How To Run A Church Youth Club
I'll start this guide by pointing out that I’ve never worked as a paid youth worker at a church. I’ve also not spent years training as a youth worker and researching the latest thinking on what works. I am sure I've still got a lot to learn.
However, I have spent a few years as a volunteer helper for teenage ministry and have spent a long time figuring out what works and doesn’t work, through trial and error.
I also became a Christian whilst growing up as a teenager after enjoying some really good teenage youth ministry.
Here’s what I think are the mistakes that some church youth workers make when running youth clubs. I'm not going to cover safeguarding, as that requires a whole different blog post.
Hopefully, you’ll find them thought provoking, even if you don’t agree.
However, I have spent a few years as a volunteer helper for teenage ministry and have spent a long time figuring out what works and doesn’t work, through trial and error.
I also became a Christian whilst growing up as a teenager after enjoying some really good teenage youth ministry.
Here’s what I think are the mistakes that some church youth workers make when running youth clubs. I'm not going to cover safeguarding, as that requires a whole different blog post.
Hopefully, you’ll find them thought provoking, even if you don’t agree.
1. Church Youth clubs Are a marathon, not a sprint
If you’re organising a weekly event that is billed as a ‘youth club’ then don’t try and turn it into a service or a home group.
I’ve seen several non-church kids turn up expecting ping pong but instead being given a 30-60 minute sermon or being put into small groups to discuss faith.
The result, inevitably is that they never return to the youth club and the group become half-a-dozen self-selecting teenagers, who probably come to the church anyway.
The reasons behind this are well meaning, with enthusiastic youth workers wanting to share the gospel and fearing this will be the one chance that they get to reach this young person.
In my opinion, you are much better to see a youth club as a marathon for the gospel rather than a sprint. Offer a very-short God-slot each week and drip feed it to them over months and years. You can run a separate home group or youth service if you want.
Personally, I think three minutes of listening is long enough for a teenager who has just finished a week of concentrating at school. It gives you enough time to make one memorable point but doesn’t significantly interrupt the flow of games and fun at a Friday night youth group.
Teenagers are also much more likely to invite their non-church friends along if the evening is 95% games with an evangelistic talk for 5% minutes, rather than a 50/50 split.
Also, try thinking a little more creatively than three minutes of talking. I’ve had some success with a bingo type game where the answers are numbers from the bible, or missing words from famous verses. Interactive talks are harder work to plan, but they give much less space for awkward disruption.
Some people take the rule that you should aim for a maximum of 13 minutes of talking for 13 year olds, 14 minutes for 14 years olds and so on. Personally, I think that’s a good rule for something advertised as a youth service but is too much for a church youth club on a Friday night.
I’ve seen several non-church kids turn up expecting ping pong but instead being given a 30-60 minute sermon or being put into small groups to discuss faith.
The result, inevitably is that they never return to the youth club and the group become half-a-dozen self-selecting teenagers, who probably come to the church anyway.
The reasons behind this are well meaning, with enthusiastic youth workers wanting to share the gospel and fearing this will be the one chance that they get to reach this young person.
In my opinion, you are much better to see a youth club as a marathon for the gospel rather than a sprint. Offer a very-short God-slot each week and drip feed it to them over months and years. You can run a separate home group or youth service if you want.
Personally, I think three minutes of listening is long enough for a teenager who has just finished a week of concentrating at school. It gives you enough time to make one memorable point but doesn’t significantly interrupt the flow of games and fun at a Friday night youth group.
Teenagers are also much more likely to invite their non-church friends along if the evening is 95% games with an evangelistic talk for 5% minutes, rather than a 50/50 split.
Also, try thinking a little more creatively than three minutes of talking. I’ve had some success with a bingo type game where the answers are numbers from the bible, or missing words from famous verses. Interactive talks are harder work to plan, but they give much less space for awkward disruption.
Some people take the rule that you should aim for a maximum of 13 minutes of talking for 13 year olds, 14 minutes for 14 years olds and so on. Personally, I think that’s a good rule for something advertised as a youth service but is too much for a church youth club on a Friday night.
2. Teenagers like larking around, but they hate being embarrassed
I remember attending a youth service when I was about 15 that included a ‘beat the intro’ game where you had to guess the names of songs.
I was very into music and thrust my hand up in front of about 100 young people, probably for the first time in my life. I declared that the song being played was by Jamiroquai.
It turns out it wasn’t and so I had to sit at the front wearing a silly hat for the remainder of the game. No-one else got one wrong, so it was just me sat at the front for the next 10 minutes. I’ve not listened to Jamiroquai since, but probably shouldn’t hold him personally responsible.
Nowadays, this wouldn’t bother me in the slightest but my memory of it is not positive.
Since leading games at youth groups, I’ve always been very careful to avoid anything that will embarrass anyone. Even confident teenagers are finding out who they want to be in life and can’t make fun of themselves in the way that most adults can.
I was very into music and thrust my hand up in front of about 100 young people, probably for the first time in my life. I declared that the song being played was by Jamiroquai.
It turns out it wasn’t and so I had to sit at the front wearing a silly hat for the remainder of the game. No-one else got one wrong, so it was just me sat at the front for the next 10 minutes. I’ve not listened to Jamiroquai since, but probably shouldn’t hold him personally responsible.
Nowadays, this wouldn’t bother me in the slightest but my memory of it is not positive.
Since leading games at youth groups, I’ve always been very careful to avoid anything that will embarrass anyone. Even confident teenagers are finding out who they want to be in life and can’t make fun of themselves in the way that most adults can.
3. Only certain types of games work at youth clubs
It took me a while to figure out what sort of games do and don’t work at church youth clubs.
The ideal games are those that involve everyone at once.
If there’s any requirement to wait for your turn then I’ve found that people start their own conversations. You then feel obliged to tell people to be quiet, which turns you into a school teacher when really the youth just want to have fun and spend time together.
Personally, I’ve found that a mix of energetic games and sitting-in-a-circle games work well. Starting with an energetic game tends to work better. Games requiring intellect and clever word play rarely work well, in the way that they would with a group of adults.
I’ve also found that it works well to do the ‘God slot’ straight after an energetic activity. Everyone could do with a rest anyway, so they don’t usually mind sitting down for a couple of minutes.
Some games that we’ve had success with include:
The ideal games are those that involve everyone at once.
If there’s any requirement to wait for your turn then I’ve found that people start their own conversations. You then feel obliged to tell people to be quiet, which turns you into a school teacher when really the youth just want to have fun and spend time together.
Personally, I’ve found that a mix of energetic games and sitting-in-a-circle games work well. Starting with an energetic game tends to work better. Games requiring intellect and clever word play rarely work well, in the way that they would with a group of adults.
I’ve also found that it works well to do the ‘God slot’ straight after an energetic activity. Everyone could do with a rest anyway, so they don’t usually mind sitting down for a couple of minutes.
Some games that we’ve had success with include:
- Benchball, which is basically netball but with people playing the part of the net. If your ball is caught then you become part of you team’s net
- Dodgeball
- Human table football, using string or ropes
- Volleyball or crab football using a giant beach ball
- The electric pulse game, where two teams link arms and have to squeeze the arm of the person next to them. Once they feel a squeeze they pass it on until it reaches the end of the line. Teams compete to grab an object at the end of the row.
- Sardines, manhunt or other variations on hide and seek (I’ve found that teenagers happily play children’s games such as hide and seek if you give them a different name and change the rules slightly. We also had success with musical-chairs-doubles, where two people share a chair each time)
- How’s Yours, where one person leaves the room and has to guess what everyone is talking about.
- Empires, where each person chooses a name or character and everyone has to guess who chose which one.
- Sherlock, where one person leaves the room and everyone else secretly agrees to do one thing, such as swapping an item of clothing. The guesser has to figure out what has changed.
- Mystery food challenges, where people have to guess whether something is the branded or budget version of baked beans, ketchup etc (food things can be a bit dodgy because of allergies)
4. Leave them to it unless they are on their own
The youth groups I’ve helped at have always included a mixture of organised games and time when teenagers can just mingle or play with whatever they want. If it’s the latter, then I try to give them as much space as possible.
The only exception is if someone is on their own, which is a horribly awkward situation for a teenager.
The best moments we’ve had at youth groups are where the youth workers start to feel like they don’t really need to be there because the teenagers are enjoying each other’s company.
My experience is that people come back because they’ve made friends rather than any other reason.
The only exception is if someone is on their own, which is a horribly awkward situation for a teenager.
The best moments we’ve had at youth groups are where the youth workers start to feel like they don’t really need to be there because the teenagers are enjoying each other’s company.
My experience is that people come back because they’ve made friends rather than any other reason.
5. Don’t send teenagers out onto the streets
This is a controversial opinion and you are welcome to disagree, but I personally don’t think teenagers should be pressured into street evangelism.
There may well be one or two teenagers in a youth group who would love to do this, but it would have sent me running a mile.
One issue is that most teenagers are still finding their faith and understanding what they have signed up to by being a Christian. Street evangelism requires a thick skin and a deep theology, which is asking too much of most teenagers.
The second issue repeats my previous point about teenagers feeling easily embarrassed. Being asked to share your faith on the streets of your home town is high embarrassment territory.
There’s a good chance that some will feel pressured into it because one or two of their friends are keen. In a worst case scenario, it will put them off ever coming back to church.
There may well be one or two teenagers in a youth group who would love to do this, but it would have sent me running a mile.
One issue is that most teenagers are still finding their faith and understanding what they have signed up to by being a Christian. Street evangelism requires a thick skin and a deep theology, which is asking too much of most teenagers.
The second issue repeats my previous point about teenagers feeling easily embarrassed. Being asked to share your faith on the streets of your home town is high embarrassment territory.
There’s a good chance that some will feel pressured into it because one or two of their friends are keen. In a worst case scenario, it will put them off ever coming back to church.
