A few years ago, I conducted a thorough assessment of my youth ministry. As part of this, I surveyed students, interviewed them, and conducted focus groups for parents of former, current, and future students.
One of the findings that most surprised me from this process was how many families in my congregation didn’t even know our youth ministry existed. Several things contributed to this faulty assumption: Most people don’t actually understand the acronyms we often use to describe our high school youth ministry; Our youth room is extremely isolated, which contributes to the mentality, “Out of sight; Out of mind”; And as a lay staff member, I’m often not visible in Sunday morning worship.
Knowing this means that as a youth worker, I need to take advantage of every opportunity I have to share my youth ministry with my larger church community.
That’s why I try not to groan along with my colleagues when our secretary gently reminds us that Friday is the deadline for our monthly church newsletter.
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