How To Get Students Involved In The Rest Of The Church Body

Years ago, I came across a blog post on studentministry.org titled “100 blog topics I hope YOU write.”

Surprisingly, to me, the 100th topic “How to Get Students Involved in the Rest of the Church Body,” remained untouched. In this article, we explore some practical ways to involve students in the broader church community - all of which I have implemented over the past 15 years of youth ministry.

NOT AS HARD AS YOU THINK

Most people (including youth leaders in various contexts) find this topic difficult because in smaller churches they either do not have many teenagers or simply implement an annual Youth Sunday.

In big churches, most youth ministries are completely separate from the main service and the rest of the church body.

Regardless of context, many youth leaders have no idea what “students involved in the rest of the church body” actually looks like.

In reality, it is a very simple thing to do whether you have one teenager in your church or hundreds.

A FEW CONDITIONS

The key is that you and your church WANT students in your church and WANT them to engage in your church community.

Some people say things like “Let the kids go to the big church down the street, we don’t want them here” or “The kids are being too loud” or “There are handprints all over the walls, tell those kids to stop it” or “next time he reads tell him to slow down” or “they need to wait until they are older”.

These are all things I have heard in my decade-plus youth ministry career.

Secondly, we have to STOP saying youth are the future of the church. They are part of the church NOW.

Churches are dying all around the country, many of which are forcing teenagers to wait to contribute until they are older. People from these churches then come ask me and my youth ministry colleagues “How can we get kids and families back into church?” or “How do we stop our church from dying?” Or, an increasingly common one I have heard lately, “My church doesn’t have anything for kids and teenagers.”

My statement over the years is “Our youth are NOT the future of the church, they are part of it now. They have something to contribute NOW. If we push them away to the future, there will be no future.”

It might just be semantics, but this shift can be extremely powerful.

SO, HOW DO WE DO THAT?

The following ideas are best implemented in a context where youth ministry is not separated from the rest of the church community (especially in worship) while most are applicable regardless.

Let’s look at some ways you can get students involved right NOW in the larger, local church community:

1. Start With The Parents

This is the best place to start. Have students (and children for that matter) serving alongside their parents. Picture it. A mom is handing out bulletins greeting people as they come into service and her 10-year-old daughter is right beside her doing the same!

My first opportunity to do something like this came when I was 4 or 5 years old and my family served at a local soup kitchen every week. I stood right beside my mom handing out desserts and bowls of fruit.

2. Greeters

This is an easy plug-and-play option. Whether you hand out bulletins or have greeter teams in the parking lot and down the halls, what middle school or high school kid can’t say good morning and point people to the main worship space, the restrooms, or the nursery?

3. Nursery workers

Teenagers, especially girls, seem drawn to working with kids. This may have something to do with females’ God-endowed motherly qualities, but I am not suggesting that all girls want to do this or that boys couldn’t. I am just saying that in my experience as a youth leader, I have had several girls who wanted to serve in the nursery.

By the way, I did have a teenage boy serve with our children’s church before.

NOTE: This role could vary from church to church because of rules, policies, and training requirements. Teenagers serving in the nursery should always serve alongside qualified adult leaders - preferably two adults and the teenager.

4. Read Scripture in services

Another easy plug-and-play. Most teens do not WANT to do this, but most of them CAN and WILL with the right encouragement.

Adults, children, and teens alike can do this. Typically, when I have done this, I create a schedule for all teenagers alternating back and forth between high school and middle school students. When incorporating children and adults, I alternated adults (deacons, teachers, etc.), high school students, middle school students, and kids.

PRO TIP: If the pastor has the verses ready in advance, you can send them out and rehearse.

SIDEBAR: A few years ago, after months of encouraging one of our middle school boys to read in a worship service, he finally agreed. One Sunday he went up and read!

After service, an older member told me that she was glad he read BUT that next time I should tell him to read slower.

From a practical standpoint, she was not wrong, but this is the kind of thing that can destroy a teenager who is just learning how to do this (and who needed months of convincing and encouragement).

So, if a kid stumbles through or reads too fast, adults PLEASE do not say that they need to do it better or try and coach them. Simply say, I AM SO GLAD YOU READ TODAY!

The youth leaders and volunteers will coach them up. Trust me, we know what they need to improve on and trust me, they will get better.

Let this become a training ground where students are not afraid to mess up or “do it wrong”.

Create an atmosphere where they can experiment and learn.

5. Sing/Play in the choir/praise team

Singing and playing in the choir and/or praise team is another great place for them to plug in. Not in a youth band or a youth choir. In the “real one”.

At my current church, we have two teenagers singing weekly with the praise team and three other teens singing in the choir (along with several elementary school students!). There is even a grandmother who brings her 4 or 5-year-old granddaughter up into the choir loft to sing.

UPDATE (as of November 21, 2024): We now have a mother who brings her 5 month old daughter into the choir loft!

At my first church, the praise team was essentially a youth band with 2-3 girls singing and another 8 or so kids playing instruments alongside the adults. It helped that many of those students were also in the high school marching band and were very good.

This is a great place for students to plug in and use skills they are learning in another place. Most musicians say they got their start playing and singing at church.

Again, don’t worry about whether it is any good or not - maybe be more cautious with soloists but still they will get better with time. Teach them confidence and competence. Then the skill will skyrocket!

To those in the congregation, you don’t have to talk about whether a kid sang or played great. Tell them, “I loved listening to you sing (or play) today.” or “I am so glad you sang/played today.”

Note to leaders: It doesn’t have to be perfect but it should look like we know something about what we are trying to do.

6. Technology

This one can be super interesting for churches. The truth is that most kids know WAY more about technology than the adults. It is just a fact.

I once had a middle school boy Gerry-rig our computer in the sound booth to his home device so he could work on our computer remotely. (TWO DISCLAIMERS: yes, he was working with our sound team, and yes, we did talk to him about what is appropriate and what is not.)

His story serves as a reminder to make sure this role, and all the others on this list, are done with proper supervision, training, and accountability. Don’t let teens just run wild.

Teenagers who love technology can have a tremendous contribution to a worship service and local church body.

You can have them build slides, make videos, help with social media, monitor live streams, and anything else you can think of. Let them use their gifts (their interests and the skills they are learning at school) and give them a safe environment to grow and explore.

7. Upward (other special ministries)

At my current church, our biggest ministry is Upward Sports. This has become a training ground for teens to not only play sports and hear about Jesus, but to serve.

We allow middle school and high school students to be assistant coaches (often with parents as head coaches), officiate (referees), sing the national anthem, run score clocks, work concessions, and lead devotions (on Game Days with hundreds of people present)!

It is fantastic to see them move from consumers of the ministry to servants and leaders of it.

*If your church doesn’t have Upward Sports, that is not a problem. Think of any ministry where a teenager might be able to step up in a leadership/volunteer role (Vacation Bible School, Fall Festivals, etc.).

8. Vacation Bible School leaders

Vacation Bible School (VBS) at any church requires a lot of leaders and volunteers, so why not employ your teens - if you do not have VBS for teens as well?

This is a great place for them to serve: as assistants in crafts, recreation, music, snacks, and running technology. Once I had a high school boy help teach the main Bible lesson with me!

This is a great way to mentor them and let them serve, share the Gospel, and advance God’s mission.

I remember when I was 18 years old, my church went to New York on a mission trip where we did a VBS for another church. Our team was mainly adults. I helped with the opening ceremonies, the puppet skits, and the audio/visual.

I was also the Recreation Director. I planned, organized, and led every game and activity myself.

I was able to do this because the churches I grew up in, along with my parents, taught me how to do it over many years of experimenting, grace, and mentorship.

When I was called on to do this for this team, it wasn’t “Well, Kris can help me” or “Do you think Kris can handle it?” It was “Kris is ready and capable of doing this himself!”

9. Teach them about missions (i.e. Youth and Annie Armstrong offering)

Missions is a big part of my background. Doing missions work and learning about missionaries since I was a child, spreading the good news of Jesus is ingrained in me.

In 2022, we implemented a Missions Night in our normal youth ministry schedule. It was an easy addition since my youth ministry team included a former pastor’s daughter - with a similar missions upbringing as me, a man who has been on several local and international mission trips, a seasoned youth volunteer, and a member of our church’s current Missions Committee.

These mission nights included education about and prayer for missionaries around the world as well as practical opportunities to serve and do mission work in our local community.

One challenge that yielded tremendous results was when we asked our small group leaders to have their groups come up with ways to support (and come alongside) our church’s emphasis on the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.

Two of our small groups organized bake sales that raised almost $1,000 in additional funds for that offering.

In July 2023, we took a team of five high school students (and three adults) on a World Changers mission trip and our little team accounted for HALF of that week’s missions offering!

Teach them about missionaries, missions, missions offerings, have them support it (it is not just the adults dropping money in the basket), and send them to do it themselves through mission trips locally and abroad.

One of the most rewarding moments I have had as a youth leader came in the summer of 2023 when one of our 9th-grade girls, whose father is a firefighter, informed me that she wanted to reach out to one of our local firehouses.

We had several severe traffic accidents where people had died (one involving a high schooler and another involving a volunteer EMT/Firefighter). She organized our students to give money, bought pizza and soda, and took it to them on a Saturday afternoon.

About a month later, a firefighter at that station was struggling and posted on Facebook that when he was feeling down he saw a note card from the Mineral Baptist Church Student Ministry and that is how he knew God was still there!

That kind of moment makes it worth it. All because of the tug on a 9th-grade girl’s heart.

10. Collecting Offering (if you still do this)

Another idea is to have students help collect the offering if your church still does that. They watch it every Sunday. Why not put them in the rotation?

It requires a small commitment and light training but can be crucial in developing their sense of generosity and service.

And who knows? They may turn into the 87-year-old man still serving as a deacon and Stewardship Team chairman. And to think it all started by letting a teenager help collect the offering one Sunday morning.

11. Utilize their skills

Finally, whatever you do, utilize their skills and interests. Students can contribute in all sorts of ways through music, drama, art, technology, and working with kids. Maybe they can cut grass. Maybe they can build things.

The real trick of getting students involved in the church body is to ask them what they want to do/what they want to learn/how can they contribute to our church right now.

For example, one of my current students loves to cook so we have figured out ways for her to be involved with the Kitchen Committee/Fellowship Team (or whatever your church calls it) and to use her gifts through things like Bake Sales. (Of course, there are rules and regulations about kitchen and food safety that should be followed.)

THEY HAVE SOMETHING TO OFFER NOW

Students have gifts and talents to bring to the table, and if we do not help them grow and develop these gifts here, they will find other avenues where they can.

Highlight your students, whether you have one or 100. Let the congregation see them, know them, and work alongside them.

They are not props to make the congregation feel good about their future. Students are part of the plan right now.

The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 12 that we are a body that needs all its parts to work properly. Why are we cutting off part of it?

The Bible tells us in Mark 10, “Let the children come to me, for no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they come to me like a child.”

Why are we pushing them away, disciples?

DON’T LOOK DOWN ON THEM

Finally, although not specifically a verse about teenagers, 1 Timothy 4:12 is used in youth ministry settings because it is a lesson in age disparity. You may know the passage where Paul tells Timothy “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young but be an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in faith, in love, and in purity.”

Interesting. Maybe teens can be examples for us all to know what coming to Jesus, serving Him, and accomplishing His mission looks like.

FINAL NOTES: All these ideas are things I have actually done and implemented in real churches. These ideas can work without parents being plugged in if you have a group of adults who love God and love kids and are willing to come alongside and mentor them. It is just easier to get them started if they are doing it with parents. And remember to follow all laws, policies, and procedures where applicable.

Remember teenagers are not the future. They are part of it NOW!

Anyway, I was just thinking…

P.S. If you have other ideas, put them in the comments below. I would love to hear them!