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No New Visitors? Common Mistakes Many Youth Ministries Make · Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Where are all the visitors and where are the new people?
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Don't underestimate, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Don't be so highest that you're just so removed from the culture.
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Please bear in mind we're trying to reach the culture.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: Chances are you have a lot of cool things going on at your youth group but just nobody can see them.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: That's why you're not getting new visitors, because you're assuming everybody knows You have to really stay away from insider language and information when you're trying to draw visitors.
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Today we're talking about four reasons why you might not be getting new visitors in your youth group.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: ["The Last Scola"].
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to the Ministry Coach podcast where we bring you weekly tips and tactics to help you fast track the growth and health of your youth ministry.
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: If it is the first time meeting, my name is Jeff Lascola and this is Kristen Lascola, and today we're gonna talk all about some of the pitfalls that smaller youth ministries fall into and they look around and they're like where are all the visitors And where are the new people?
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: And why?
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: aren't they coming?
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: Well, we can't diagnose you completely.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: That would take some coaching, which is available, by the way But we're gonna talk in more generalities today and we're gonna give you four reasons why those visitors might not be coming.
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: And if they are, they might not be sticking.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: So, number one.
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: we're gonna talk right now about a week online presence.
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: So we all know that if you wanna know something about some place new whether it's a restaurant, or you're stalking a person, or whatever it might be Why is?
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: that number two.
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: I need the things that you think you have, because that's what I mostly use Instagram for It's stalking people If I'm not finding a new restaurant.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: I'm stalking someone, rhonda.
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: It's funny because it's true.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: Or looking up Doxin pictures Or stalking Doxin.
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: Stalking all the Doxins in a 10 mile radius.
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: I know where you live, doxin, if you're listening But we go immediately to Instagram And I feel like at this day and age, instagram is probably heavier traffic than even like for churches in new places than Google.
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: So you're not gonna Google a new place, you're not gonna Google a new church, i feel like I would instantly go to Instagram because I wanna see the pictures, i wanna see the vibe, i wanna see what it looks like, because I feel like Instagram gives you a little more information than a website.
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: Yeah, okay, i was just thinking as an adult, as a student, i would go to Instagram.
• 2:51
  Speaker 1: Definitely.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: Well, even as a parent like I would go, and I check out the dance studio that we send our daughter to.
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: I looked them up on Instagram.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: I wanna see what it looks like to attend a class.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: I wanna see what the students and teachers are like, and I feel like websites are a lot more informational, whereas Instagram and social media tell you a story about no pun intended Tell you a story about this is what it's like, lived out, whereas websites can be a little more sterile of like this is our location, this is the times we meet, and then like a stock picture of the pastor smiling and stuff like that, but it's not like the day-to-day life the same way that Instagram captures.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: So that's the number one place I would go.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: So some of you hate social media, some of you hate Instagram, and I probably agree with you on all the reasons why you hate it.
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: I get that, but let's be honest, it's not going anywhere.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: So, no matter how bad we hate it, it's not going to go away.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: So why don't we redeem it And we can use it for good purposes?
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: also, because, no matter how tightly wound you are about social media, i think you have to admit it's not all bad, i will tell you from my Instagram feed, unless it's just the classic comparison game of oh, they have a better life than me or oh, they're better looking than me.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: But my feed is not inappropriate and I find new and cool things every single day.
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: A lot of the cool places I've experienced in my own hometown of San Diego is because I saw it on Instagram And I'm like whoa, this just opened, or no way.
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: A vegan donut restaurant, an ocean side.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: I'm going And there is a really good purpose behind it.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: So don't underestimate, don't throw the baby out with the bathwater, don't be so pious that you're just so removed from the culture.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: Instagram is not inherently bad.
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: It can lead to some dark places, but it's not inherently bad.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: So I would say, if you're not gaining new visitors, well it could be because you've stiff-armed social media and you're not platforming what you're doing in a visible and enticing and exciting way, because chances are you have a lot of cool things going on at your youth group but just nobody can see them.
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: So once they get there, they'll be able to see it.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: But if they're just shopping for a youth group, shopping for a church, well I mean, that's a lot of youth groups to just blind date.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: You know, i think it's kind of that thing where you want to draw people in of like, look at all the cool things we have going on, look at the cool series we're teaching, show a sermon excerpt or you know the latest baptisms, like it can be very spiritual, and then you show the fun stuff also that kids are gonna be so excited about.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: I just think it shows your relevancy to the culture And so, along with that would also be, you can't really neglect your website either.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: I think that would be a second tier experience because, like you you've just said, you know as an adult, you would probably wanna go to their website, And so is the information accessible.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: So can I go to a website?
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: I've been on some church websites.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: It's like I still don't know what time you guys meet.
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: I still don't know where your address is.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: That's the one that bugs me.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: I find that all the time you go to a church's website not even just like a youth group, a church's website and there is no mention of an address.
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: I don't even know what state you're in.
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: You know They'll do that on their Instagram too, though They assume everybody knows, and so I think you should put the address of your location You're like, oh my gosh, well it'd be on your website.
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: So, what's the difference?
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: You know, it's a public place.
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: Not your home address, your church's address, unless the church means that you're home, which then maybe yes, think twice.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: Think twice about that.
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: But putting the address on your Instagram bio and the service times.
• 6:51
  Speaker 1: That's what we do.
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: It's like Tuesdays 6.30 to 8.30, saturday 5.30, sunday 9 and 11 am And then we give the address and so that you can just tell from the link in our description in our bio exactly where we meet, what church we're affiliated with, what city we're in.
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: I get a lot of I see a lot of Youth group Instagrams that will follow us or follow up ministry coach podcast and I always check them out.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: I'm like whoa, so cool and I always wonder what city are you in, what state are you in, where are you from?
• 7:24
  Speaker 1: and I think when you neglect that stuff, that's why you're not getting new visitors, because you're assuming everybody knows.
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: You have to really Really stay away from insider language and information when you're trying to draw visitors.
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: Don't assume people know, because then you're only reaching who you've reached here, not reaching anybody else.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: So, going back to the website, is information updated?
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: that has been something that I have let slip through the cracks before, where I just assume our Website is up to date and I'm sending the link out to parents and it's like an event had changed.
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: Nobody updated the website, or it's still the spring calendar and we're already in summer, so make sure you keep it updated so that it doesn't look like a ghost town, like, oh, nobody uses this thing.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: Is Information accessible, meaning can they just find what they're looking for?
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: make sure, if it comes to your youth group Or you can be a voice in helping the quality of your church website.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: You know, like talk to your senior pastor, like hey, we need a clear like youth ministry, student ministry, children's ministry, so that parents or students maybe they go on websites can just click on it see oh, there you are, the youth pastor, there's your email, there's your phone number, here's how you get a hold of them, here's when we meet.
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: It just has to be very accessible and updated information.
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: And then This believe it or not, i know some of you are sticklers and don't care about this kind of stuff But is the aesthetic updated on your website?
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: because I think that is again that first impression thing, whereas if you look like you're stuck in 1995, visitors aren't coming.
• 9:04
  Speaker 1: Like you have to stay updated with the current culture and and I think sometimes Christians hear that and they think and some Weird backwards way we're saying like, blend in with the culture right and like no, like that does not mean well, we're compromising all of our spiritual values to have an updated website.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: It's like, oh my gosh, like what a stretch.
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: We can be current, we can be Aesthetically pleasing, we can be relevant and clean and have everything looking great and Still follow.
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: Jesus.
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: But I think sometimes people just see it as like worldly or something like that.
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: But Please bear in mind, we're trying to reach the culture, you know.
• 9:54
  Speaker 1: So reach the culture with things that are current culture, not 1995 exactly, so make sure you look like you're up to date and all of that and another one is I think it's good.
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: I don't know who runs your website, or hopefully even have a website, but when you look at staff and It's just senior pastor John and you're like that's it.
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: He's always John.
• 10:17
  Speaker 2: It's always the only one avoid like it might say Cody the right, and it might say contact Cody at whatever, but it's like how about a picture Cody?
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: so we know who Cody is when we arrive at?
• 10:28
  Speaker 1: peeve, because I will see a little snippet on their Youth group like, but there's no youth pastor contact info.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: It's like I don't want to call Senior pastor John, i want to call Cody, youth pastor, or email him like hey, my daughter is coming for the first time on Wednesday night to your program.
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: What do we need to know?
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: Do I need to sign her in ahead of time?
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: Can we just drop her off?
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: Like, what's the format?
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: do kids, like, bring their Bibles?
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Is it like that kind of thing, or is this more like just all kinds of questions that I would have as a parent?
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: But, I want to ask Cody, not John.
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: So yes, making sure you, the youth pastor, are present on the website picture Email bare minimum email address.
• 11:12
  Speaker 2: If you want to put your phone number, go for it, but at least an email address and a picture, i think, just to be like, this is who you're looking for great.
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: It's not a child, it's an adult.
• 11:23
  Speaker 2: No, it's pastor John.
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: He does everything, every single ministry.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: John, if you're listening, you need to go on vacation And beyond take a summer vacation.
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: Okay, so that is number one.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: Create a presence through your social media.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Create.
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: Well, another question had with that.
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: You mentioned Instagram.
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: Are you, do you have a tick-tock presence at all or no?
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: We dabbled in that, we tried it.
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: Where are students?
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: Well, students are.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: I feel like Instagram is a good catch-all, because I think we catch Facebook.
• 11:56
  Speaker 1: We don't really catch students, we only catch parents.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: So I kind of abandoned that.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: Instagram, i think, is a good in between, because we catch both Students and parents.
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: So I'm about it.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: Right now.
• 12:10
  Speaker 1: I feel like we're catching a lot more parents, which is fine with me, because they're the ones who are gonna bring their junior higher to church, so whatever.
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: But we do have a lot of kids on too.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: I know kids are on snapchat Still a ton.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: Well, here's the thing, and I don't know if they still use it this way, but as of the very, very recent future, a lot of students in our area was they were using snapchat like you would use text message.
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: So I don't know like how much content we really needed.
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: They were just using it to find and communicate with people they know, sort of just like a DM text kind of thing.
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: And then there's tick-tock, which I think that is where a ton of them are.
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: My tick-tock game is super weak.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: I love to scroll, i don't love to post, but I do think that if you have someone who's good at it and Can update it and all of that, go for it, be on tick-tock.
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: I think that's a great way to capture people.
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: I don't think you'll capture as many parents I don't know.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: Oh, you might be surprised.
• 13:13
  Speaker 1: I know I just gonna say I'm a parent, i'm on tick-tock, it's super fun.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Like I said, i don't want to post.
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: I don't have any, i don't really care to do that but I love watching the funny Dog videos and stuff like that.
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: So so, yeah, i think those you just kind of have to feel your culture of where they're at and What would be the best use of your time.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: So if you're not good at it, two things you could learn Easy.
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: Or you could utilize a high school student.
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: That's what we do.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: I have a guy my like associate pastor is pretty good at social media.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: I post.
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: I don't make him do it all.
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: You can tell whose posts or whose when you look at our Instagram page.
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: But we have a high school student who will come on Tuesday nights and she'll film and then she'll cut it up, edit it that night and then post it as a reel on our story in real time.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: So if you didn't come to youth group, you see exactly what happened.
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: If you did come, you're kind of looking for yourself and it creates which I love a little bit of FOMO.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: And you know, here's the thing Things always seem more fun when relived through photo and video.
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: Like even when you watch your wedding, you're like crying you know, and it was an amazing experience, but it's like what are you saying With the?
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: music and the pictures and the aesthetic and the.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: You know, it's just more emotional And I like to kind of leverage that sometimes on our stories is like, well, that looks so hype.
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: Was it as hype as it felt when we were there?
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: No, but it feels cool to relive it Like I was there.
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: Look at us, you know.
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: So if you're not good at it, find a high schooler who is and pay them in gift cards or Starbucks, or a young college age student or something, if you have six through 12.
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: Through it, we get a college student to do that And you can make that their job and they can document, or, i guess, if you had.
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: If you were doing six through 12th, you could have that be one of the student leadership jobs of your older students Yep.
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: So Yeah, that is definitely an easy win.
• 15:18
  Speaker 2: They're gonna be on their phone anyways.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: They are.
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: I mean like again full circle.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: But no matter how much you hate it, that's what they're doing.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: That's where they are.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Is it sinful to post Instagram?
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: I don't think so.
• 15:31
  Speaker 2: We place all cell phones in a sack and then we beat it with hammers And then we hand them back the pieces.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: At the end Say there you go, heathens, put it back together.
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: If you bring it back next week, we're gonna do the same thing, can you?
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: imagine, i know some youth groups collect cell phones.
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: Yep, i mean I would just the riot that would ensue And I don't wanna be responsible for your stuff.
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: Like I just tell them put it away during worship and the message.
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: But I mean I can't regulate their cell phones.
• 16:02
  Speaker 2: I don't want to.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: Okay, let's move on Number two.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: One reason you might not be getting visitors is because they don't know how to come, because you're so inconsistent, like.
• 16:16
  Speaker 2: What, what?
• 16:18
  Speaker 2: You don't know how to come, how to?
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: come to your youth group Like okay, so here's that.
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: That probably was a weird way of word here.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: They don't know when you're meeting and when.
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: How do I come?
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: By car, by train, by Uber, By scooter?
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: Go, dogs go.
• 16:38
  Speaker 2: No, i mean like When you're meeting, what time you're meeting, what day you're meeting?
• 16:43
  Speaker 1: Okay, so here's a perfect example, We live in a town and for Southern California it's a relatively small town.
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: How many people live in Fallbrook?
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: Probably between 60 and 70,000.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: Okay, so that's small for this area.
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: So the businesses in our town just randomly decide to close, like on a Monday at 1pm.
• 17:05
  Speaker 2: Regardless of what their hours say.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they just do whatever they want.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: So I was trying to get our vacuum cleaner fixed for like three weeks and I kept showing up to the vacuum cleaner store and they were always closed.
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: Always and I was looking at their hours, They were still in business.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: I knew cause.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: The lights were on, but the door was locked.
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: So I finally went on Facebook and I said does anybody know the hours of this vacuum place?
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: I cannot get this thing fixed.
• 17:30
  Speaker 1: And they're like, oh, just whenever they feel like it, I'm like, okay.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: So then I drove a half an hour to Oceanside to go get our vacuum cleaner fixed and they got it done and it was not on my way, but I was willing to drive further for someone I could rely on instead of people just like I don't know, let's just close in the middle of the work week.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: You know, it drove me crazy.
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: All that to say, that's a perfect example, I think, of people who are trying to get involved in a youth group and a church, but they can't keep up with your up and down schedule.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: So you need to be consistent.
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: This is the day we meet, This is the time we meet, This is the location we meet.
• 18:12
  Speaker 1: Now there are special circumstances.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: I'm not saying you are a robot and you cannot deviate.
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: Obviously we do chaos at the beach.
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: You know like in the summer, one Tuesday instead of meeting at church we meet at the beach.
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: Make sure everybody knows we cancel a couple because we're at camp or it's the 4th of July or something like that, But by and large we meet 6.30 to 8.30 every Tuesday night all year round at the church.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: That's how you can count on.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: We'll have a few specialty ones.
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: Like I said, very few, I think.
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: There's like Maybe one that I can't think of anything else except chaos.
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: That besides chaos at the beach.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: Oh, we're not meeting there at the church, Yeah and then it's Christmas, we take two weeks off and then we're gone when it's summer camp, because we're all gone.
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: That's like three out of 52 weeks out of the year.
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: So Be consistent.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: I think it's just really like visitors Just can't predict.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: When you're zigging or zagging and they're trying to get involved, just like me in the vacuum store, they're gonna give up and they would probably rather drive to the next town over and try that youth group, because If they're consistent and they can count on them being there and they don't have to guess Oh, we showed up and no one was there.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: I guess they're taking the summer off, or oh, they're taking a random break in the fall and how would I have possibly known that?
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: or oh, tonight It's at this person's house instead of here.
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: You know, it's just like keep it consistent So that visitors always can walk in the door and have the experience that you're trying to give them.
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: So I think that's it on that.
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: Do you have anything to say?
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: No, i mean I would just be echoing the same things that you said.
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: I feel like if somebody shows up and you're not there, they're gonna be Half as likely to probably try and come back, i mean, unless they were really motivated.
• 20:09
  Speaker 2: But if it happened to be that, like hey, i think I'm gonna check it out.
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: Yeah, maybe I'm a little nervous, or whatever.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: That could be the thing that they say, never mind.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Well, and I think it goes back to the insider thing too.
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: So you, if you, if people show up and the lights are off and the doors are locked and it should have been a youth group night What you've just communicated is, again, you're not on the inside because everyone else knew.
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: So how did you miss it?
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean.
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: Like we don't want to create this like well, because then who are you reaching?
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: again, you're reaching the people that are already there.
• 20:42
  Speaker 1: They're already in the loop, they already know, but we want to be accessible to everyone.
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: So, just keep normal business hours as much as possible and don't get super creative.
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: If you can't be a youth group, don't cancel, right?
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: you should have help, you should have a staff, you should have a right-hand man or woman, someone who can fill in for you.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: I think just because you're on vacation or on paternity or maternity leave, whatever, it doesn't mean youth group stops.
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: I mean, i've had two babies.
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: I get three months maternity.
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: Youth group kept on going.
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: Right, you filled in one time and then our associate pastor and my intern filled in one time.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: Like Then I had a surgery and then I was gone for a month recovering.
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: Youth group didn't stop, like.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: So find ways to keep going, even when your life hits the fan, even when you need a break, even when you're on vacation.
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: It shouldn't revolve around your schedule, but you know you want those visitors to have every opportunity To come, don't keep them guessing and make sure you don't stop during the summer.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Don't stop, won't stop.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: No.
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: And then the other one is a lot of times It's tempting to like there's something going on in town and all the kids are gonna be going there, So there's only gonna be two or three kids that are probably gonna come.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: You still have youth group And you just make it really awesome for those few.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: Mm-hmm but we've talked about that before.
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: Like you know, you don't want to say well, since no one else is coming, u3 aren't really worth having youth ministry, yeah, so we're just gonna cancel it, right, it's.
• 22:15
  Speaker 2: That's less of a new person probably coming, but still the same idea.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, i just.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: I mean, I guess what we're saying.
• 22:22
  Speaker 1: Bottom line is one in doubt don't cancel just keep going always, always keep going.
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: You know Those of you who are in the parts of the country that have winter so bad.
• 22:31
  Speaker 2: We don't deal with that.
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: I see it all the time.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: Feels like like the roads are shut down.
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: That's, that's reason okay, i guess our wildfires shut it down.
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: Yeah we had really bad wildfires.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: That's a season.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: Out here We have wildfire season wildfire season, we have to evacuate and We had to cancel.
• 22:49
  Speaker 2: But you know, Everything else are the obvious caveats.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: Number three Why are you not getting new visitors?
• 22:57
  Speaker 1: Well, you might not be specialized enough and here's.
• 23:00
  Speaker 2: You might not be special special.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: I Don't know what to tell you.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Not everyone could be special, or else special doesn't exist.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: Okay, specialized, specialized that so You're gonna be shocked to hear me say this, but Because you have junior, high and high school together there, i said it.
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, i am unapologetically Very against having junior, high and high school together.
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: I think it is a Visitor killer, it's a growth killer, it is a health killer.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: It is all the killers Here's who likes it?
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: people that already go to your church, who are totally bought in and have siblings and parents only have to go to One night, and there are the people who all get along and are one big happy family.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: But for anyone visiting your church and a new parent, nope, not a good, not a good impression, not a good look for a lot of reasons.
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: We've done episodes on it.
• 24:00
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Jeff, can you link them below, oh?
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: I certainly can Thank you.
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: This just Jeff said he would link that episode below.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: I didn't want to assume you were gonna make a note to myself.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: Hey you, i'm gonna pull you by your ear.
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: Collar, what are they used to?
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: do?
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: I don't know what I'm writing.
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: Oh, like you, just made a scribble scrabble, i did, or if you're on YouTube it'll be up over there.
• 24:28
  Speaker 2: You can click on that.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: Right there You know it's funny though, so obviously you've you've voiced this opinion on other episodes, and we've done a complete episode that I'll be sure to link below Or up in the corner on YouTube.
• 24:42
  Speaker 2: Thanks, jeff a lot of people.
• 24:44
  Speaker 2: Listen and watch know that, but a lot of them, when they email us, will almost confess it.
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: I know, like I know you said not to.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: here's what I do.
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: It's okay, i like you, i'm not mad at you, all I'm saying.
• 25:00
  Speaker 1: It will help this is really hard for visitors and You can listen to the other episode, but let me give you a quick little snapshot, trying to please.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: I have a hard time pleasing sixth, seventh and eighth graders and hitting the mark on age Appropriateness with all of them.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: Like, try talking about something like sex and dating with a sixth grader and an eighth grader Who's about to go to high school.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Vastly different places, social media, the way we use our phones, appropriateness online.
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: Sixth graders don't even have phones.
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: Eighth graders are into some like bad stuff sometimes, so that's hard enough.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: And then not even to mention entertaining them in terms of, well, what kind of game do you want to play?
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: and one of you wants to run around, one of you wants to hold hands with your girlfriend, and like trying to bridge that gap now when they hold hands, we put them in a sack and we beat their hands with a hammer.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Put them in the phone.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: But then that gets exponentially more complicated when now you add in a upperclassmen junior senior where they're at It.
• 26:08
  Speaker 2: Guys, That spectrum of what you can talk about comes very short.
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: The breadth is too far.
• 26:14
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: Also just speaking as a parent.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: My daughter will be in sixth grade next year.
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: She is super excited to come to my youth group and for me to be her youth pastor.
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: I hope she still feels that way in a year.
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: I don't want her hanging out with junior boys.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: No way, Jose.
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: Not because, oh, they're going to hit on her, but the things they talk about, not that they're technically inappropriate, It's just not age appropriate, Like she doesn't need to be.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: Junior boys less than high school or Yes, okay, eleventh grade.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: But not seniors.
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: They're cool Okay.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Just all the high school boys or whatever, just anybody who is older.
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: I just don't think junior hires need to be hanging out with high schoolers, yeah.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: So I just think it's not age appropriate, but also sorry, i'm going to lose my thought, but also high schoolers.
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: Some of them will just welcome junior hires in with open arms, like, oh, you're my little buddy, whatever.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: It's not conducive to visitors, though.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: Like so it's people who, oh, that's someone, so little sister, she's so cute, love her, or whatever It's because you already know them.
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: But what if you're trying to get new high schoolers to come in and they just see like a bunch of what they would and their perspective are little kids, even my eighth graders.
• 27:27
  Speaker 1: When the new sixth graders come in, they're like why are these little kids here?
• 27:30
  Speaker 1: I'm like, oh my gosh, and so it's just.
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: It's just so many angles of unhealth, i think Yeah.
• 27:40
  Speaker 2: I just wanted to give.
• 27:41
  Speaker 2: to put it in perspective, the one of the schools that is local here to us, it is a junior high that they built the high school campus, or the high school, on the same campus.
• 27:54
  Speaker 2: They share a campus.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: I don't know how much of the facilities they actually share, but anyways there is a big uproar because the this is public school.
• 28:03
  Speaker 2: There's a big uproar because a lot of the parents are like you can't have junior hires on the same campus as 18 year olds.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: Right, that's a public California school that people are saying these can't be together.
• 28:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and it's just or shouldn't be together Like?
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: sometimes I'll notice like I'll take our daughter with us to beach days or something.
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: Should be like, hey and I'll have a few junior hires in the car And I never think my students are inappropriate until she's in the car with me And I'm like, okay, what you're saying is not bad, it's just not age appropriate for my fourth grader, you know, and I kind of am like cringing on the inside And so for the same way that you could have discussions about sex or alcohol with adults, and it's not sinful and evil and bad but you wouldn't have that conversation in front of your sixth grader, yep.
• 28:58
  Speaker 1: And so for the health and growth and for visitors again, it's just, if we have a visitor in mind, we want to have a specialized group for them.
• 29:05
  Speaker 1: So the other side of that is not just dividing junior, high and high school, but the other side of that too is having specialized service for each age group.
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: So, for example, some churches will say, oh well, we have a youth group that meets on Wednesday, but on the weekends everyone just goes in the main church.
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: That's not conducive to a visitor, because if you want kids to come to church I have kids who come parent lists all the time to my church on the weekends, not just youth group, less likely, but still So when they get dropped off at church, they want to come to church on a Sunday.
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: What do they do?
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: They sit in an auditorium with a bunch of adults They don't know.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: No, they come into the junior high room for a junior high service meant for a junior higher.
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: So every age group should have a place at every service.
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: I just really cringe sometimes at the just lump them all together kind of thing.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: Or all the kids or everyone goes in with the adults, and all of that because it's not specialized, because no one's going to get known that way.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: If a 12 year old walks into an adult service, nobody is looking out for that kid or trying to get to know them.
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: They're just lumped into a crowd.
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: Whereas if they come in to the junior high room and like, hey, you're new, what's your name, what's school to go to?
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: Let me introduce you to another seventh grader who can be your friend, and Oh, we have some donuts.
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: Why don't you make yourself comfortable and fill out this information card?
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: I'm like assimilating this person.
• 30:37
  Speaker 1: It's not just hurting them into the auditorium, the sanctuary, whatever you guys call it.
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: But I just think we need to make sure do we have something for every age group at every service we offer?
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: because, for a visitor, what if they show up on a Saturday night and they're like Oh well, i have my junior hire with me.
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: Oh sorry, well, we don't have junior high Saturday night, but we have it on?
• 30:57
  Speaker 2: Sunday Yeah, we're the vacuum store all of a sudden.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: Yeah, come back on this day.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: It's like no, just make it simple for people When you show up, we've got a place for you, we've got a place for your kid all the time.
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: Every time you don't have to guess Well, they have, because all have parents come in like well, i have a kindergartner and a high schooler.
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: Like I'm like, yeah, so we put the kindergartner with the kindergartners.
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: High schooler goes up to high school.
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: Boom, we do K through 12.
• 31:21
  Speaker 2: They're all in one room.
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, The worst, Nobody's getting fed at that point We're just surviving.
• 31:28
  Speaker 1: So I know some churches are small and some of the things I'm saying you probably have a million, Yeah, But kind of things I get it.
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: I'm not in your context.
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: I don't know every detail.
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: All I'm saying is, if you're wondering why you don't get visitors and that people are saying this could potentially be a reason.
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: Maybe it's not for you, I don't know, But I just think people need to know that they have a place for everyone in my family at every service and it's specialized for their needs.
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: A junior hire has different needs than an adult and adults have different needs than a second and third grader.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: And meeting people where they're at Just drop them off and they're like a parent's dream is when their kids love church.
• 32:17
  Speaker 1: I remember and this kind of brings us to number four is that it needs to be fun.
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: I remember having to sit through church with my parents.
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: I don't know if the church we went to growing up didn't have a Sunday school or if it was just like I am not going in there, I just would sit there and color the entire time And it was like stifling.
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: I could not wait for church to be over.
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: And here's the thing Number four make sure it's fun.
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: Make sure it's tailored to the age group that you're trying to reach.
• 32:49
  Speaker 1: It should really feel like a refreshing experience, not a stifling experience.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: I remember watching the clock like when is this guy going to shut up?
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: When is this going to be over?
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: I did not look forward to church.
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: My own children and my students can't get enough.
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: They want to be at every service.
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: They don't want it to end.
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: Their parents like come in my classroom, like forcing them out.
• 33:13
  Speaker 1: Come on, it's time to go and they're still playing basketball and chatting with friends and stuff like that.
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: We've got to make it fun and sort of like, along with that social media thing, i think sometimes we as spiritual guides think like fun is not spiritual, you know, but really, yes, we're here to learn and worship and all of that.
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: But part of like fellowship is enjoying the family of God.
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: Like we want to enjoy each other and if we can create environments that people are enjoying each other, like that is such a win.
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: I think God wants his family to want to be in his house and want to be with his family and want to be with his children and their brothers and sisters in Christ and like not want to leave, not like get me out of this place, i'm drowning in boredom.
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: I mean, i just feel like we can't separate the two and say, well, if it's spiritual, it can't be fun, if it's fun, it can't be spiritual.
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: Like God created us with a need for fun and excitement and energy And I think, especially when you work with students, like we've got to make that a priority And maybe that doesn't come naturally to you And you're like no, we want to get really deep in the word.
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: Well, that's fine, get really deep in the word, but also have a party for Jesus, because we should be celebrating our faith every single time we come into that building.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: We never want people to associate church, god faith, with boredom, drudgery, stifling.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: Maybe it's really interesting for you, but also realize you're the pastor for a reason, because you probably eat up theology and you love it, and make sure that you're not projecting like well, i love to study the Greek and Hebrew word of every single little thing And I think the students should know that too.
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: Yeah, i'm not, you know me.
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: I've done plenty of episodes on set, the bar really high for what you talk about with students.
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: Don't dumb it down, they can handle it.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: But also be deep and be fun, like have opportunities so that people are excited to come to church.
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: They can't wait to come back.
• 35:18
  Speaker 1: If a visitor comes in and it is boring, they'll.
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: I remember being a kid and trying to go into the kids classrooms and eventually giving up And what a shame, because maybe what they were teaching was good.
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: I don't know, but I just knew I was so bored that I was losing my mind and an hour felt like three hours and nobody played.
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: And they're all just like boring crafts and I'm just spelling, i'm going to die, you know.
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: So meet the human need of fun and energy and then just hose them with the truth.
• 35:52
  Speaker 2: Get deep, go nuts with theology, have a great time teaching, but even with that, like you said, it may be interesting to you, It should be interesting to them too.
• 36:03
  Speaker 2: Like you said this on other episodes that if you're teaching the Bible boring, I can't.
• 36:09
  Speaker 2: how did you say it before?
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: Well, okay.
• 36:11
  Speaker 1: So Chris Brown, one of our senior pastors, said I.
• 36:13
  Speaker 1: He said I finally came to the realization the Bible isn't boring.
• 36:18
  Speaker 1: It was just taught to me by boring people my whole life And he said shame on us If we teach the Bible and people leave bored, because the Bible and in and of itself is not boring.
• 36:30
  Speaker 1: It's very compelling.
• 36:31
  Speaker 2: So it's not, it's not the the icebreaker and game over here And then while you still have to have a boring message overarching.
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: this is it's not just fun, it's interesting.
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: It is.
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: But see if I'm a visitor.
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: I might not.
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: I might be coming and not be so interested in theology day one.
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: But, again, but you bring up a good point.
• 36:56
  Speaker 2: I'm just not saying it's.
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: It's the two sides of it, exactly.
• 36:59
  Speaker 2: All of it should be interesting, all of it should be fun, all of it should be engaging.
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: But if you teach it really well, even someone who walks in the door for the first time has never heard the Bible taught and has no interest, just kind of was wanting to come to meet friends or whatever their motivation was Like if you teach it right, i mean that can be the start of their like whoa, like this is what I've been missing, this is what I've been looking for.
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: So I'm not saying we're entertainers, you know, and that church is supposed to be some like, but I also think shame on us if we're a snooze fest, because nothing about the Bible is boring and nothing about the family of God should be boring.
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: We should be people where they walk in and they like catch the life.
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: You know like there's a buzz and excitement and people are happy to be here and happy to see each other and there's energy, not just out of duty, like here we are another Sunday, like I don't think that's what God wants for us at all And a visitor.
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: If they see the fun and excitement and that like people don't want to leave, kind of thing, then we'll keep getting them to come through the door hearing the word and lives will be changed.
• 38:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, there are four areas of your youth ministry that you can look into and see if there's something that you can improve or change, and hopefully that will bring a lot of the new visitors in.
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: But once you get the new visitors to come, how do you make them stay?
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: And we've done an episode all about that that jump a link below or up in the corner.
• 38:33
  Speaker 2: What a swell guy Yeah, so make sure you guys check that out about how, when you do have a new visitor, how to make them feel welcome and get connected.
• 38:40
  Speaker 2: All right, we've got a lot of things to cover still in this podcast.
• 38:44
  Speaker 2: Don't go.
• 38:45
  Speaker 2: Oh no, what are you talking about?
• 38:47
  Speaker 2: This is exciting, oh, it's exciting.
• 38:48
  Speaker 2: We have the winner for our final giveaway for the dodgeballs.
• 38:52
  Speaker 2: We also have a question of the day, and then we have another little announcement to do.
• 38:58
  Speaker 2: I think we're going to forgo the community comment of the day just to save some time, but the question of the day is something that I cannot remember Where is the weirdest place you have been.
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: Thank, you, what is the weirdest place that you have been like on earth, whether it's a theme park, a just a city, a town, an area, whatever it is, what's the weirdest place you've ever been to?
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: It's Tide.
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: I've been to Yucca Valley in California.
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: It was very weird.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: It was looked like nobody lived there and every business looked abandoned and closed and it was creepy.
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: There was no plants And I don't know.
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: I just got a strange feeling.
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: Number two was when I went to Israel, when I went to the Temple Mount, the Dome of the Rock.
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: it was spiritually intense because you have the Jews down below, at the whaling wall, the Western Wall, you know where they're praying, And then up top, where the dome is, you have Muslims and there's just this really palatable tension.
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: And one of our guys had a Bible verse on his shirt.
• 40:10
  Speaker 1: He didn't even realize it and he went up there but since it's Muslim controlled, they lost their minds and it was just very Like I couldn't breathe, like I just felt like I'm gonna do something wrong, they're gonna get mad.
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: And it was just crazy like how intense they were up there and how like the security was so intense and you had to dress a certain way and like be very cautious with everything.
• 40:35
  Speaker 1: You said, everything you did, everyone you looked at, everyone, you talked to you.
• 40:39
  Speaker 1: I just felt like, oh my gosh, one false move and I could be toast.
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: I just felt very Uneasy, and I never really felt that way before, so it made a very big impact on me.
• 40:52
  Speaker 2: Mine would be a lot closer to Yucca Valley, but it's the Salton Sea, which is also in California.
• 40:57
  Speaker 2: There's a giant body of water East of us and if you look at it on a map it's huge and I went out there one time just because I wanted to see it by Myself, and apparently it's a big drug area again, like a lot of just rundown, broken down, abandoned things and The quick story, if you really are just to look it up on Wikipedia.
• 41:18
  Speaker 2: But the area I think flooded I don't remember if it was on purpose or a damn broke or something But they intended it to be like the next Lake Tahoe or something like really cool and this, you know this destination for vacations and And it was all water coming in, no water going out, which made it really stagnant and gross and like Just fish will just all of a sudden just die.
• 41:43
  Speaker 2: You know like there's a lot of weird Ecological things that are going on there that are strange and it's really thick with, i think, salt and it's very salty water.
• 41:51
  Speaker 2: But anyways, if you go out there It's, it's just a really odd place and odd feeling that you get when you're there because it's you can't hear anything.
• 41:59
  Speaker 2: Because there's nothing to hear like it's just, it's weird.
• 42:02
  Speaker 2: So, anyways, random.
• 42:03
  Speaker 2: What is your guys is weirdest place that you've ever been.
• 42:06
  Speaker 2: Make sure you put it in the comment section below if you're watching on YouTube.
• 42:09
  Speaker 2: Real quick, we wanted to give a shout out to our most recent all-star member of our YouTube membership, and I'm probably gonna screw up your name and I apologize.
• 42:21
  Speaker 2: But Jackie or aha, We appreciate you being the latest Member on on YouTube, just so, if you guys do get value from our episodes and you wanted to contribute Monetarily.
• 42:33
  Speaker 2: You can either do that through a YouTube membership or you can do that through patreon.
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: Either way, we really appreciate it and, jackie, we appreciate your support.
• 42:41
  Speaker 1: Thanks, jackie.
• 42:43
  Speaker 2: Now for This is the week five of a five-week giveaway.
• 42:50
  Speaker 2: This is the last one, so thank you guys, all of you who have put a review or have you know I wanted to enter or left comments, things like that.
• 43:00
  Speaker 2: We really appreciate it, but the winner, so Katie, katie, a two-time winner, because the camera was the last.
• 43:13
  Speaker 2: She's a lucky gal or the time before She had had one before here's a crazy thing.
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: Loves her there's like it was like 900 entries what and yet she won.
• 43:24
  Speaker 2: So did Tommy a couple weeks.
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: Hey, there is a whole I know I was gonna say maybe they'll tell us.
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: But there's people who are like professional contest winners because they know how to do it.
• 43:37
  Speaker 2: But do you know how The number generator on Google, where it works?
• 43:43
  Speaker 2: but you wouldn't know what order you were gonna even be plugged in.
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: I don't know, i just know there's like I maybe you saw it some YouTube commercial right now And it's about this lady who's won like every contest She's ever entered and she has this whole system of how she does it.
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: I don't know, i don't watch it, but I just looked interesting.
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: Well, katie, let us know what your secret.
• 44:02
  Speaker 2: Katie we thank you so much for entering the giveaway and we will be in contact with you to send those dodgeballs to you for everybody else.
• 44:09
  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for watching and listening and we'll see you next time.
• 44:13
  Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to the the.
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: Hello, welcome.
• 44:18
  Speaker 2: Hello and welcome.
• 44:19
  Speaker 2: Hello and welcome to the youth, what's it called?
• 44:23
  Speaker 2: And today we're gonna talk all about some mistakes.
• 44:26
  Speaker 2: Ah, but no, we thank you so much for something.
• 44:31
  Speaker 2: I don't know what I'm saying.