How to Grow Already Existing Ministries this Year!
The driving ambition of any Young Life team is to get to know (and eventually reach for Christ) as many kids in a given school, town, or neighborhood as possible. Therefore, it is befitting that one of our mission goals this year is for all clubs around schools to involve a minimum of an additional 1% of the student population. In other words, we are not only interested in thinking about how to get the next new ministry started, but all of us, staff, committees, and volunteer leaders also want to strategize how to reach more kids for Christ through our existing ministries.
Most of us have experienced the sense of fulfillment that follows a great club meeting – one where
the program clicked, lots of kids, both new and old friends filled the room, and when the speaker shared the message all eyes were forward and you could hear a pin drop. The Lord continues to meet kids in the local club in powerful ways, just as He has for the past seventy-five years in Young Life and the last thirty years in Capernaum. The average Capernaum ministry has about 16 kids with disabilities in attendance. While we may not be interested in building huge clubs, we would like to reach more kids in our existing ministries. So, here are some field-tested ingredients for success.
Most of the suggestions below have probably been integrated into your ministry plan at one time or another. But there may be three or four ideas your team could focus on to do better this semester that could make a 20% difference in your club. Now that is motivating! See what your team comes up with.
1) Prayer is the bread and butter of what we do. We should pray individually, pray as a team, develop praying adults around each ministry, and develop a prayer strategy with a core group of kids involved in the ministry. Let’s pray more!
2) Excel at contact work - There is no substitute for going to kids on their turf and initiating friendship with them. Contact work has been the backbone of Young Life since our inception. Please don’t cheat yourself, or your team, by attempting to succeed by any other means. We need to challenge ourselves to invest the hours necessary to truly impact kids' lives.
3) Major in the message – Let the talk be the focal point of the club, and free the speaker up to have quality time to prepare an excellent message. Jim Rayburn used to say that if we fail to challenge kids with something to believe, and something to do as a result of our message, we have cheated them. Kids must feel our passion for them to not only hear our message, but to be changed by it. Let’s remember to treat our friends with dignity as we prepare well for sharing the message – making it relevant and simple to understand does not mean it won’t take hard work to prepare and deliver.
4) Win parents – Take an extra step to communicate with parents. As we win them, we earn the right to engage with their sons and daughters. A core group of supportive parents contacting other parents they know can create enthusiasm and confidence in the ministry. Another idea is to hold a BBQ or dessert to educate parents about the benefits of what Young Life offers. Start a regular mailing that communicates the what, where and when of upcoming events.
5) Call kids/parents - Have leaders and buddies call their friends the night before club to let them know they hope to see them. This gives your leadership team more ownership in what is going to take place. Offering reminders to kids and their parents increases attendance.
6) Develop a detailed invitation strategy with your team and core group of kids, so a broad section of kids in the school community are invited to each club. Ideas might include:
8) Develop a ride-to-club network - Just as we would never want a kid to miss camp because of a lack of funds, we would also hate for a kid to miss club because they didn’t have a ride. There are plenty of people available in our communities to help transport kids to club who could not otherwise get there. This also gives us an excuse to call kids the night before club to see if they need a ride.
9) Give parents and buddies ownership – Develop a core group of parents and buddies to give ownership of the club. Involve this group in the planning, preparation and implementation of club, and cast a vision for what we are doing and why. Set them up for success to run skits, lead songs and help with games; basically, give them a reason for being there. You might ask your Capernaum friends at the beginning of each semester what they would like to do. Ideas such as mini golf, roller skating, rock climbing and special theme clubs emerge from the group. The parent involvement will help generate enthusiasm to other parents.
10) Host special non-club events sponsored by Capernaum – Sometimes getting new kids to come to club, and convincing their parents, can be a challenge. Therefore, hosting some special Capernaum-sponsored activities that are sure to be winners is a good way to expand your influence in a school. A bowling tournament (or other competition), talent show, pizza party, video scavenger hunt, trip to an amusement park, movie night (drive-in style with projector and sound system), or a county fair (like at camp) are just a few suggestions.
11) Give special recognition to the various groups – For example, some friends participate in Unified Sports or Special Olympics – have an event to celebrate those athletes. This can be a special event, either following Capernaum club or maybe a separate event just for them. Here they are made to feel special and recognized, and this gives more kids in that group and their parents an incentive to participate.
12) Recruit two new/diverse leaders for your club - It's crucial for kids to connect with a leader in order to become a core member of the club. Each volunteer leader during the course of the year brings new kids to club as a result of their contact work – and depending upon the variety of backgrounds, some will bring more. College leaders are fun, energetic and creative, and they tend to have the time to lead. The right parents can be great assets to a team as they network so naturally with other parents. The right teachers can help as well. A wrap-around or aide in a classroom could be a powerful leader because of the contacts they have and the trust they’ve earned with parents and students. It is important to find out what each leader can commit to and be clear with expectations.
13) Make teacher contacts – A leader nearby just told me of his introduction to a teacher at the middle school where he does ministry. Previously, the team was not allowed at the school ever. This teacher said she can probably open the door to some regular contact work opportunities. Many special education teachers are willing to let Capernaum leaders help out in the classroom. Some teams have hosted teacher breakfasts to educate teachers about our work.
14) Take attendance – Have a leader, or parent volunteer, silently take attendance at meetings. This accomplishes several things:
16) Offer a Bring a friend/Sibling night for high school club kids – When there is a traditional YL club in the high school you are targeting for Capernaum, it can be a great boost to have a Capernaum leader give a two-minute pitch at one of the high school clubs or Campaigners. The sell would go something like this: "How many of you have siblings or know kids in the Life Skills/Special Ed classroom? How many of you normally ask them to go out with you on the weekend? Just as I thought, no one. What do you think it would do for them if you invited them to come out with you just one time? That's what I want to ask you to do. This Saturday, we are holding Capernaum, and we want all of you to bring someone from the special needs class with you just this once. You will model to them how to act in club – laughing hard at the skits, singing at the top of your lungs and paying close attention when the speaker delivers the message. We will follow up with them, and you'll never need to do anything else unless you want to. Who's in?"
Most of us have experienced the sense of fulfillment that follows a great club meeting – one where
Most of the suggestions below have probably been integrated into your ministry plan at one time or another. But there may be three or four ideas your team could focus on to do better this semester that could make a 20% difference in your club. Now that is motivating! See what your team comes up with.
1) Prayer is the bread and butter of what we do. We should pray individually, pray as a team, develop praying adults around each ministry, and develop a prayer strategy with a core group of kids involved in the ministry. Let’s pray more!
2) Excel at contact work - There is no substitute for going to kids on their turf and initiating friendship with them. Contact work has been the backbone of Young Life since our inception. Please don’t cheat yourself, or your team, by attempting to succeed by any other means. We need to challenge ourselves to invest the hours necessary to truly impact kids' lives.
3) Major in the message – Let the talk be the focal point of the club, and free the speaker up to have quality time to prepare an excellent message. Jim Rayburn used to say that if we fail to challenge kids with something to believe, and something to do as a result of our message, we have cheated them. Kids must feel our passion for them to not only hear our message, but to be changed by it. Let’s remember to treat our friends with dignity as we prepare well for sharing the message – making it relevant and simple to understand does not mean it won’t take hard work to prepare and deliver.
4) Win parents – Take an extra step to communicate with parents. As we win them, we earn the right to engage with their sons and daughters. A core group of supportive parents contacting other parents they know can create enthusiasm and confidence in the ministry. Another idea is to hold a BBQ or dessert to educate parents about the benefits of what Young Life offers. Start a regular mailing that communicates the what, where and when of upcoming events.
5) Call kids/parents - Have leaders and buddies call their friends the night before club to let them know they hope to see them. This gives your leadership team more ownership in what is going to take place. Offering reminders to kids and their parents increases attendance.
6) Develop a detailed invitation strategy with your team and core group of kids, so a broad section of kids in the school community are invited to each club. Ideas might include:
- Mailings • Maps • Phone calls
- Campus visits • Posters • Theme clubs
- Announcements at club
- Team competitions with student captains recruiting their teams
8) Develop a ride-to-club network - Just as we would never want a kid to miss camp because of a lack of funds, we would also hate for a kid to miss club because they didn’t have a ride. There are plenty of people available in our communities to help transport kids to club who could not otherwise get there. This also gives us an excuse to call kids the night before club to see if they need a ride.
9) Give parents and buddies ownership – Develop a core group of parents and buddies to give ownership of the club. Involve this group in the planning, preparation and implementation of club, and cast a vision for what we are doing and why. Set them up for success to run skits, lead songs and help with games; basically, give them a reason for being there. You might ask your Capernaum friends at the beginning of each semester what they would like to do. Ideas such as mini golf, roller skating, rock climbing and special theme clubs emerge from the group. The parent involvement will help generate enthusiasm to other parents.
10) Host special non-club events sponsored by Capernaum – Sometimes getting new kids to come to club, and convincing their parents, can be a challenge. Therefore, hosting some special Capernaum-sponsored activities that are sure to be winners is a good way to expand your influence in a school. A bowling tournament (or other competition), talent show, pizza party, video scavenger hunt, trip to an amusement park, movie night (drive-in style with projector and sound system), or a county fair (like at camp) are just a few suggestions.
11) Give special recognition to the various groups – For example, some friends participate in Unified Sports or Special Olympics – have an event to celebrate those athletes. This can be a special event, either following Capernaum club or maybe a separate event just for them. Here they are made to feel special and recognized, and this gives more kids in that group and their parents an incentive to participate.
12) Recruit two new/diverse leaders for your club - It's crucial for kids to connect with a leader in order to become a core member of the club. Each volunteer leader during the course of the year brings new kids to club as a result of their contact work – and depending upon the variety of backgrounds, some will bring more. College leaders are fun, energetic and creative, and they tend to have the time to lead. The right parents can be great assets to a team as they network so naturally with other parents. The right teachers can help as well. A wrap-around or aide in a classroom could be a powerful leader because of the contacts they have and the trust they’ve earned with parents and students. It is important to find out what each leader can commit to and be clear with expectations.
13) Make teacher contacts – A leader nearby just told me of his introduction to a teacher at the middle school where he does ministry. Previously, the team was not allowed at the school ever. This teacher said she can probably open the door to some regular contact work opportunities. Many special education teachers are willing to let Capernaum leaders help out in the classroom. Some teams have hosted teacher breakfasts to educate teachers about our work.
14) Take attendance – Have a leader, or parent volunteer, silently take attendance at meetings. This accomplishes several things:
- It helps identify new kids who should be followed up with a phone call and parent letter.
- It identifies regular attendees who were absent so a leader can call them to let them know they were missed – someone actually noticed!
- It points to patterns of attendance the team can address in its planning and follow-up.
- It helps us keeps our friends safe as we know who is in the building with us in case of an emergency.
16) Offer a Bring a friend/Sibling night for high school club kids – When there is a traditional YL club in the high school you are targeting for Capernaum, it can be a great boost to have a Capernaum leader give a two-minute pitch at one of the high school clubs or Campaigners. The sell would go something like this: "How many of you have siblings or know kids in the Life Skills/Special Ed classroom? How many of you normally ask them to go out with you on the weekend? Just as I thought, no one. What do you think it would do for them if you invited them to come out with you just one time? That's what I want to ask you to do. This Saturday, we are holding Capernaum, and we want all of you to bring someone from the special needs class with you just this once. You will model to them how to act in club – laughing hard at the skits, singing at the top of your lungs and paying close attention when the speaker delivers the message. We will follow up with them, and you'll never need to do anything else unless you want to. Who's in?"
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