There are many ways we have suggested to grow your student ministry. However he best way to grow a strong student ministry might not have anything to do with your student ministry. Maybe the best way to grow your ministry is by engaging with your kids ministry.
Have Future Vision
To grow your group one of the first things you can do is to take time and look to the future. One way is to sit down with the attendance sheets for your kids ministry and ask yourself. If the current active students stay active, what will my youth group look like in 1 year 3 years or 5 years.
It might not be the most accurate, but it is a way to see and get a projection of what seasons of growth or decline might be coming up. This will allow you to focus on your ministry long term, to begin planning for volunteer and space needs.
This will also give you the chance to know the names of the students who will be part of your group. It helps you to create a vision for your group that is long term and not short sighted. By seeing your group long term you can begin to make some decisions about the culture you want to develop over the next 5-10 years.
Have Youth Involved in Kids Ministry
How involved are your students, and the youth ministry with the kids ministry? Is your youth group a silo that never interacts? Please let it not be so. One easy thing you can do is to involve your students in the kids ministry whenever possible.
Our students help with Vacation Bible School as small group leaders, students serve as Sunday school teachers and even some help with the children’s ministry groups on Wednesday night instead of coming to youth small groups.
In each of these opportunities the younger kids look up to the students and become familiar with them. It is a great way to introduce fourth and fifth graders to youth students before they move into youth.
Begin To Look For Volunteers
Many people are called to a specific ministry or age group and will stay with kids ministry and that is awesome. However there are some who really like a group of students and will want to remain connected with them as they move from kids to student ministry. Or you may have volunteers looking for a change.
I tell potential volunteers with young kids this. “Come help create the youth group your student will be involved in.” They have the opportunity to help build the youth ministry before their student is part of it.
One thing to remember. You are in this together with the kids ministry. The best thing you can do is to work together to find volunteers. Don’t work against each other. Be sure to help everyone find their place in ministry.