Youth Network shares ideas on ‘sealing the cracks’
How can we stop the alarming rate of attrition from Christian youth groups, as students transition from junior high to high school to college? This question was posed to a group of Poway area youth pastors at their monthly Network meeting. They are members of the National Network of Youth Ministries, an organization that links youth workers together to share resources, promote spiritual growth, and to encourage each other. “Studies have shown that one-third of all students actively involved in a church youth ministry drop out as they make the transition to the next level of school,” explained Doug Clark, director of Network Field Ministries. “That means that only a small percentage of those currently involved in junior high youth groups will still be involved as freshmen in college. We want to find ways to ‘seal the cracks’ that students are falling through.”
Ken McCoy, who operates Jumpstart, a ministry designed to help small churches grow a healthy youth ministry, moderated the roundtable discussion. He began with an analogy to a long distance relay race. “The key to winning this kind of race is in the passing of the baton. The race can be won or lost at the hand-off points...it has to be a smooth transition. How can we successfully pass students on to the next level without losing them by the wayside?” Steve Lewis, youth pastor at First Baptist Church of Poway spoke first. “There’s a strong ‘fear factor’ for junior high students getting ready to enter the high school youth group. We hold a formal graduation ceremony, and ask each student to make a firm commitment to attend the high school youth group...to at least try it. As they honor their commitment, they usually like what they see and stay.”
Drew Vandergrift, youth pastor at Penasquitos Lutheran Church, provided additional suggestions. “During the school year, we encourage our high school students to help at various junior high activities, so relationships can start to form and junior high students feel they know people in the high school group.” “It’s also important to create special trips and events that only the senior high group gets to do,” McCoy added. “It gives younger students something special to look forward to, and the high school group won’t seem like a repeat of their junior high experiences.”
The group also discussed ways to integrate graduating high school seniors into the college group and keep them connected over the summer. “We open our College Winter Retreat to graduating high school seniors, and during the summer, they have the option to attend all the college events...or they can hang with the high school group for one last summer,” said Lewis.
McCoy commented on the potential dangers of that approach. “We sometimes create a huge crack for graduating seniors to fall through when they’re allowed to choose which group they want to attend over the summer...they may feel out of place hanging with the new batch of 13-year-olds entering the high school group, and they may feel out of place in the college group. The best model I’ve seen is to treat graduating seniors as their own special group for the summer. If possible, recruit a young ‘happening’ couple to lead and let them hang together as a group, dealing with their own unique issues as they prepare to handle life at college. They can go as a group to help at high school camp or as a group to the college beach party...but the odds of retaining graduating seniors increases greatly when the transition is handled this way.”
There are other transitions where students can fall through the cracks. High school students face many “life” situations that can pull them away...a driver’s license and access to a car usually leads to a job, more school activities and dating. “This is where flexibility of youth pastors becomes important,” said McCoy. “If students aren’t attending Wednesday night youth group meetings due to job conflicts, youth leaders need to set up special alternative Bible study times. I know one youth pastor that meets with high school students once a week at 6 a.m. at Denny’s!”
As the meeting drew to a close, one final idea emerged...grooming high school students for leadership positions. “We need to create roles with status that will encourage high school students to become leaders and mentors,” said McCoy. The youth pastors suggested selecting high school students to sit on activity planning boards, encouraging teenagers to serve as camp counselors for the junior high group, and training high school students to prepare and lead Bible studies. To find a local network of the Nationwide Network of Youth Ministries, visit their website at www.youthworkers.net or call Mike Gilson, San Diego Metro coordinator at (619) 462-4000. McCoy is available to consult with area churches on ways to strengthen youth ministries and can be reached at kennymac@mac.com.