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Youth Ministry Spiritual Growth vs. Numerical Growth | Youth Ministry RoundTable #6

8
28 Nov 2012
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by Ben Read
In this episode of the Youth Ministry Roundtable, our contributors discuss the old saying “What you win them with is what you win them to,” the idea that often times it’s easiest to focus on growing a ministry Numerically  with the fun games, great giveaways, and flashy events, but what most Youth Pastors really seek is the spiritual growth.

Stay tuned to the end for each of the contributors Action Steps for their Youth Ministries, and information on a great event that Youthmin.org is sponsoring soon.

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Ben Read

Youth Pastor in Boston | Co-Founder of at Youthmin.org

Ben Read is the Pastor of Students at Trinity Evangelical Church in North Reading, MA, just outside of the great city of Boston. He met his wife, Sarah, while they both were at Liberty University where he was a member of the National Champion Debate Team while studying Biblical Studies and Youth Ministry. They welcomed a son they lovingly refer to as BEAR this past November, who has stolen all of the attention away from their Black Lab, Max.

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  • Tom Shriver

    Best roundtable yet. Very nice!

  • http://www.facebook.com/olinazguy09 Allen Posey

    Another great roundtable….and another great Nick Farr meme :)

  • http://twitter.com/spencerthorpe Spencer Thorpe

    These have been very helpful for me. Ben, you do a great job facilitating in these roundtables. Hope they keep coming!

    I would agree with Frank..”bait and switch” has worked for me in my ministry. I’ve got to have great big fun events…yet later these students see we are more than that. One of my student leaders admits the reason he came was because of the games…now he’s growing steadily in his walk with Christ.

  • http://twitter.com/AlteredAaron aaron cuyler

    Is our desire for fun…loud music…cool lights etc a result of the fall? Or it is something we were created with? Our ministry operates under the assumption that God has designed us with the love for cool……. because by golly He is cool!

    This enables us to have a ton of fun knowing that there is value in the fun…it creates trust and relationships which are foundational for any discipleship process. We have been blessed to go from a group of 10 to about 150 in two years in a church of 250 adults….. and yet we are baptizing kids like crazy and see bunches of teens accepting Christ as Savior. I am convinced that our reputation for the funnest YM around brigs kids…..and it keeps them coming back even though we teach for an hour each week… and after a few weeks the relationships keep them coming back….then the teaching….then Jesus.

    Fun is ok…. in fact i think we over spiritualize ministry when we think we must be stoic on order to minister to teens. My advice is to have as much fun as possible…then teach the heck out of the bible……. do both the best you can!

  • Pingback: Starting out at a New Youth Ministry | Youth Ministry Round Table #7 - YouthMin.org

  • Corey Gibson

    Good episode… also enjoyed the last 5 episodes. Theses “Roundtables” are great for youth ministry, especially for those starting out in YM work.

    It would be nice to get some more YP & leaders involved with these roundtables.

  • http://twitter.com/meCoreyG Corey Gibson™

    Good episode… also enjoyed the last 5 episodes. Theses “Roundtables” are great for youth ministry, especially for those starting out in YM work.

    It would be nice to get some more YP & leaders involved with these roundtables.

  • Joe

    It’s always interesting to hear what various people are doing, and how different settings affect ideal programs and structures. I appreciated what Frank had to say… I get to operate with practically no built in budget, and it was a good reminder that what we have been given is enough for the purpose we have been called to.

    I was in total agreement with Joshua regarding small groups as major events. Again, I’m at a small church (when 20 kids show up, it’s a huge night), but we have a couple volunteers who are totally committed to maintaining their couple of students. On “Youth Group Night,” we do spend the majority of the time having fun, but this is basically to develop relationships between the kids and leaders. There are a few kids who utterly refuse small group participation, but they still show up for our stupid games…and they leave with a little bit of the gospel.

    But, all this is shaped by small means. I’m sure this whole conversation would seem much different to me if I was part of a ministry that had a four (or even FIVE…woah) figure budget.

    I just stumbled on this website, but I love these conversations already. I’m excited to actually poke around the site and see what’s here. Unfortunately, Ben, I’m in Oregon, so I doubt we will ever meet. I do, however, understand the sleepless expression of fatherhood you are wearing! All best wishes. -JB



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