“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. -John 20:31

“I Need More Help!”

As you are registering for the Gathering, you may find yourself saying that, over and over again! If you are like me, when it comes to overnight events at hotels, you would like to have an adult in EVERY room; you want as much help as you can get! But, with the Adult to Youth Ratio for the Gathering, this just isn’t always possible. For your reference, here is the official Adult to Youth Ratio listed in the registration packet.

Adult to Youth Ratio

The Gathering adult to youth ratio is established to maximize the number youth who can attend the Gathering. Family Groups are made up of youth and adults in the following ratio:

Number of Youth           Maximum Number of Adults

2-6                                2

7-13                              3

14-20                            4

21-27                            5

28-34                            6

35-41                            7

42-48                            8

Beyond 48 youth participants, groups may continue to add one adult for every six youth.

I would love to have more adults, but the Gathering planners want to ensure that we have enough room for all youth to attend. They have added an additional adult in each number category, but I still would like to have more adult helpers. So, in order to have enough help, but still complying with the stated ratio, here are a few ways that I use my older youth.

  • I try to get my younger, more responsible college youth to attend the Gathering. (Youth are still eligible to attend as long as they are younger than 21 by the time of the Gathering.) They will still be considered a “youth” as far as the Gathering is concerned, but they can serve our group as “young adults” and they will have some responsibilities for our group.
  •  I also like to give my more responsible seniors some responsibility. I like to challenge them to be leaders, so giving them some things to do is good and will benefit the group and more than likely those specific youth as well!

As with adults, even your responsible youth need accountability. I make sure that even if they are Family Group leaders, they still report to the Trip Director. It is important for ALL leaders to know that even though they are leaders and have responsibility, they know they are still a part of the team, and are still under the direction of the Trip Director.

I pray that you know that you are not alone in this process. If you are taking a group, you don’t have to do this all by yourself. Use the people (younger and older) that God has put in your ministry. Remember, many hands make light work!

Blessings to you as you travel the road to the Gathering!