I meet with other youth directors every other week in an online Youth Leader Hangout. We meet at 11am on Thursdays, so one of our first things we talk about is how our Wednesday night went. I thought it would be good to share that with the readers here. First a little background about our group.
Each week we meet on Wednesday night for discipleship and worship. We have an average of around 65 students from 2 high schools and around 4 Jr high schools. Our group is 6-8 grade Jr high and 9-12 grade Sr High.
4:00pm – Open Gym and Hangout
Following school we have our youth center open and available for students to come and hang out. Some work on homework, some play 4 square in the air, basketball or video games. We even have a piano in one of our rooms that student will go in and sit around and play.
I make sure that everything is ready to go at this time so I can spend time hanging out with students instead of rushing around getting things ready. Also we make sure music is playing. The XP3 Orange curriculum we use has suggested playlists. We plug a donated old iPad with spotify loaded, pull up the XP3 No Filter Playlist and let it play in the background.
Check In –
We have a placed a table just outside the door to our youth center. We have our check in iPad with Minhub on it so students can check in. Because it can get backed up we have new students fill out a card and we enter that information later.
5:30 – Dinner
We have a combined dinner with all of our youth, children and adults that meet on Wednesday nights. Our kitchen is between our youth space and our fellowship hall. Our youth eat in the youth space. Usually we have pizza, chicken strips or sandwiches.
We gather at 5:30 in the middle of our gym and pray, usually singing the Wesley Grace (Be present at our table Lord, be here and everywhere adored, these mercies bless and grant that we, may feast in fellowship with thee. Amen)
After dinner students will filter back and play a little basketball or 4 square until the countdown timer.
5:55 – Countdown
At 5:55 we turn down the overhead lights and start a 5 minute countdown timer. We only have really started this the past few weeks but it works really really well. I announce we have 5 minutes till we begin and students will begin wrapping up dinner or their games. They grab a chair and come sit down in front of our stage. Ok, it might also help that I’ll throw some candy out to those who are seated first.
6:00 – Big Group Time
Our big group time begins with an upfront game. Occasionally we will do a big group game in our worship area. This week we played instagram scavenger hunt. We put a word like “#onvacation” on our screen and the first group to find a photo that fit that description was the winner.
We move then into one or two songs for worship. After the song a bumper video or video transition is used.
Finally I will give a 10 minute message. We have been using the Orange Curriculum and we have chosen series that have been written for both Jr and Sr High. I have been combining elements of both messages to try to speak to our wider audience.
My goal is to be out of our big group time between 6:25 and 6:30. Then we move to small groups.
6:30 Small Groups
Our small groups are divided basically by age and gender. We have 6-7th girls, 6th boys, 7-8th boys, 8th girls, 9-11th girls, 9th-10th boys and 11-12th grade mixed groups. I have 1-2 adults and a student leader in each one. The Sr. High use the senior high questions and Jr. High use the middle school questions.
I make sure to send out the full script for both age level talks, as well as the questions for both to all of our small group leaders. This way they can read over it all and pull out anything specific for their group that I may not have covered.
7:00 Return and Dismiss
I would love for everyone to come back at the same time, and then make a few announcements and dismiss. The reality is that it will not happen. Our children and youth are getting finished about the same time. Some groups take longer than others. I ask that each group prays and closes as a small group. Then everyone returns on their own to the youth center where they play games, hang out until their parents come.
I ask small groups to return between 7 and 7:15pm. I ask parents to make sure and pick up their students by 7:30
7:30 Sr High Bible Study –
At 7:30 I meet with a group of Sr High students for Sr high Bible Study. Some of these are Sr high who have been there for the whole night, some are our small group leaders, some lead in our children’s ministry, and some come solely for that time. There are no games, songs, or messages. We go through a book of the Bible and talk about how it applies to our lives. Then we pray for each other. Currently we have began the book of Acts.
That’s our Wednesday
That’s pretty much how it runs on a typical Wednesday. In future posts of this series I’ll be a little short