Fall is almost here, and with it comes all sorts of opportunities to kick your school year off well. Unfortunately, many youth groups, coming off a busy summer season, squander the chance to leverage the start of another new school year. Want to ensure you have a forgetful fall….a lackluster school year launch. Here are some tips!
Don’t try anything new. You might have some pretty decent fall traditions in your youth group—stuff you’ve done ever since Paul Revere was in junior high. But even good traditions and successful programs get stale and boring after a while. I think it is often better to mix things up….even at the risk of the new stuff not being as good as the old stuff…than it is to be predictable. If you want your students to quickly forget the fall, just do what you’ve always done.
Make poor assumptions. It’s easy to assume that your volunteer team feels equipped and empowered for the fall. It’s easy to assume that families and students want a slow fall. It’s easy to assume the awesome summer camp stories you shared with the elder team will carry you through until Christmas. It’s easy to assume that your pastor isn’t really paying attention to the youth group in the fall because he/she didn’t pay much attention in the summer. Instead, look for ways to proactively address these and other areas of your ministry that will help build momentum heading into fall.
Neglect your soul. If you’re like me, the fall is usually my personal “dry season.” Because we try to plan for a great fall during an already busy summer, our youth ministry team always seems to hit the ground sprinting when fall arrives. As a result, I find that it’s really easy for me to neglect my soul. I tend to spend less time in the word, less time at the feet of the Father, and less time resting during the fall. And when I forget to nurture my soul, forgetful ministry results.
I know your summer has been a busy one, and I hope it has been full of God’s richest blessings upon you, your family, and the ministry you lead. As the school year approaches, plan now to try some new things, refuse to assume things are what you think they are, and commit to nurturing your soul…and you just may have a fall you’ll never forget!
-Kurt
