What makes it easy to get your friends here?
That’s one of the questions I asked our student leaders recently. I regularly meet with adult and student leaders in order to evaluate and plan. I know that most new kids come to our youth night because they’re invited by a friend. If I’ve identified students as leaders at our church, then I expect them to be inviting others from their schools, neighborhoods, sports teams and the like.
But, I know they’re not going to want to bring friends unless they believe our youth night is something their friends will want to experience. (Note: I’m using the word “want” intentionally. Our student leaders know that their friends need a relationship with Jesus, but whether or not they want to come along to a youth activity at church is the real question.) So, I asked my leaders. I’m not going to give you their answers (at least, not in this post), but I’ll tell you this: the question was definitely worth asking. I learned a lot from our teens.
So, ask your kids. Find out how you can make the invitation easier. You want them to bring their friends. If your kids are like mine, they know their friends need to be there. What’s going to make their friends want to be there?
Published January 2013