Child and Youth Ministry Casserole Essential Ingredient 2

I have to admit that I am not one to handle a lot of spice. Only recently have I gotten into eating Indian cuisine and I still have to have a full glass of water handy as well as Kleenex. But, I also recognize that spice is what adds variety, identity and uniqueness to food. Without it, everything tastes somewhat the same. It’s time to move beyond salt and pepper! We need to spread our horizons beyond the same old tried and true.

You can have the most enthusiastic and welcoming congregation going, but they need some spice to heighten the flavour of their hospitality, providing direction to the why and how of what they are doing to engage children and youth.

Here are some steps to deciding on what spices you need:

1. Take the time to decide who has a special gift and experience for working with the children and youth in your congregation. This may include some of those already volunteering (teachers and leaders), CE staff or minister, CE committee, parents, grandparents, and children and youth themselves who can speak to the needs of others in their age group.

2. Meet together and commit to taking the time to do the following things:

a) reflect on scripture about the role of children and youth in Jesus’ ministry

b) pray together and apart, actively discerning God’s leading about what new or renewed thing God is wanting for this congregation

c) reflect on the history of your child and youth ministry and programs – what has worked, what hasn’t, what has changed and what is no longer relevant to today’s needs

d) talk to families and volunteer and paid leaders to hear first-hand what current needs and concerns are rather than making assumptions

e) walk around the neighbourhood and identify schools and what families live nearby and what their needs might be

f) consider what assets you already have in terms of your building facilities, supplies and equipment, location and outdoor space

g) work together to discern the gifts already present within the congregation to meet some of these identified needs and what needs are most urgent and realistic to tackle (it may be just one thing that is realistic – be honest about what you can handle)

h) create an overall vision of what you believe about child and youth ministry and what it should look like, and outline specific goals to help attain it

3. Develop a plan to communicate your vision for what you believe is possible for this key area of ministry and share it with the church’s leadership and then, once approved, with the congregation. Keep reminding the congregation of your vision and goals through written and verbal announcements, bulletin boards, e-mails, the website and any other forms of communication available to you.

Don’t be afraid to make it spicy! Spicy can be refreshing and give us new perspective, heightening our sensitivity to what we are eating. At the same time, you need to know your congregation well enough to know what is so much spice that they won’t even attempt to taste it. It’s better to start with a bit and add more as our tolerance grows than to dump in the whole container and hope for the best.

Let your team of people be the ones to develop a roadmap of flavours for your child and youth ministry journey, a picture of where you are going supported by the church’s leadership and ultimately the congregation. Let it add the spice of excitement, anticipation and purpose, and as time goes on, keep tasting and checking that the seasoning is just right, adjusting as needed.