Do you remember how long high school seemed when you were in 10th grade?

It seemed like you had an eternity left until graduation day. There was little momentum. There was little excitement.

Unfortunately student ministry can unknowingly create the same atmosphere. Think about it, when a 6th grader enters your student ministry they will walk through seven years of camps, events, and worship services with you. If your calendar lacks variety and creativity then this 6th grader will walk through the same stagnant schedule. After five or six years a student will stop attending because there isn’t anything new or exciting.

Your ministry can become stagnant: cold, motionless, stuck, static, dead.

If you have tons of middle school students but are loosing high schoolers you may have a momentum problem.

The best way to fight against stagnant student ministry it to create anticipation. I’m not talking about sending out another flyer or FB ad – I’m talking about creating authentic excitement about what is to come in your ministry. This doesn’t have to be expensive or drastic changes in your current programming but you do have to be intentional.

4 Ways You Can Create Momentum In Your Student Ministry

Limit Annual Events

Just because the event went well doesn’t mean you have to do it every year. Your ministry needs very few annual events. Trust me, it is harder to end an event that you have done for four years. Free your up your calendar and creativity and allow for new events each year. If you have an awesome idea that worked you can always come back to that in a couple of years. Your best attended and most spiritually transforming events should be annual – everything else can be mixed in every few years to keep your ministry out of a calendaring rut.

(Side Note: I make sure that annual events happen around the same time each year so parents are conditioned to know when camp fees are due and to have students asking about the next kickball tournament.)

Separate Camps For Middle and High School

Our student ministry heads to Panama City Beach every year. The students have been going long before I came on staff at VG. This is an amazing camp we attend with FUGE Camps but I have noticed that our high school numbers have dropped because many of them had been to the same camp setting for five or six straight years. There wasn’t any momentum. There wasn’t excitement. We have started offering a middle school only retreat and next summer will have two separate summer camps (one for middle and one for High school). Going to the same location annually is easier for the leader but it kills momentum for the ministry.

Give High School Students Leadership

High school students want a place to belong. For years student ministries thought that meant students wanted their own cool space to worship. Student centers are needed, but the investment is deeper than that. High school students want a place to invest and be invested in. They desire significance. We (like most student ministries) have a student leadership team for high school students. They take the lead in planning middle school midweek worship, designing event shirts, picking theme nights, and planning events. Let’s go beyond the leadership team. How can you encourage high school students to serve at your church, join the women’s ministry bible study, or serve with the Sunday morning tech people?

Separate Middle and High School Midweek Worship

This is not an easy transition to make nor does everyone need to attempt it right now but many groups are healthy enough to make the split. Before you start switching calendars you need to discuss, cast vision, and pray with your student leaders and parents. We worry about the numbers to split middle and high school, but we never worry about the numbers to split preschool and elementary. We understand the gap is too big to have 3rd graders with 3 year olds. The same is true for student ministry. The gap between 12th grade and 6th grade is too big. As you start this conversation I wouldn’t worry about the numbers as much as how many leaders you will need to pull it off. When you make the divide it provides another transition that builds excitement and momentum as students grow up in your program.

Now What?

The first step to fight stagnation is start the conversation with students and volunteers. What areas of your student ministry has become stagnant? How can you create a sense of anticipation in that area? 

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