So about Youth Ministry Lessons… If you work in youth ministry, you know that today’s teens can be hard to engage.
But is there anything we can do about it?
I believe there are 5 ways
Overview
- Make Youth Ministry Lessons Bible Centered
- Make Youth Ministry Lessons Passionate
- Make Youth Ministry Lessons Real
- Make Youth Ministry Lessons Practical
- Be More Concerned about being Honest than being liked.
Step 1: Make Youth Ministry Lessons Bible Centered
Teens have had enough adults telling personal victory stories seasoned with a little biblical truth here and there.
Teens want meat!
They want to dig in. They want someone who will tell them what the Bible actually says, and for that you will need to study hard. Consider 2 Timothy 2:15
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)
As we get up each youth meeting to share the word, it must be God’s Word and not ours.
Why? Because it automatically removes ulterior motives.
Doesn’t make sense? Let me explain.
When you tell your story, using the Bible only as a glorified backup singer, teens may sense that you are just trying to become famous or liked. So they take everything you say with that presupposition.
When you tell them what the Bible says, they realize it has nothing to do with how much they like you, it is all about giving them truth.
Step 2: Make Youth Ministry Lessons Passionate
No matter your subject, you should be passionate about delivering it. Passion doesn’t always mean going crazy, but it does mean they see that this means something to you.
When you speak, can people tell that this is personal to you? Can they tell that you really think this will help them?
This leads into the third step…
Step 3: Make Youth Ministry Lessons Real
Teens have exceptional authenticity radar. They can spot a fake a mile away. Passion will never trump authenticity for teens attention. So don’t try to be someone else.
Deliver the truth with your own sense of passion. And at all costs, be real! Show them how much this actually means to you. Walk the walk.
Teens can’t follow a youth leader who isn’t going the way themselves.
If you want teens to listen, live what you are about to teach and preach from the place of authenticity.
Step 4: Make Youth Ministry Lessons Practical
Teens want to hear the Bible, but sometimes the Bible can feel abstract. It is your job to help take the abstract and make it concrete.
Take the abstract truth of “Self-Sacrifice” and put meat on it. Ask them if they consider themselves to be self-sacrificial. But don’t stop there.
Go beyond that to create scenarios where they are on trial. Ask questions like, “If you were at school, and someone was missing their lunch, are you the kind of person who is willing to give up yours so that they can eat? That is self sacrifice.”
This helps teens take the Bible and live it! And a teen who knows how to use Bible truths is a teen who will tune in for more.
Step 5: Be Honest, Period.
I shortened the title for length reasons, but the main thought is this… Be more concerned about being honest than being liked.
This is probably the most important for all youth workers and church workers alike.
We must guard our motives. It is easy to want to make messages that make us likable. It is easy to be so consumed with the desire to be liked that we soften the truth.
Teens can see this, and it comes off fake.
Tell the teens before hand that because you love them, you are going to tell them the truth, even if that means they don’t like you afterward. Tell them:
“If I cared more about me, I wouldn’t tell you this! I would only tell you things that make you like me. But because I love you, I have to tell you exactly what the Bible says.”
They will respect that.
This alone builds more trust than anything else. Because they know, you would rather them dislike you then watch them destroy their lives.
That is love.
DISCLAIMER: This article didn’t cover delivery style, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t important. You can take these steps and abuse them by being hateful. Please speak the truth in love.
About the Author: Addison Smith is a youth pastor and church media leader. Read his story from agnostic to pastor here