New Year often means a new start - new ways of doing things and frustrations with the way things have been. If only I had five more leaders. If only I had a wonderful youth centre rather than a very obvious church hall. If only my young people could afford to go on a youth camp. We could do so much more if ... . And the sentence trails off into a dream world that you feel is unattainable.
Have you ever sat down and wished you could transform the youth ministry at your church into something better but where do you start. 'I need a new strategy but the first step even baffles me, let alone all the hard graft of making ideas into reality'. Here are some stages that may help.
1. Reflect
Prayerfully consider your current state. Try to assess all aspects of your work and decide what your strengths and weaknesses are. Look at the curriculum that you use and ask whether that is effectively communicating God's truth from his Word. Are you teaching from the Bible or are you passing on the 'wise thoughts' of your youth team? It often helps to go away quietly and look at all the issues before they become public domain. Think about plant, staffing, timing and what your young people are like. Where are they coming from and what are the issues that are central to their lives?
