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5 Ways to Make a SMALL YOUTH GROUP Feel Much BIGGER! · Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Are you looking to make your smaller youth group have bigger energy?
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Then stick around, because we're going to give you five ways to do just that.
• 0:19
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Ministry Coach Podcast, where we give you weekly tips and tactics to help you fast-track the growth and health of your youth ministry.
• 0:25
  Speaker 2: My name is Jeff Laskola and this is Kristen Laskola.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: And today we are going to talk about ways to make a small youth group feel bigger.
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: And caveat here like it doesn't mean that bigger is better.
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: It's not saying like, oh poor you little youth group.
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: Well, here's how to be a big one or feel like a big one because some youth groups are small and that's fine.
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: And what we're talking about more when we say feel bigger is just sometimes you want a different type of like energy or magnetism.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: Sometimes that's lacking in a small youth group.
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: It doesn't mean small is bad, it just means like you might want something that has more of a buzz and a draw.
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: And if that's what you're looking for, I have a few ideas and ways to create that magnetism and that buzz and that energy, even if the numbers aren't necessarily there, because when you're a big youth group you can just sort of rely on the critical mass that's in the room to provide the energy.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: You might be doing the same exact thing, but it just feels bigger or like more dynamic in a large group setting, even though it's the same game or the same event, and you know I'm speaking from experience because I went from working at a very large youth group, like 300 kids, to then getting shipped to another campus which was a very small youth group which was like 11 kids, and then we've grown since then to now like about 150.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: So I've been big, big, small and everything in between I feel like, and when we're really small, like thinking back to like the 11 kid youth ministry, I loved it.
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: By the way, I was not like, oh man, my goal is to grow it to 200 kids.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: It was just I'm going to do good ministry and whatever happens happens, 200 kids.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: It was just I'm going to do good ministry and whatever happens happens.
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: But I loved the small feel and I'll explain why in a little bit and we'll talk about some of the benefits to a small youth group.
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: But I remember having to strategize a few things that I like, things I wanted to do, but I just couldn't quite pull off the right way or the way I shouldn't say the right way, the way I wanted it to be, without the numbers being there, and so you kind of had to find some workarounds and that's what I'm going to share with you today.
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: So number one I normally say we don't combine with high school, but there was a season where I I wasn't combining my youth group with high school, even at 11 kids it was just junior high.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: But I would decide for numbers and energy and resources sake, to combine with our high school ministry for some things.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: For example, we used to do an all nighter and I just felt like, well, I only have 11 kids and not all of them are going to sign up.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: So like what am I taking four or five kids around the town?
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: Like all night long, maybe, but I thought it would be more fun and more energetic and more of a vibe if we had more people.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: So I would like um scheme with our high school pastor and we would have a joint effort in the bus and a joint effort and booking these places.
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: And then we had more of a mass of like 20 to 30 kids, you know, coming to an event, rather than five or six, and it just felt like, ooh, this is fun, like this is an event you know not like a small group.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: And here's the hard thing with really small groups at events is like if you show up and like you're almost forced to be friends with those other four or five, you know there's no escaping, like you can't blend in or kind of just hang with one person.
• 4:16
  Speaker 1: It's kind of like we're either all together or we're not, because there's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, and so the relational weight gets shifted as well.
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: It's a different dynamic.
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: So I loved combining with him, for we used to do beach days together.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: So we would like take the kids in the summer down to the beach every Thursday and we would combine junior, high and high school for that Cause it wasn't like program.
• 4:44
  Speaker 1: It was like we would combine junior, high and high school for that because it wasn't like program.
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: It was like, hey, it's just a fun, casual beach day and there was enough room for them to.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: High school could be over here and junior high can be over here and I loved it because I got to see.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: I very rarely get to see my old high school students like in a prolonged setting, it's more like in passing, like at church, like hi, you know.
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: But I loved that.
• 5:06
  Speaker 1: Um, we would do it for the all nighter.
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: And then the other strategy I used, rather than just combining with high school, you know, we have the benefit of being a multi-site church, so we have like about eight campuses within like a 30 mile radius or something like that.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: So I would combine with other campuses to do camps.
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: And I still do that for my winter camp because we rent out the entire conference center.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: So you know, it's just different campuses but, the same church.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: we would do this after the battle in October.
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: That's like our big competition series.
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: We would do reward trip.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: We've done different places, you know Six Flags or a water park, depending on the time of year, and I would combine with them for that.
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: So like, okay, maybe I can't afford a bus all on my own and I don't want to do all these drivers and group rate tickets and all of that kind of stuff worked so great, Just kind of riding the coattails of another larger campus or combining with a campus.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: And you might be thinking, well, I'm not multi-site, so I guess this doesn't apply to me.
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: However, I mean, whatever your preferences, I feel like it's not even a bad idea to combine with another smaller church in your area and be like, hey, what if we both ran our competition series at the same time and then combine for the reward trip.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Or what are you guys doing for summer camp?
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: Would you want to do a combined rafting trip?
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: or camping or boating trip or something like that.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: So if you need more resources, if you need to justify transportation on a larger scale, if you want to have more people, just for the vibe, you might have to combine with either another student ministry in your church or in your area and your vicinity.
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: So that's how I got by for actually a very long time.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: Years and years and years, until we eventually grew to a point where I'm like I think I could do my own all nighter, like I remember having that thought like years down the line of like I think I can do it on my own, but I couldn't for years.
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: It wasn't like one year I had to combine.
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: It was like this was my method of ministry for a very, very, very long time who can I combine with to do the things I want to do, but I know I can't do them on my own.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: So as a small youth group, I wasn't just like, well, I'm not going to do them.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: I was like, well, that's so fun and I don't want our kids to miss out.
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: It's like well we're the small youth group and we don't get to do the cool trips, we don't get to do Six Flags or whatever it might be.
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: It's like, well, we're going to do it.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: I just got to find a way, you know, to make this work, and I did, and nobody complained and it was great.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: And yeah.
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: So how do you justify that with?
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: Because you're very adamant like to not combine middle school and high school?
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: Is it just because it's a special event?
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I would never do it, for, like our weekly program, like I said, even when we were 11 kids, it was just I'm like Tuesday nights, me and the junior hires for years and years and years, but to do a special event I just felt like was different.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: You know, and now I don't combine and I prefer it that way.
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: you know, but I didn't mind doing what I had to do at the time to do a cool event, Like I think it's just like a weight of value, you know what I mean.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: It's like this is worth it because I want to do this event, I think this has value.
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: To do these big cool events, you know, because I didn't want our kids to feel like they were compromising by being the small campus or that they were compromising by coming to a small youth group.
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: It's like small but mighty, we still do all the things.
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: So I think in that sense it was worth it.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: Okay.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: Okay.
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: So number two, another way you can make your smaller youth group have that energy, that buzz.
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: And this one man is the leader energy, ever important, like it is your team, your leaders, your adults.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: They are the culture setters, the tone setters, the energy harnesses, the nucleus of magnetism.
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: It comes from leaders and what I mean by that is you know, I've heard youth pastors say a lot man, I think my leaders need to be more welcoming, like I don't know that they're out there looking for the new kid, and that's a culture thing, that's a training talking, dripping it in kind of thing of like hey, you should be talking the new kid, and that's a culture thing, that's a training talking.
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: Dripping it in kind of thing of like hey, you should be talking to a kid.
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: Like you should be looking for the new people you should be welcoming.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: So, creating that welcoming atmosphere from the top down.
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: You know those leaders being like, they're just like heat sensing, like who needs relationship right now, like, and they go after it.
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: It's such an energy boost and not just standing or sitting in the back waiting for small groups or things like that, like thinking like oh, I'm off.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: Right, you know not my time.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: Yes, and I have seen leaders fall into that trap over the years.
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: They'll just kind of like, sit in the back and they're like, okay, do your your little program and when it's time for small groups, and so this mantra I've been telling my team lately is full engagement, full engagement, full engagement.
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: Like you are creating the vibes.
• 10:28
  Speaker 2: It's very important otherwise just have them show up at small group exactly well, show up for your shift, you here at 6 30, because we start at 6 30 yes so you're here the whole time.
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: You might as well, you know, engage and that, yeah, brings up.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: The other thing I want to talk about is like them in games.
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: Like when you have leaders playing the games, the energy it they're like worth.
• 10:52
  Speaker 1: If they're doing it right, I feel like they're worth like six people.
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Like it's's when my uh leaders start to play dodgeball and start to get competitive and like are very involved in the game and roughing like no way you're out and like good job and high-fiving kids and you know it's just like it brings up the mass a little bit more.
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: So having your leaders not only involved in the games like playing, roughing, splitting teams, encouraging whatever their role is and I love doing leader only rounds of games when it fits or works, like dodgeball or tug of war or kajabi or something like that it's just like so fun to watch.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: We.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: We played flag tag the other night and it was like I felt like I was watching like the gladiators, like you know, in the arena and it was like oh, because leaders are especially the guys, they're like big and so it's like oh, no, like it was like exciting, because you're like someone could actually get hurt.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: Like this is crazy and it was just so much fun and the could actually get hurt Like this is crazy and it was just so much fun.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: And the girls too my girls are so competitive Like they will not stop.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: It was like I felt like we were like on the set of Wonder Woman.
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: You know, when they're in that like planet of all girls and they're just.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: It was like you guys are warriors.
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: This is so much fun and the kids were cheering everyone on and they loved it.
• 12:18
  Speaker 1: So harness the power of the leader vibe and give the kids something to like, like, aspire to like, wow.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Their energy is cool.
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: They're involved in worship.
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: You know leader should be in the thick of it for worship, doing the hand motions, jumping up and down, like getting kids, you know, riled up.
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: And then, you know, during the slow songs, my kids have this tradition.
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: I don't know when it started, but they all put their arms around each other and they sway back and forth you know, and I love when I see a leader in the mix of that with their small group or something like that.
• 12:53
  Speaker 1: And I think, like the concept here is that leaders really help hold some of that relational weight for you.
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: Because if you just have a group of students who are maybe a little more quiet or reserved or they don't know each other as well or they're not opening up as much, you throw a leader in there, like a leader who's excited and energetic, that can carry the weight for the group and they can kind of steal some of that energy and it makes it feel more rounded out, feel bigger, feel more exciting and just have that more weight to it.
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: And for you too, as the youth pastor or the youth leader, if that's your role, then you don't have to carry all that weight on your own which is so hard, to be the one planning and executing and setting up
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: you know, then, trying to be the relational glue and the hype person and like, ah, I heard of this church.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: This blows me away.
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: They're a church North of us and they've got bucks Like the it's a rich church, they I would love this to be my job.
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: They hired someone in youth ministry.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: They got paid literally to just be the welcome, hype, energy, high fiver relationship guy Because they weren't like a preacher but they had these extreme relationship and magnetism and charisma and where does one even find that Kids love them?
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: Craigslist man, you can find anything.
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: They just hired him to be there and create an atmosphere of friendliness and warmth and, like crazy, imagine that's your job.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: I don't have to set anything up, I don't have to tear anything down, I don't have to teach.
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: I just have to like make people feel welcome and high five and play video games with kids.
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: I'd be like yes please, unless you're having a really bad day, you're like I don't feel up to this, but it's, you're gonna smile or you're not getting paid.
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: I just thought what a crazy position, yeah I love that um, anyways.
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: So maybe you can't pay your leader to do that.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: Hopefully you don't have to, they just will naturally do it, but don't underestimate their power.
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: Okay, number three can't pay your leader to do that?
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: Hopefully you don't have to, they just will naturally do it, but don't underestimate their power.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: Okay, number three, don't treat your youth ministry as insignificant.
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: And that's kind of what we were talking about in the beginning.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: Like I knew these events I want to do and the vision I had for youth ministry was way above where we were at numbers wise, but I was like, so I'm going to still do it.
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: We were at numbers wise, but I was like, so I'm going to still do it too small for worship?
• 15:21
  Speaker 1: No, we're not.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: I'm going to find a worship team and I'm going to make it happen.
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: Or too small for a big event?
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: No way.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: Like, only the best and only the biggest, like I was always trying to like, treat my youth group like a larger one in the sense that, like I didn't want our size to be prohibitive of anything that I wanted to do and so when the youth pastor has that vision of like, not saying, well, if we were bigger, we could like.
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: If you ever find yourself saying that ain't like, no, how can you?
• 15:55
  Speaker 1: And and some of you are still recruiting worship people and working on it and it's a goal and I know that's such a hard position to find and fill because it's such a specialized skill but work toward that.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: Don't just say, oh well, it's only a few kids, so it doesn't matter.
• 16:08
  Speaker 1: If we have live worship, they deserve it, they want it.
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: Like, play your playlist in the meantime, but actively be looking to find someone.
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: That was me a long time and then you came along.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: Thank you, you did it wasn't necessarily good, but it was live yeah, and then we just kept getting better from there and just every year you know?
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: no, you were the best um, I was there, but like the point is treat your youth group with the respect it deserves.
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: You know, don't, don't curb your efforts because it's only a few kids, right?
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: So, whatever your dreams are, figure out how to make those happen.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, whatever your vision is like, if you think, well, if I had 100 kids, I do this, do it.
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: Find a way, do it to how it works for you, but don't just say, well, it does.
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: You know, and I think that's sometimes youth pastors just get stuck in that rut.
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: When it's a small youth group is they treat it like something like oh well, it's just, it's small right, who cares?
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: They won't care.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: Your students won't care, yeah, and they won't show up.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: Instead of like I you know I've brought up her quote so many times my admin now Arden.
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: Her experience as a junior hire was you guys did all this for us.
• 17:33
  Speaker 1: You know, and I'm like ah, I will never forget that, because I would want every youth group kid to look around at the effort that the youth pastor put in or the church put in for events and programs and events, games and camps or whatever, and to say you did all this for us, you know like.
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: Treat it as if it were a hundred people you needed to impress.
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: Do that for the five, six, 10, 12, whatever you have right now.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: So, and we've talked about this a million times but good leaders find solutions, bad leaders find problems, you know it's like you can always find a problem, but it's those that are good leaders that are like.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: I'm going to figure out the solution to this problem.
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, problems and excuses.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: I think that youth pastors, and probably just people in general, are very good at finding excuses instead of finding a way.
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: You know, it's just like.
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: The old adage if there's a will, there's a way.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: A way it's like do you have the will to make it happen?
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: yeah, or just I.
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: I know it can be discouraging, nobody's going to deny that, but there usually is a solution if you're willing to push hard enough you know for what you want.
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: And then, number four watch your language.
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: Okay, knock it off.
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: No one's gonna come so don't swear no swearing during youth group and that will make your youth group feel much bigger.
• 18:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, see how that makes sense no, I mean limiting talk like oh yes, jeff, that was a Good one.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: So here's some phrases to just get out of your vocabulary.
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: I have fallen into this trap, especially on those nights where you're like, oh my gosh, where is everyone?
• 19:20
  Speaker 1: And you start to cringe like this is so weird.
• 19:24
  Speaker 1: There's only like two kids here, so do not say things oh, it's so hard.
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: Where is everyone?
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's such a hurt.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: Where is everyone Right?
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: Oh, that's such a hurtful thing, because then everyone's.
• 19:34
  Speaker 2: There is a no one.
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: Exactly.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: It's like, and I even hate like, if a kid shows up early and they'll like look at me.
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: Where is everyone?
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: Like I, I didn't sign up for this Like.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: I didn't want this and I'm like I don't want this and I'm like I don't know.
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: You're like a half an hour early.
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: They're coming when it's time or late, so chill.
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: But when we say it as the pastor, like where is everyone?
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: There's like nobody here.
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: When we say stuff like that, we're devaluing, like you said, who is there and it just makes it seem like we are dissatisfied or we are like checked out or we're not bought in.
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: Hey friend, I just wanted to interrupt this episode for a second to let you know about an awesome opportunity for you and your youth ministry.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: So last year we launched our course and coaching program called Youth Ministry Growth Accelerator and the response has been amazing.
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: So we've helped tons of youth pastors grow the size and health of their youth ministry and we want to invite you to be a part of that as well, because maybe you're just sort of feeling stuck in a rut, maybe you don't know what to do next, maybe you just have a vague plan in your mind of what you're doing and you want some real help to get you from where you are to where you want to go.
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: So if that sounds like something you've been looking for, go to growyouryouthministrycom and check it out for more details.
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: All right, let's get back to the episode.
• 20:59
  Speaker 1: Another one would be like if you used to work at a church.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: You know like how I said.
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: I used to work at a youth group that was like 300.
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: And then my first day at the other campus nobody cares about your ex-girlfriend.
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: No one wants to hear about it, right?
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: um, but it's like don't compare it to where you came from.
• 21:18
  Speaker 1: Like well, when I was at my other church.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: Like my other boyfriend, they're not gonna be like, no way wow, you're so important.
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: They're just gonna be like okay, then why are you here?
• 21:30
  Speaker 2: like when people compare, you're just it's so uncomfortable, so devaluing again even something simple as like like saying like well, it looks like we have a smaller group tonight.
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: I would not even say that don't point it out, just run with it thank you for the vips who are here and then, like we kind of already touched on this, but that saying, like saying something like, oh, we're too small for that, like if a student has an idea or if there's a place they want to go or an event they want to do or something they want to incorporate, you know, oh, we're too small for that, even if you're just talking to yourself like I wish we could, but we're too small, you know.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: It's like, well, not necessarily.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: I think you, just you need to do it differently.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: So don't like look at your size and be like, oh, I wish we could, whatever you want to do, find a way, like we were saying.
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: And then this is more of an internal thing, and we've done a whole episode on this, I think, but just comparing yourself to another youth group in town, you know, or in your area or something like that.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: You know, if they're the big one and you're the small one, you're like womp, womp, like sometimes it feels like what's wrong with us, like why are we the small one?
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: And it's so demoralizing after a while, but don't give into that, because who God want, like God has sent kids to you and they're no less valuable than the kids at the other youth group and it doesn't mean they're doing something right and you're doing something wrong.
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: Like everybody has a ministry and you know, like that will knock the wind out of your sails.
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: Probably the quickest is that comparison thing of like I mean and I remember kids used to do it when I first came to our, our campus they'd be like have you heard of this church?
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: Have you heard of this youth pastor?
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: Like I go to that one, like okay, like great Thanks, I feel already like a loser and now you're just like putting the cherry on top, thank you.
• 23:27
  Speaker 1: And so that mind game is just really hard and I just remember thinking I have to just focus on what.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: Yeah, thank you.
• 23:30
  Speaker 1: And so that mind game is just really hard and I just remember thinking I have to just focus on what's in front of me.
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: Where has God put me?
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: What has God given me?
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: Where has God put me?
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: What has God given me?
• 23:39
  Speaker 1: And I will steward the heck out of this.
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: I will manage it and just take care of it like almost aggressively, like I will love this thing and you know it did pay off.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: You know just took time and time and time and time, but there are so many.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: Let's just talk about it now, cause this is a good time but there's so many advantages to a small youth group.
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: So if you're finding yourself in that position and you're like discouraged, don't be because you have you're in a position for such relationship advantage right now.
• 24:13
  Speaker 1: Like I was never closer to the students in my youth group.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: as to when we were small, I knew every single kid I could go to their practices.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: Not practices, that's too much.
• 24:26
  Speaker 2: Their games.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: I went to their recitals, I knew their families, I was going to their birthday parties.
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: Like it was just so sweet, like I felt like I got to do true discipleship, life on life.
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: And that is so sweet because that's why a lot of youth pastors get into youth ministry, because they love students.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: And then when you grow, your distance between you and the student grows and you are more leading your leaders than leading your students.
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: But when we're small I felt like I had a very good pulse on every single student and I could do.
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: Like the other thing too is you can do more and planning things is you look at all the things you can't do but actually there's a ton you can do.
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: Because transportation's not as a big of an issue for you.
• 25:10
  Speaker 1: Money goes a lot further.
• 25:11
  Speaker 1: Like there's just things like you can make, because transportation's not as a big of an issue for you.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: Money goes a lot further.
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: Like there's just things like you can make things nicer.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: Like I'll hear people say, oh, we do a meal before youth group.
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: I'm like that sounds beautiful.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: Like everyone's sitting down to dinner.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: I can't feed all these people.
• 25:27
  Speaker 2: Like we don't get to imagine the mess they would make.
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, like these intimate setting things, I get to imagine the mess they would.
• 25:30
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, like these intimate setting things.
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: I used to have the student leadership team over at my house.
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: I can't do that anymore.
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: Like there's just things that have had to shift and change because we got big so actually bringing up the student leadership.
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: When you have a smaller ministry it's so much easier to convert those students, once they graduate, back into leaders because you have such a strong connection with them.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and they've like really caught the DNA of the ministry and your mentorship and all of that.
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: So, yeah, you can.
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: I feel like I could go more places and do like.
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: I was even talking to my guys, director Caleb, today, and I was like talking about how our beach days have even evolved.
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: It's like I used to put the kids in the van and I'd take them all down.
• 26:15
  Speaker 1: It's like I don't, it doesn't make sense anymore, like, and then we'd all go to in and out afterwards and it's like that doesn't make sense anymore.
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: Now it's a lot more programmatic, like hey, this is drop-off time, pickup time, instead of like me and all my students in the van going to In-N-Out and the beach today.
• 26:34
  Speaker 2: It's like breaking things in the van.
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, they broke every cup holder in the entire world.
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: So I guess maybe it was a good thing that they're not there.
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: But you know, like you can't do those organic relationship things anymore, everything's a lot more programmed and formal.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: You know you have to have formal logistical processes for every single thing.
• 26:54
  Speaker 2: It feels much more like a family when you're little.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: It does.
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: And so you know, I just say that to encourage the youth pastor.
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: That's like, oh, I wish we were growing.
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: Yeah, growth is great, it is, but it's also a very sweet time when you're small.
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: So, lastly, number five.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: So make sure.
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: So this is going back to like, let's think program right now, how to make your program feel bigger with less people.
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: Make sure there's things, not only things to do, like before your program or after your program, Things to do and leaders at those things.
• 27:33
  Speaker 1: So, going kind of back to harnessing the power of your leaders, your volunteers strategically place them around.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: What I mean is like there has to be something that feels like the happenings, like something's happening instead of just like here are four people on a couch, hello welcome, please sit next to us and try to start a conversation.
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: But when things are happening, it the energy feels eventful and bigger.
• 28:01
  Speaker 1: And the way we used to do this is we would have bryant remember he would be outside playing like butts up with the kids.
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: So that was like a fun outdoor thing that you could go and join, and then I would usually be inside dominating on mario kart.
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: Like, literally like winning embarrassingly winning literally every single round.
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: So much so that I told sam comiford I said, if you can beat me, uh, you can win this tv that we're playing on he's like 13 inch, no color tv, tube tv could be yours and he's like, seriously, I'm like, yeah, if you beat me, you get the tv and that next wednesday I was in the senior pastor's office explaining why we didn't have a tv anymore uh, no, I didn didn't lose.
• 28:50
  Speaker 1: I never lost, okay, moving on, never lose.
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: And then someone would be outside playing basketball we have this like freestanding, very dangerous basketball hoop because the kids would try to dunk on it.
• 29:01
  Speaker 1: And then we would have like a roamer kind of catching new kids, like someone just kind of hanging out looking for new families, maybe another leader playing four square.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: So just strategically use your leaders during program time to get away from that, like for people having an awkward conversation on the couch before it begins, like what would a large group be doing?
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: They would all be spread out, they would all be doing something different, and it just gives options and again takes relational weight off of people.
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: And it just gives options and again takes relational weight off of people.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: And that's what we're trying to do.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: Is that like it's not just you go from zero to 60 relationally.
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: It's like I show up and I have to immediately be in conversation with someone.
• 29:45
  Speaker 1: And the reason for that if you're just a Bible study or a small group, that makes a lot of sense.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: But a youth group's purpose, part of it is outreach and there should be an easy way for new people to come in, for people to invite their friends without having to be relationally intimate, right then.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: But if all we're doing is sitting on a couch waiting for a youth group to start, that's like zero to 60 on relational intimacy right away instead of waiting.
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: Okay, we played a game, there was some casual time, the snack shack was open, there was music, I had options of how to roam and what to do instead of it's all focused in one area and there's nowhere else to go.
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: Like that is so high pressure and that's what makes a small youth group feel super small and, again, not bad numbers.
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: Wise to be small, but sometimes small groups carry with it just a different energy that is off-putting to someone who's new, or inviting someone or wanting to do something else besides.
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: Just sit there, so, I think, gathering your team and kind of explaining this vision and say, hey, here's the atmosphere we're trying to create, like can you start a game of wall ball or butts up or you know horse or you know all kinds of stuff, ultimate Frisbee, and let's just have like happenings going on while students are coming and then at the end, while they're getting picked up or however you do it.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: So yeah, that's all of it.
• 31:14
  Speaker 1: Do you have any questions, jeff?
• 31:16
  Speaker 2: No, I know you have a huge heart for small youth ministries, cause you at one point were one.
• 31:20
  Speaker 2: I have a huge heart for small ministry Cause that's when I started volunteering.
• 31:23
  Speaker 2: It was small and I know it can be frustrating.
• 31:26
  Speaker 2: I know that as a youth pastor, you can probably be sitting and thinking what am I doing?
• 31:31
  Speaker 2: Is this even worth it?
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: Especially when you do have that, like well across town, there's a youth group going on tomorrow night.
• 31:36
  Speaker 2: That has you know a thousand kids or whatever, but I think really remember that you know God has put certain students in your ministry and he has them there for a reason and you need to just build those relationships with them and they're probably there because they like that small atmosphere.
• 31:53
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: And there's something to be said for that.
• 31:54
  Speaker 2: Not every church should be a mega church.
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: No, that would be horrible.
• 31:58
  Speaker 2: That would be horrible Because you'd have so many people being like I'm not dealing with that, I'm not dealing with the parking.
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: I'm not dealing with sitting next to somebody I don't know every single week.
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 32:06
  Speaker 2: So there's that intimacy in a smaller youth group, that family vibe.
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: That's good.
• 32:11
  Speaker 2: And when those people get comfortable and enjoy the youth group, they may enjoy it being small, but they will probably invite people they know, sure, and then your youth group will eventually grow in a healthy way, and so healthy growth, you're right.
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: That's, and that's what's most important.
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: If your youth group is healthy, then you're doing it right.
• 32:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I always the growth will come.
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: Think what is my job right.
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I always the growth will come.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: Think what is my job.
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: Faithfulness, not the bible doesn't say grow a huge youth group like that's not the command, it's faithfulness.
• 32:43
  Speaker 1: And I always go back to what he told peter if you love me, feed my sheep.
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: So the faithfulness of feeding the sheep, however many sheep there are.
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: He doesn't say he just of feeding the sheep however many sheep there are.
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: He doesn't say he just says feed the sheep.
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: Feed my sheep, take care of my people.
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: That's what a pastor does.
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: Is they simply shepherd and take care of the flock.
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: So if you're doing that faithfully, then you're doing it.
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: So, be be OK with it.
• 33:09
  Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, let's do a community comment of the day and then after that we are going to announce our first two winners for our 250th episode giveaway.
• 33:16
  Speaker 2: Our 250th episode was two episodes ago the one we did the whole youth group tour, so make sure you check that out.
• 33:24
  Speaker 2: But last week we announced that we're doing a 250th episode giveaway, so the two first winners are going to be tonight.
• 33:30
  Speaker 2: Stick around for just two minutes here, all right.
• 33:33
  Speaker 2: This comes from Shane Coker, who says there's so much around student ministry that feels so heavy and complicated, but each of your videos breaks it down where I feel so encouraged and hopeful.
• 33:42
  Speaker 2: I love how you can fill an episode with so many fun ideas and still bring everything back to the gospel.
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: That's all on you.
• 33:49
  Speaker 2: You're good at that.
• 33:51
  Speaker 2: Thank you, shane.
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: That was a great comment.
• 33:53
  Speaker 1: We appreciate that.
• 33:54
  Speaker 2: Kristen does an excellent job at doing that.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: Oh, thanks, Chef.
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: Oh, you're welcome.
• 33:57
  Speaker 2: Another sweet comment from Jeff Las Cola.
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: I'm glad he feels like it is broken up and doable.
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you know like, instead of just like one big untangled mess, like a tangled up mess to figure out A whole mess of student ministry.
• 34:16
  Speaker 2: No one's gonna get that reference, it was office I was gonna tell them to guess guess put in the comment section below what you thought it
• 34:24
  Speaker 2: was, hey, tell you what for our 250th episode giveaway.
• 34:27
  Speaker 2: We are giving additional entries if you do comments and you'll have to go back and last week's episode has all the instructions, we'll link it below.
• 34:35
  Speaker 2: But, like I was saying, you get extra entries, and today you can get some extra entries by putting in the comment section what was your favorite episode that this podcast has ever done?
• 34:44
  Speaker 2: Put in the comment section below and you'll get five extra entries.
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: So probably gonna be hard to pick just one, well, maybe you can put this one, since you're listening to, it, all right easy.
• 34:55
  Speaker 2: Our two winners and you guys are winning the epic water filter water bottles wow two winners are number one drum roll.
• 35:04
  Speaker 2: Please, adam swar, and excuse me if I pronounced your name wrong.
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: Adam.
• 35:11
  Speaker 2: And the other winner is Mike Torres.
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: Mike and Adam.
• 35:21
  Speaker 2: We win a water bottle.
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: Mike and Adam.
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: Different water bottles too.
• 35:25
  Speaker 2: You don't have to share, no.
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: You're going to ship it back and forth Share ownership.
• 35:30
  Speaker 2: And postage is on you guys.
• 35:31
  Speaker 2: You got to figure out how you're going to get it back, not our problem.
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: You guys each get one.
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: It's in the fine print and we thank Epic Water.
• 35:37
  Speaker 2: Filters for donating those.
• 35:38
  Speaker 1: Thank you, Epic Water Bottles we appreciate it.
• 35:40
  Speaker 2: We thank you guys for watching and listening, and if you do want to get into the giveaway, you do have to email us at ministrycoachpodcast at g emailcom and just put free to 50.
• 35:55
  Speaker 2: That way we know you're in the giveaway and we're going to be doing that over the next few weeks, so you haven't lost your only chance to win.
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 35:59
  Speaker 2: Thank you guys for watching and listening.
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: And we'll see you next time.
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: Today we are talking about five ways to make your small Ruth group, five ways to make your small church youth ministry feel much, much bigger.
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: Are you looking for?
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: Are you looking for ways to make your small youth group feel bigger than it really is?