Do you allow students to serve in key roles with children? YES!
We want our students to experience personal ministry. We believed that something amazing can happen when a high school student takes off the spectator glasses and “jumps in” to serve alongside the adults of our church.
Students want to make a difference. But sometimes we make them into spectators instead of participating members of the church body.
Churches must create a system that encourages students to get involved!
We have created a weekly opportunity called Student Impact for our high school students to serve in Waumba Land (birth-preschool), UpStreet/ KidStuf (kindergarten-5th grade) and Xtreme (6th-8th grade). Here’s what we are learning:
1. Strive to eliminate competing systems.
Student ministry meets on Sunday afternoon. Let’s face it; doing high school ministry on Sunday mornings would be easier. Our crowds might even be bigger.
Many years ago we decided that we wanted our high school students to be able to serve on Sunday mornings. We removed any obstacles that would keep them from being able to participate in ministry. We removed the competition for their time.
2. Everyone in family ministry must be on board.
Both staff and volunteers from the preschool, children and middle school departments, must see the value not only to their ministry area but the incredible value that it adds to the spiritual development of a high school student.
Students want to be treated with respect and they want to be seen as equals. They want to be given adult-size responsibilities.
Yes, they may have some growing up to do, but as long as they are treated like a valuable part of the team they will rise to the occasion! The leaders in these departments can help these students grow the most by treating them as partners in ministry and modeling for them what leading and serving others really looks like.
3. Student Impact works best with high school students.
The biggest reason that we start this program in high school is that we want to give our students something to look forward to. Our standards for volunteering are very high, we expect a lot and felt like high school age was the right age to meet the expectations that we have in place.
4. Department leaders (preschool, children and middle school) are in the best position to motivate, train
and celebrate the students that serve with them.
What this essentially means is that our high school students are recruited, placed in a position, trained, appreciated, celebrated and scheduled by the department leader for which they serve, just like our adult volunteers. And that is just the way our students like it!
Do you allow high school students to serve in your children’s ministry environments?
Post written by: Gina Ragsdale – UpStreet Director - Browns Bridge Campus
August 14th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
We allow kids under the age of 7th grade to help in the early childhood area as long as the parent is volunteering in the classroom, too. The child is expected to be a part of the volunteer team and is given specific small responsibilities. If they become a distraction, the coordinator is responsible for talking to the parent and the child could be required to attend their own age-appropriate class. Fortunately, we haven’t had to do that. It’s a great experience because kids learn early what a blessing it is to serve. In fact, when they get to be 7th grade, they can’t wait to be an official helper.
Students 7th grade-9th grade are encouraged to volunteer under the watchful eye of another adult volunteer. What’s really neat, is that the adult volunteer develops a mentoring relationship with the student, thus creating another Christian adult that is not their parent that they can look up to and learn from. Students are responsible for attending all training and are scheduled and recognized like all of the other volunteers.
When students are in 10th grade and up, they can volunteer in the Nursery, Early Childhood or Elementary and lead a small group, if they wish.
We do have some competing youth programs but they aren’t every Sunday, so it works pretty well. We are getting more student helpers this year than we have in the past, which is exciting!
August 18th, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Absolutely!
We actually have 11-12 year olds as helpers in the Sunday program. They work (alongside an adult) with the 3-5 kids, help serve snacks, engage in playtime. High school kids can run a group on their own, or can help with the babies, or can teach the 7-9 year olds.
We feel that at every level, the kids have something to offer to the levels below.
August 18th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
Mike,
That is great! I agree, we are not just waiting for kids to become adults so that they can make a difference. We need to get them involved.
I know it would be tough for us to manage 4th & 5th graders serving with kids as it would compete with their small group time. But we are always looking for ways to get our kids involved in serving in the community. Kids want to contribute and it’s such an important way for them to grow and learn what personal ministry is all about.
Thanks for sharing!
Kendra
August 31st, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I agree with you Kendra. The best 5th grade small group leaders are high school students. I’m just sayin…