Older youths leading younger youth in a youth group

In a youth program setting you have to be a little subtler. Take the older youth aside, or out to lunch and explain that you need their help in making the youth group a good experience for the younger youth. The group need the experience and maturity of the old youth and the older youth need to help the younger youth know how to behave and act in a youth group. The younger youth will also need the help of the older youth in understanding concepts – In fact, maybe the older youth can help lead programs and discussions.

Another way of using the older youth is if there is a youth with some kind of special need, whether it is specific condition or just a behavioral issue you can assign an older youth to be their mentor and guide.

Youth teaching children

In a Church School setting it is easy to recruit older youth to be teachers, but it helps to do so with care. Some considerations:

• Talk to the high school teacher if there is one. Don't blind-side them by taking their students away
• Select carefully. Just as with adults, some are gifted in this way and others are not. If you need to use those who aren't gifted, recruit them for some other activity perhaps even being your personal go-fer, supply cabinet supervisor, media specialist...
• Give them training. Depending on the situation this can vary. It may be a teacher training session, it may be serving as an assistant to a skilled teacher. (Be sure to talk to this teacher in advance and convince them to start turning some of the teaching assignments over to the youth, working toward the time the youth does the whole lesson from beginning to end, including planning and evaluation.)
• Except in the most extreme cases all teachers should be a part of a team of teachers/leaders, but an all youth team is acceptable as long as they are competent.

Broadly graded: youth teach youth model

This is not nearly as controversial as it was when I started youth ministry. Actually, one of my 70 year old teachers had started teaching as a teenager. It is not a new concept. But some churches haven't tried it and assume the worst. I had one person leave our church, incensed because we had an elementary class being taught by youth (there was an adult on the team but he often missed because the youth had everything under control). The class was noisy, with lots of movement and activity, but the youth leading the class were all experienced teachers and knew what they were doing and worked from lesson plans. As an observer of all my classes I can say that those children learned more than the other classes. In subsequent posts I'll give practical hints on implementing this model effectively.

Doing an interest group model youth program

This is fairly straight forward

• Find an adult expert willing to work with youth
• or find an adult willing to work with youth and discover their area of expertise
• Through survey and personal conversation with youth determine if the topic being talked about is actually of interest to the youth
• Look at the logistics involved. Is it really practical (Is there a place for and money for a kiln? For example)
• Establish a list of supplies and equipment needed to do it right. Starting out without the essentials – (“what if it fails and we've wasted that money...”) is to guarantee failure. This is like buying a cheap guitar with high action and then wondering why your child can't play it.
• Don't get discouraged if it doesn't take off immediately. Preexisting schedule conflicts may prevent even those who committed to it from participating. Youth are naturally conservative and may hang back until it is a success (a catch 22, of course). Then add in the difficulties of communication and forgetfulness. As a rule of thumb I say that it takes three years to determine if a youth program is going to be a success.
• There is no beating personal contact with potential participants
• If at all possible have more than one interest group – only one interest group eliminates all those who are not interested in that interest group.
• As with all organizations, every few years it needs to be reevaluated: have the leaders gone on? Have the kids that were interested moved on? Has it gotten stagnant and need to be stirred up?

An Interest group model: what is is?

Sometimes when a group does not have much in common – different schools or towns represented or broad age group – a program can be built around a set of special interests. The classic “MAD – Music, Art Drama” program does this. A “youth group band” is another common example. Interest groups can also be task oriented such as group that collects aluminum cans to redeem for money for hunger relieve, a group to help with house and yard chores for the church's shut-ins.

These things are very local in nature, a program from one community may not translate easily to another community. I'll have some guidelines for creating and running an Interest group style program. But look around the congregation: what are types of interests and activities of the church as a whole? What can be tapped into or built on? Who has special skills? Are some of the youth already involved in some interest that can be made a part of the church's program?

Some quick tips on doing a broadly graded youth group

The basic principle of running a broadly graded youth group is obvious: emphasize similarities and avoid the differences.

• Parties, extended discussions, “party” games, group-mixing techniques tend to emphasize the differences among the ages represented
• Work and service projects and small group studies where the youth choose their own groupings and loosely structured retreats tend to emphasize or at least allow for the similarities.

Another thing that might be helpful is to take advantage of the natural hierarchical structure that will develop within the group.

• Explicitly talk to the older youth about their role as examples for the younger youth. It is by watching the older youth that younger youth learn how a youth group functions and how they are to behave. A corrective instruction from another youth is far more effective than coming from an adult.
• Allow, even encourage, the older youth to provide leadership to the younger youth
• Let the older youth provide the teaching and group discussions with the younger youth
• Assign an older youth to be a mentor for a younger youth

Contrary to common practice, in a heterogeneous group like a broadly graded group, cliques are helpful. The one requirement when breaking into compatible groups is that everyone is to be included without hesitation. Younger youth will not naturally do this but it can be made explicit, or an adult or older youth can insert a youth that is likely to be left out into a group, without saying anything:”Joe, why don't you go over with Ken and Barbie,” or “Jill, why don't you and I go over to this group.”

Broadly graded youth groups: Reasons to do it

Sometimes a broadly graded youth group is a good solution or at least a necessary one. Again, a small group is not one of the reasons. However, a group with a hole in it for one one or two classes can justify making a larger grouping. The issue is then doing it well. See my coming post on how to do broadly graded.

A particular church may have “always done it that way” and the resistance to change is too great to overcome (soon – keep pushing :) ). Other reasons for grouping is if the younger youth are all related to the older youth and grouping them makes it easier for the families; the Primary classes are broadly graded and the youth are used to working together and know each other well. Sometimes you have a youth leader who likes and is skilled at working with a broad range of ages and development.

Think carefully about large groupings.

Broadly graded youth groups: General comments

Generally speaking I do not like broadly graded youth groups. Classes are another matter, but broadly graded does not work as well with a “youth group.” The biggest downside is the obvious one – the developmental differences between 6^th graders and 12^th graders is enormous. “Shooting for the middle” or the average, means that the 6^th graders are clueless and the 12^th graders are bored. There are solutions to this, which I'll present later, but it is not easy. Small numbers of youth are not a reason for broadly graded: If you have even 3 Middle Schoolers and 2-3 High School youth, I recommend splitting the group. However, I'll later give reasons why and when to go Broadly graded in a later post.

Small Youth group activities

• Do not meet regularly and consistently. This can get discouraging
• Have a regular, perhaps monthly, special activity. The group can put together a list of such activities at the beginning of the year
• Make it clear that friends are invited to all activities
• Have spur of the moment outings
• Gather informally before or after congregational events
• Participate in congregational events together
• Have an event before or after school events such as a ball game or concert
• Go to the State Fair or a neighborhood carnival together
• Go to concerts together

One advantage for a small youth group: Acceptance

A large youth group is generally viewed by the congregation as a whole, as a thing, a separate body, a budget line item, a source of wait staff for congregational meals, but not as a part of the congregation. A small group can become an integral part of a congregation. They can, collectively and individually, be involved in every aspect of congregational life. Everyone in the congregation can know each youth by name. There can be real relationships across the ages. The “it takes a village” phenomenon becomes real. This then can translate into strong support for the youth and the youth program. So, for example, appeals for financial help for trips, conferences and retreats are received well and will result in enough help to make the event happen.

One advantage of a small youth group: Individuality

The youth are not just a part of a group but can be recognized and accepted as an individual. They can have a significant place in the life of the group and in the life of the congregation. Their particular skills can be generally known and their contributions generally recognized. It is most healthy for a youth to grow up with the ego-building knowledge of being a worthwhile individual rather than one member of a mob.Make sure the special skills are used somewhere somehow

• Recruit them for specific jobs but also specifically recruit them to participate in congregational activities
•  Contact them periodically just to chat
• Highlight their accomplishments on a bulletin board at the church
• Recognize them in worship for anything of consequence

One advantage of a small youth group: Flexibility

With large groups anything you do is like a troop movement. With a small group you can turn on a dime.

• Coming back from a mission activity you can, on the spur of the moment, stop for ice cream.
• If a topic of concern for the few that are there comes up you can go with it
• If the entire group is there or you only have to call a couple of people you can schedule an event for the next day or the coming week-end it is quite doable

Learn to be light on your feet and take advantage of this flexibility

One advantage of a small youth group

Intimacy   In the church growth movement one of the key features is the “small group model.” So if you have a small youth group, you are right on track!  

• A small group allows for more personal interactions (less like herding cattle, more like relationships). 
•  Prayers can be more intimate and personal. 
•  Discussion more specific. 
• You can "be there" for each one
• There is no confusion about who is whom or what their story is