Traits of a Strong Youth Group

Christ Centered. A lot of problems handled themselves when a group is totally centered on Jesus. Within your group there may be personality and social problems, but a majority of these will be minor with Jesus in the middle.

Prayer Oriented. Is prayer the first inclination of your group before making decisions or when facing trials? A group that prays together stays together for several reasons. First, prayer is acknowledgement that your power is not great enough to make what you are asking to happen. Second, teens with different cultural and social backgrounds can speak to Jesus together even if they don’t speak to each other otherwise. Third, asking and receiving allow us to see God working. God works without prayer, but we fail to see it because we don’t expect it. When we ask specifically for something and it happens, we recognize it and give God the glory. A youth group filled with prayer warriors will see God’s handy-work at every interval.

Daily Worshipers. Worship means that we bow, or kiss, one greater than ourselves. How often do our groups bow before the Lord? Many who were raised in the church see Sunday as “the day” we worship. But doesn’t the Lord deserve daily praise?

Parental-Involvement. Family ministry receives a lot of press today. Parents can make positive contributions to a ministry because of their love for their teens, and because of their desire to see their teens saved.

Outreach Oriented. Have you ever noticed youth shepherds who keep their sheep corralled safely away from other sheep? Their goal, it seems, is to keep the sheep they have. They are not excited about the prospect of gaining more sheep, and definitely not wanting a sheep to leave their pen for another. Jesus said a shepherd should be willing to leave the ninety-nine and go after the one who was lost. Create a lost sheep mentality in your group that is not willing for any to perish (II Peter 3:9).

Serving. Planning service projects not mean you have servants in your group. A true servant spirit serves out of love, not obligation. When a servant spirit exists in a group, excitement, not complaining, persists whether they are cleaning homes, raking yards, washing cars, or picking up trash on the side of the road. A servant group has learned from experience that whoever wants to be great must be “servant of all” (Mark 9:35).

Article Source: http://youth-ministry-resources.com

Al Millergren, co-founder of Teen Life Ministries.

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