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Transcript

Exponential Church Growth Begins with the Youth Ministry! Here's How... · Ministry Coach: Youth Ministry Tips & Resources

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: They always say do today what your future self is going to.
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: Thank you for the students that we pour into now.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: Those are the parents of tomorrow.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: The youth ministry really is the growth engine and the lifeblood of the church now, but also the church in the future.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: The church that you love will reflect the health of the youth ministry now in the next 10 years.
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: Today we're talking about how your youth ministry can grow your church overall.
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: 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.
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: My name is Jeff Laskola and this is Doofus Von Dum Dum.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: No, that was you.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: I know I called myself Doofus Von Dum Dum.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: That's what you called me last week.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Truly, I am the Doofus Von Dum Dum.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: All right.
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: So today we're going to talk all about how your youth ministry can grow your church overall, and hopefully that doesn't come as any surprise for you guys.
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: But youth ministry really is the growth engine, the lifeblood or it can be of a lot of churches and unfortunately sometimes church leadership is just not on board with that idea or they haven't fully absorbed or they don't fully believe that.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: Because you know, when I talk to a lot of youth pastors, unfortunately what I hear is that the leadership of their church is not willing to give the correct staff, like the correct ratios of staff, the correct budget, the correct space, like sometimes these youth groups and youth pastors have nowhere to put the kids, they don't have the right space, they don't have the right time slot, meaning they might say, well, you can't meet during the week, you can only meet on the weekend or whatever, not giving them free reign, they don't give them support or resources, and so a lot of youth pastors find themselves in a really difficult position because the youth ministry really is the growth engine and the lifeblood of the church now, but also the church in the future.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: The church that you love will reflect the health of the youth ministry now in the next 10 years, and I really wish that all church leadership, all senior pastors, could get on board with that idea, that think of the church that you want to have in 10 years.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Don't just focus on the adults in the auditorium or the sanctuary, whatever you call it, but the youth in those classrooms are the people who are going to be those people in 10 years.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: And so what kind of environment are you creating?
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: And if you're not giving, you know, if senior pastors aren't giving their youth pastors the correct budget or staffing or space or resources or time slots, all the things we've talked about, it's going to be really hard for the youth pastor.
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: So maybe you can be the agent of change in your church.
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: If you're the youth pastor who's going amen, you know, and just you feel like such a passion for youth ministry but that's not being met with the resources you need to pull off really great youth ministry, then maybe these will give you.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: This episode will give you some talking points and helpful conversation directives the next time you talk to your senior pastor when you're going to ask for something else.
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: And I was going to say and trust me, you don't need a big budget to run good youth ministry, but you do need a supportive church who's willing to resource you and help you with staffing and make sure that you're equipped to do really good stuff.
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, I was going to say is that I feel like senior pastors and leadership a lot of times looks at youth ministry kind of like it's something I guess we have to have but, they don't put it just to echo what you're saying.
• 4:02
  Speaker 2: They don't put it at the forefront and I think it's almost you know.
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: To use an analogy, it's like if there was a rainy day, they would say hey, people are gonna be coming with umbrellas.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: We need to put out a bucket for people to put their umbrellas in.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: These people are coming to church.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: They have kids.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: We need somewhere to put the kids.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: It's not really like a whole lot of effort put into it, like we just need somewhere to put them so that the adults can, you know, go to go to church and be the people of the church, be the church, right, and it's like that afterthought of of the students, um, and who they are as a part of the church.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, and I think that's probably super common, you know, and, like I said, there's probably a lot of you listening that are like, yes, that is, that describes my church perfectly and I've heard that story different church, different pastor, different city, same story.
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: It's so common, unfortunately.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: So why is the youth ministry the engine to grow the church overall?
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: Well, I'm going to give you a couple reasons.
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: Number one because great youth ministries attract young families.
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: So we've talked about this on an episode before.
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: Young families talk to other young families all the time and they recommend things they like for their young families all the time.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: So I am a parent and if somebody says to me, hey, this church has a great VBS, I'm sending my kids there.
• 5:27
  Speaker 1: Guess what, I'm not Googling anything.
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: I'm going where my friends are going and I'm going to sign them up with them.
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: No more needs to be said about it.
• 5:35
  Speaker 1: If they say, oh, we went last year and it was fabulous, my kids loved it, registration starts to state.
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: That's the only selling point that I usually need.
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: Because you're trusting the source.
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and we have this group in our community, that it's like this big group of friends and they all have kids around the same age and they all kind of travel as a flock, you know, together to all the different things and their kids all attend the same camps and sports and holidays and vacations and all this stuff.
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: And so those groups exist everywhere.
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: You know these tight knit groups of families and what they love, they share and they bring each other too and we watched them all kind of come one by one to.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: You know church and our youth group and all of that, and it's not because I was going door to door and saying like, hello, would you like to attend our church.
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: We could really use some young families.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: But young families over time bring other young families and you know, as a parent, like a lot of parents are looking for something really high quality to send their kids to.
• 6:45
  Speaker 1: You know, even if they're not a Christian family, necessarily, if they hear about a thriving youth group on a Wednesday night, chances are if their kid hears about it at school, they're going to bring their kid.
• 6:56
  Speaker 1: And then, you know, eventually you might see those kids bring their parents.
• 7:03
  Speaker 1: So, like, if the kid loves it, the parent is kind of a drop-off, pickup kind of parent.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: Who knows?
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: I've seen it happen so often where eventually the parents will make it in if their kids love it, because maybe I'm jumping the gun here on one of your points, but a parent will go where their kids are happy.
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, we can go there, because I was going to talk about that.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: Most, most parents obviously want their children to go to church and if it comes down to there's church a that the parent really loves but the students or the kids are like I don't like it at all or there's nothing for me there.
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: Versus church b, where the kid is just like, thriving and loves the youth ministry and maybe the adults like the church service itself is not that great.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: They're gonna go with the one where their their kids are most of the time, not all the time I think you're totally right.
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: I think more often than not, a parent will put up with a church, maybe that they don't love it wouldn't be, their first choice if they don't have to beg their kid to go to church, like we were talking about that in the junior high service today.
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: That church should never be like, oh, we have to go, but like you're so excited to be there.
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: And parents, if they know, like some of my students, they come all three services.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: I'm like guys.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: I'm talking about the same exact thing, doing the same message or playing the same game, yet they want to be there because it's fun and that's where their friends are.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: And then they can answer the questions because they already know, and that always happens and I'm like hey, you're learning so good Information retention.
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: That's that's great.
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: I'm very proud of you.
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: This girl raised her hand this morning Cause I was like what does the word stagnant mean?
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: She goes, but I was here for service.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: I'm like that's okay.
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: Just tell me what you learned.
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: That's all right.
• 8:48
  Speaker 2: Um, to give a practical example of of that, our daughters have gone to several VBS this year.
• 8:55
  Speaker 2: We obviously have the church that we go to in our town and another church in our town put on a VBS.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: It was great.
• 9:01
  Speaker 2: Our youngest loved it, and so much that on the weekend they were supposed to come back and perform in front of the church and do their little songs and stuff.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: And I said, okay, we're going to church today.
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: So were we going to that church because I want to be up on stage and perform?
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: I said, okay, you know we're going to church today.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: So what were we going to that church because I want to be up on stage and perform?
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: I said we're going to our church and she said, but I really want to go there.
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: I being a good dad, it was like, okay, well, like we'll go to that church.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: And sure enough, she refused to go up on stage.
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: And you know, but it got you in the door.
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: Good for you.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: I'm glad you went to church no, it was just.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: It goes to show, though.
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: I mean, I was even willing to go, like I.
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: I know we'll probably not come back here, but there's nothing wrong with that church.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: It's just not the church that we go to.
• 9:46
  Speaker 2: But she wanted to go, so bad that was like and of course you're gonna say yes like if your kid is begging to go to a church, you're gonna say yes.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: But I won't be fooled twice, because I know she's not going to go up on stage and sing next time.
• 9:59
  Speaker 2: Maybe you should have gone up on stage.
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: You'll be like in lieu of my daughter.
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: I knew the song Stand in, I'm a stand in.
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: He was a boy.
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: I don't remember this song.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: You don't know it.
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: It was the Nazareth VBS as the understudy, I knew it.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: I could have gone up and done it.
• 10:24
  Speaker 1: So, and the other thing about young families is they help be a growth engine, not just because they bring other young families and all of that, but young families, by very definition, are a family, so it's not just a couple.
• 10:32
  Speaker 1: You know, like that is going to grow the church right there.
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: So it's me, you and two kids.
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: Well, now that's already four people at the church, whereas if we were like an older couple and empty nester or something like that, maybe our kids are gone and grown and you know wherever and it's just us.
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: But young families, if you have a youth ministry that's bringing them in, you're getting an entire family for the church, which is so life-giving.
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: You know, like having all ages in the church is really important.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: You know we don't, and that's one thing I love about our particular campus is we have something for everybody.
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: I mean not just our campus, our church in general, like every age group, from super senior adults to infants.
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: I mean there's something for you and every age group is met Like nobody just gets like, hey, you sit and be quiet while we do our thing, Like everybody is included in a program or they have events, they have things that are meant just for them.
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: But I love that idea of young families.
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you get an entire family that comes and what we what you were kind of talking about is number two is you get students who love church.
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: So if you're pouring time and resources, like you said, parents will come because their kids want to be there, so and they'll invite their friends.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: And then the cool thing.
• 12:00
  Speaker 1: So now, going back to what we were talking about in the beginning of that, like they always say, do today what's your future self is going to thank you for you know, like when it comes to like working out, or eating really well, it's like this is what I want now, but what does me in two months want?
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: Well, I want to build muscle and be lean, and this and that More of the food I had today.
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: But think about, like the church in 10 years and I've watched this happen over and over and over again the students that we pour into now, those are the parents of tomorrow.
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: So I've been in youth ministry A distant tomorrow but yeah, better not be tomorrow.
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: Or you're in youth ministry tomorrow, but yeah, better not be tomorrow or you're in a lot of trouble but it's like this cool thing, like okay, just last weekend, remember I told you I saw one of our ex-students checking his infant daughter into the nursery and he said, hey, kristen, do you want to meet my daughter?
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: And I was like, ah crazy.
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: You know and that's not the first time that's happened but he was in my youth ministry Doesn't even feel like that long ago.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: And now he is a father checking his daughter into the very church that he grew up in.
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: And if he had grown up thinking this church is a snooze fest, they have nothing for kids.
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: He remembers because he was one.
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Our daughter went to my summer camp this year, whitewater, and I posted a picture of it on Instagram and one of my friends from college commented and she said wow, it's so cool seeing the next generation of all of our friends.
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: Their kids are now going.
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: The next generation of all of our friends, their kids are now going.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: So many of my friends this summer have kids going to the camps that we attended when we were in junior high.
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: Like we're still here raising our kids at this church because we know how cool it was and how impactful it was and how life changing and soul changing it was for us going to this church because we just nail student ministries that where else would you want to raise your kids?
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: And so now you have this whole funnel and our kids, if they stick in this area, we'll be raising their kids here.
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: And so you have to think of what is our church in 10 years and the older people they'll still be there.
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: They'll still be coming.
• 14:18
  Speaker 1: But where is the lifeblood?
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: Where is the growth engine?
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: Where are the new people coming from?
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: And that's where it is.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: Were you going to say something?
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: I kind of feel like you were like about to and then I was like on a roll, yeah, no, go for it Every time you're on a roll, that's great.
• 14:34
  Speaker 2: No, I was just going to jump in and say parents too often probably get to fight with their kids about going to school, going to run errands, everything, going to practice, whatever it is.
• 14:48
  Speaker 2: You don't want church to have to be one more thing to fight about, and if your kids are excited to go, that's one less fight you have to deal with.
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: So it's like you're willing to.
• 15:01
  Speaker 2: You know, I don't want to say you're willing to put up with a lot as an adult, but it's kind of true Like you're willing to put up with.
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: You have no choice.
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: You got to put up with everything.
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: as an adult, you're willing to put up with maybe a mediocre sermon or mildly uncomfortable seats or you know all the things If your kids are happy and content or following the lord and want to go to church, yeah, and this is where I will sacrifice everything else absolutely.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: You know a lot of parents will say they use our youth group as kind of like the carrot that they dangle in front of their kids.
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: Like if you don't get your homework done, you're not going to youth group, what you know.
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: And they're like crying interesting punishment?
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: no, because it shows the value of to them of it.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: But they don't do that with church, so church on the weekend of course, but like youth group feels, of course we still are studying scripture and worship and all that, but it is a lot more high energy and fun and big production and stuff like that, and so it's like this extra bonus, you know, and so I get it.
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: But yeah, it's.
• 16:05
  Speaker 1: I think where the youth pastor fits in to this is starting to change the conversation in their church, like being that agent of change of like hey, you know, cast that vision to your, your senior pastor of what does our church look like in 10 years from now.
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: Well, it's not.
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: Like you know how they always say don't think about who's not there, think about who is here.
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: So like the most growth potential you have might already be within your walls.
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: It's just either they are inviting people that they know, so it's kind of like they're grandfathered in, you know, with just relationship, or it's that in 10 years these people multiply and they have kids and their kids.
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: You know all that stuff.
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: So if we, if we neglect high quality youth ministry, resourcing youth ministry in the church, just kind of giving the scraps or the afterthought to youth ministry, thinking like it's not real or it's not a big deal, like these are your future congregants and whether they stay or not is you will know the quality of it.
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: If they are like, yes, I'm free, I don't have to go now because my parents aren't making me, or this is where I'm staying and raising my own children.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: That tells you everything about their experience and their growth and all of that.
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: So I think it comes to bite people in the back sometimes because they think, oh, they're kids, they don't care, but those kids do become adults, you know, and that I think we, we forget that sometimes because it feels so far away and it's like, ah, you know, kids will put up with whatever, but how did we make them feel when, like when they walked into that building?
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: Were they, like you were saying, so excited to be there because we had something meant just for them, or were they kind of told to sit down, be quiet, while the adults do their thing?
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: You know, I remember sitting in church.
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, my parents used to bring me to this church when I was little and I would sit in the service with them and I had no idea what the pastor was talking about.
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: And he was, like all pastors, very long winded and he would just go and go and go.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: And as a kid that was probably 10 times in your mind.
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: It was 10 times as long as it actually was Like maybe he's who knows how long it actually was, like you said, and I would just sit there and I'd like in my mind like beg for mercy, like because it was nothing he said applied to me as a eight year old you know, I was just like I don't know what we're doing.
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: You know, if I had gotten to run around and be with other kids and be somewhere that was age appropriate, instead of like, hey, you be quiet while us adults?
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: Really listen.
• 18:55
  Speaker 1: And like it's like oh, I just think it's such a mess, I just think it's such a miss.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: So my mom finally resorted to packing like coloring books for me, because I was probably like mom, when is this over, when is this over?
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: You know, all I could think about is I hope there's at least a donut left to make this worth my torture.
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: You know, and when you're a little kid, you just can't appreciate.
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: And it's okay.
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: It's like that's where you're at developmentally and for so much of like what we wish kids well, they should like follow the adults example.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: Shoulda, coulda, woulda, like.
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: There's so many things we can say kids should do at church.
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: We've got to meet them where they're at and create an environment that is meant for where they're at developmentally.
• 19:43
  Speaker 2: kids and adults are not the same right which this is the point that I always make that you know a lot of people want the students to be in the church with the adults during that sermon, and for everything you just said, I echo because I experienced the same thing and I'll tell you a little story about that in a second but no adult.
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: If it's, if you want them all everyone to be in the same room, well then why don't how we take all the adults and we all go into the sunday school classroom?
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: like into the kids, into the kids room?
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: Yeah, if you want to be all together, because would you get any?
• 20:12
  Speaker 2: would you get anything out of it, right?
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: No, I mean, it would be such that's a great point.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: It would be very age appropriate for a five-year-old or a seven-year-old and adults would be sitting there and going this isn't for me.
• 20:23
  Speaker 2: That's what students think when they're in the.
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: And imagine if you had to put up with it every week, like one time it's like, oh, how cute we're attending a kid's program.
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: But if that was you every week you'd be like I'm not getting fed at all and a pastor should be speaking to adults and you like we are not the same developmentally.
• 20:43
  Speaker 1: No, like I don't.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: I don't know where that idea came from.
• 20:46
  Speaker 2: I mean, whatever your church obviously can do whatever they want.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: This is just the opinion of two people here.
• 20:51
  Speaker 2: I recall going to church and being so bored I was counting the like there's a wood paneling behind where the pastor was speaking and counting all the knots in the wood.
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: That's desperate times, real desperate.
• 21:07
  Speaker 2: The best part for me was that there were these padded like cushions, vinyl kind of seats, so when everybody would stand up they'd fill up with air, and then when we go to sit back down they'd all go.
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: And you liked the noise and I thought it sounded hilarious.
• 21:23
  Speaker 2: it was like that was the best part of church for me being in with my parents.
• 21:27
  Speaker 2: That's dismal very depressing.
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: So when I was in junior high I got invited to the church I work at now.
• 21:34
  Speaker 1: They were doing this big event and this girl in my class was like talking about?
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: I'm like what are you talking about?
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: She's like oh, my youth, we're doing this competition thing.
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: You should come.
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: And I did.
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: Her mom picked me up and brought me and I was like what church could have been this fun all along?
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: And that's where I am to this day.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: My church has 173 knots in the wood day, my church has 173 knots in the wood.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: Say less, no thanks.
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: But isn't that just exactly proving our point is, I never went back to that church again once I had the choice.
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: Right.
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: You know, and I think my parents stopped going and you know they went to different churches and stuff.
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: But I mean I never, ever had the.
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: When I had the choice would go there.
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: And then my friend invited me to this youth group and then I'm like whoa, this is so fun.
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: And it wasn't like, well, all you did was have fun.
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: I hope you're happy.
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: Jesus is upset that you didn't worship him.
• 22:33
  Speaker 1: It's like no, we did it all.
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: We did it all and it was great Worship was fun.
• 22:39
  Speaker 2: Oh, stop it.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: Stop.
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: Great worship was fun.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Oh, stop it.
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: Yeah, stop too far, jeff.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: But I was telling my students today at church I'm like you know, like we do serve a god of joy and who's created us with a need for expression of like excitement and like we're teaching and celebrating the best news ever.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: It should probably feel like the best news ever.
• 23:06
  Speaker 1: And so I was hooked.
• 23:09
  Speaker 1: I went to this church and like I said that's where I worked to this day, but I was hooked.
• 23:14
  Speaker 1: I'm like that's where I want to go.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: It was junior Highland church and it was just the funnest thing ever.
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: And everyone was excited, like is it Tuesday yet?
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: Is it Tuesday yet?
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: We wanted to go back and now we're all raising our own children there and we have the choice I could go anywhere where it's like that impacted me and I want that for my kids and I've already seen that.
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: So we've really all that to say, boiling it down and ending here.
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: We've really got to nail youth ministry.
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: We've got to see it as the future of not just our church personally, but I mean it really is the future of the church, big C Church.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: You know Barna did a study years ago that said the majority of people.
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: Obviously, people become Christians as adults all the time, but the highest percentage of people who accepted Christ did so between the ages of 11 and 13.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: They were most receptive to the gospel and making a decision during that time.
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: As you say that, it strikes me that I didn't become a Christian until I was 18.
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: I went to church, but it wasn't for me.
• 24:23
  Speaker 2: No message was ever for me and I sat in pews counting wood knots and listening to the seats cushions and then that, but I didn't actually like nothing, like penetrated, like I thought it was a christian.
• 24:39
  Speaker 2: I was there.
• 24:40
  Speaker 2: You didn't hear a thing.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: I didn't hear.
• 24:41
  Speaker 2: It wasn't in your language.
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: You know, and that's one way to look at it is like, hey, we've got to speak the language of the mission field and if your mission field is students got to speak that language because it was a couple kids in your art class that invited you to church in high school.
• 24:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's when I was old enough to understand, because the message before was not geared towards me.
• 25:04
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 25:05
  Speaker 2: So when I was at a point where I could understand what it was, I was like I thought I was a Christian.
• 25:08
  Speaker 2: Here's this gospel message that I apparently had been missing because it was so boring.
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: Yikes At least presented so boring.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: Well, shame on us if we make the Bible boring.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: It's not boring.
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: And all that to say, though, too, it's not where you want to tip the scales the other way.
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: Neglect the people that are already coming, the older generations, no I think you just raise up the level of standard that you have for your youth ministry well, if you have someone waking up thinking about the adults great and then someone who's waking up thinking about the students Great and both are resourced and have the budget, the staff, the space, the time, the support to do what they need to do, well, everything should be a-okay.
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: Right, you know, yeah, and we actually did an episode a while back about being a youth pastor at a dying church and kind of what that looks like and how to help that process and maybe speak a little truth into the senior pastor.
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: But make sure you guys check that out If maybe you think that the church you're currently at would be classified as a dying church.
• 26:07
  Speaker 2: So the question of the day this week is all about the Olympics, because that's the season we're in right now and we did do an episode on summer Olympic games.
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: If you want to check that out, make sure you do so.
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: Anyways, the question of the day is what is an event that you would love to win a gold medal in?
• 26:26
  Speaker 2: Not whether you could, because that probably goes without saying, but you would love to win a gold medal.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: I love volleyball.
• 26:33
  Speaker 1: I've been watching.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: I think that's the most exciting Beach, or the standard.
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: What is it?
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: Six person ball.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: Probably six person beach looked a little hardcore.
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: That's a lot of shots to have to get.
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: Although the court smaller.
• 26:47
  Speaker 1: But yeah, I just love volleyball, I think it's so fun.
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: So I mean that would be the event I'd want to enter and, of course, if you enter, you want to win.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: So yeah, yeah, it's a blast.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: That is fun to play.
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: I would probably choose 100 meters because I would just want the title of world's fastest man.
• 27:04
  Speaker 2: I don't know there's.
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: I mean there's so many sports in the Olympics I feel like that's the only one that ever gets like titled that I'm sure there's like lifting.
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: Do they title them the world's strongest man or?
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: They have the world's strongest man or they have the world's strongest man, but I don't know of it.
• 27:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's what I was gonna say, but I feel like the 100 meters that is the world's fastest man.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: So for that like 15 minutes where you remembered my name, you're like, yeah, he was the world's fastest man.
• 27:29
  Speaker 2: I was joking with somebody recently about whenever, every four years, when you're in the olympic season, you kind of remember oh yeah, katie Ledecky, I remember her and you're like hardcore cheering and stuff like that.
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: And then it's like a couple days later you're like I only remember michael philps, yeah so ask me another like that's what I mean.
• 27:48
  Speaker 1: Mary lou retton, yeah there you go.
• 27:50
  Speaker 2: So quite a while ago.
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: All right, the uh community comment of the day comes from betsy in progress, who says love you guys so much.
• 27:58
  Speaker 2: I've watched almost all your videos and I'm working on finishing the rest.
• 28:02
  Speaker 2: Huge fan, keep being awesome wow thanks, betsy.
• 28:06
  Speaker 2: Everyone likes hearing that seriously that's very sweet um make sure you guys put in the comment section below what event would you like to win the gold medal.
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: A gold medal in.
• 28:16
  Speaker 2: And again.
• 28:17
  Speaker 2: Thank you, betsy, thank you guys for watching and listening.
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: And we'll see you next time.
• 28:21
  Speaker 2: That's where, every week, we bring you practical and applicable.
• 28:23
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Ministry Coach podcast, where every week, we bring you what is it?
• 28:29
  Speaker 2: I don't want to go to the store.
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: I don't want my dogs barking in the background of this podcast.
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: Sounds serious.