprenticeship model that deepens the bench strength of your teams.

At the same time intergenerational ministry provides young people the opportunity to lead adults. It’ll give them a taste of life after college where they have to work with people of different ages.

It’s through intergeneratioanl ministry where adults and teens learn and inspire one another because it forces you a little bit outside of your comfort zone.

2. BUILD UP SMALL GROUPS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION

When an adult leads a group of teens and kids they not only grow disciples but learn how to grow as one themselves. And that’s because Small groups promote dialogue that lead to faith challenging questions.

A teen might ask a question where the leader doesn’t now the answer. There could be a topic or situation that challenges the adult to look at their own faith.

Small groups are not only a place for faith to grow but relationships as well. Teens and adults will learn how to have conversations with people of different ages.

To learn more about small groups sign up for my webinar on September 11th by clicking HERE.

3. CULTIVATE A CULTURE OF SHARING

When are people sharing their faith journey? Does your church have a section on the website or during the weekend when someone can share how the church has helped their faith grow?

When your church encourages members to share how their life has changed because of Christ it can inspire others to get involved. Older generations will be inspired by those younger than them and younger generations will be given a picture of what their lives can become with Christ.

Start recording stories, save emails and share them with the people in your church. The more we hear about the impact the church has on our lives the more we’ll want to be a part of it.

Cross generational mentoring is more than just sitting down at a table in a coffee house talking about life. It’s an opportunity to have younger and older generations influence one another. It’s an opportunity for the church to go deeper in it’s relationship with Christ and wider with it’s influence to reach others.