It’s Christmas time! We all have our favorite Christmas traditions and memories of this time when we celebrate the coming of Jesus! Ministry life can be busy during this time of the year as we all have added responsibilities around our church families. Here are a few things to remember about Youth Ministry during this holiday season!
- This Is The Time Of Year That Otherwise Uninterested People May Enter A Church Building
We all invite friends, neighbors and loved ones to church on Christmas because we know there is a higher likelihood that they may attend during the holiday season. The same is true for the youth ministry! Although we may be tempted to scale back some of our youth programs as we get busy, this is a vital time to remind students to invite fellow students to church. Make sure that the youth group has at least one opportunity to celebrate Christmas with a Gospel message. Students will be excited to see their friends be able to celebrate Christmas in a meaningful way for the first time!
- There Is A Lot Of Downtime Over The Break For Many Students
Sure lots of students and their families leave town or get busy during Christmas. However, there are often many students who stay local, or have very little to do over the break. In the time between Christmas and New Year’s Day there is usually some great opportunities to host a student fun day, plan a small retreat or just host a small youth group party! Take advantage of these times where students can focus on the Lord while they are away from school!
- Keep Christ In Christmas
This may seem silly to remind ourselves of the need to remember Jesus is the reason for the season! There are students in our church that may know the story, but they have not connected the need for a Savior with the holiday times. Make sure that you put emphasis on the Gospel during your group times in December. The story NEVER grows old! Here is a great quote from D.A. Carson: “If God had perceived that our greatest need was economic, he would have sent an economist. If he had perceived that our greatest need was entertainment, he would have sent us a comedian or an artist. If God had perceived that our greatest need was political stability, he would have sent us a politician. If he had perceived that our greatest need was health, he would have sent us a doctor. But he perceived that our greatest need involved our sin, our alienation from him, our profound rebellion, our death; and he sent us a Savior.”
If you desire to grow in your leadership one of the ways you can do that is through our Youth Ministry degree program at Calvary Chapel University. In the Youth Ministry Degree we offer a fully online university to encourage you in your ministry calling by allowing you to pursue ministry while attending a Christian college to study youth ministry. For more information visit CalvaryChapelUniversity.edu