Up or Down

As you start the new year, is your youth ministry heading up or down? Many of us who have been in youth ministry for a while know that you go through periods of growth and decline. I used to fear the times of decline because they were marked with adults and students leaving the ministry. What I came to find was that the times of decline made me a better youth worker because I was able to evaluate what was going wrong and make corrections. If you are faced this year with decline don’t be discouraged; instead, evaluate and make changes. You could be closer to a breakthrough then you think. If the year is starting with momentum, capitalize. Recruit more adult volunteers, challenge your students to build deep relationships with hurting students. Launch a new initiative; for example you may want to start an internship program, where college students can come and spend time in your ministry seeing it works. Whatever you do, seize the opportunity. Don’t just sit back and think, wow I am a good youth worker.