How To… Set Up Committees in Your Youth Group

Developing  Student  Leaders / Servant-Based  Ministry

  1. What are your goals for the youth of your church?
  2. Is youth ministry important to God?
  3. If so, what does He say about it? (Deuteronomy 6; Deuteronomy 32; Psalm 78)
  4. What is our main goal in ministering to teens? It ought to be spiritual maturity or Christ-likeness. (Ephesians 4:13)
  5. What was Christ like? Among other qualities, He was a servant! (Matthew 20:28)
  6. What quality then do we need in order to be like Christ? Servanthood! (Romans 1:16; Psalm 119:9; Hebrews 4:12)

Principles to Remember:

  • Expect much—Get much! Set high standards first for yourself and then for your teens.
  • Eternal, not temporal, focus—Look down the road ten years, not ten weeks or months.

Entertainment Philosophy

  1. Has big parties that rival anything the world has to offer
  2. Always has to be something new
  3. Uses the excuse of luring in unsaved, but rarely brings about change in lives
  4. Uses the excuse of “keeping them off the streets”
  5. Not cool to be “too spiritual”
  6. Has the false concept that because the world has a better idea, we should be just like them
  7. Has new and worldly music
  8. Measures success by the amount of fun had or by the numbers

Service-Based Ministry

  1. Gives a purpose for living
  2. Changes the hearts of teens to want to make an impact on their world
  3. Is not as concerned with “the success of the party” as the result of a changed life
  4. Teaches teens not to worry as much about their own needs being met as about their meeting someone else’s needs
  5. Is designed so that huge evangelistic events are not as necessary because teens are bringing their friends on a regular basis anyway
  6. Focuses on growing in the Lord, not on entertaining parties
  7. Ultimately brings more fun, but as a by-product, not as the main goal
  8. Teaches teens “real” Christianity and looks to serve, not to be served

Practicality

Some principles:

  1. Do not have the adults do for the teens what they could do.
  2. Do not just be their buddy.
  3. Be creative in giving them service opportunities.
  4. You get what you honor.
  5. They will learn by doing, not just hearing.

Why servanthood philosophy?

  1. It gives purpose.
  2. It is Christ’s mission statement.
  3. It is long-lasting.
  4. It is satisfying.
  5. It is the opposite of the world system.
  6. It gives ownership of the group to the teens.

How do we implement and “sell it” to the teens?

  1. Long-term strategy
  2. Mission trips
  3. Service activities
  4. Fifth Sunday Youth Nights
  5. Fifth Sunday Children’s Church
  6. Youth committees
  7. Regular ministry assignments
  8. Discipleship
  9. Limited number of sponsors

Committee Implementation

We want our teens to serve the Lord, but how do we go about helping them do it?  One way is by having youth committees implement the concept of servant-based ministry.

Teens need to be involved in serving the Lord.  They also need to feel a sense of ownership of the youth group.  They need to realize that they are responsible for the success of the youth group as much as anyone. If they do not do their part, it will not be as successful as it could be.

Instead of the usual set-up that our culture is so accustomed to of having a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer, the committees are designed to involve any teenager who desires an opportunity to serve. The youth group president idea usually involves a popularity contest and puts him or her in a figurehead position but does not really give him a specific job description.  It also makes the rest of the group feel as if they do not have to do anything else, because they are not as high on the pecking order.  For this reason, they start to complain about how the youth group is being run:  they do not sense that they have anything to do with it (no ownership).

The committee structure eliminates a lot of those potential problems in youth ministry.  There are many leaders who can take on significant responsibility, and virtually everyone can have a major part in the function of the ministry.  There is more sense of ownership because they can see that it is their idea that is being put into effect.  There is much higher involvement because those that planned activities are certainly going to be promoting it; after all, “That’s my idea.”  There is also a lot more purpose of the activities than, “Well, I guess we gotta have an activity this month; so what are we gonna do?”  The first question asked in the activity committee is, “What is the purpose?” They must answer that before they move forward.

Written by Dave Peters