I’ve been spending a fair amount of time involved in Student Ministry. I was involved in the youth ministry at my church growing up, I am involved in two college ministries at Western Washington University in Bellingham, and I am currently helping out at the church that I grew up in. In my college ministries I have led a small group for two years and I am a leader in the community at the church that I attend in Bellingham. Over this time, I have developed some thoughts as to what Student Ministry should look like.
Firstly, Student Ministry should NOT be “youth group.” The term “Student” refers to one who is learning, whereas “Youth” is generally referring to people under the age of 18, or those that haven’t yet graduated from High School. Although it is important that the Youth are being ministered to, I believe that having “Youth Ministry” can separate the “Youth Group” from the rest of the church and prevent a smooth transition from Youth to Adult. Instead, a Student Ministry could encourage the transition by providing a plan for students moving from child to adult. For the sake of this example, I am going to call Student Ministry groups “Life Groups.” There is no specific reason I call them this, other than the need to call them something.
How these Life Groups are set up is the most important distinction between them and the Youth Group. Because all people should be learners, all people in the church are students. And because all people in the church are students, all people should be members of a Life Group. Likewise, there should be Life Groups for all people in the church. I believe that the most effective way to set up these groups is to go by age, increasing the range of ages as students get older. There should always be someone from an older age group facilitating the Life Group. For example, there could be your traditional Sunday School Life Groups, going by grade from kindergarten to Fifth or Sixth grade. These should be led by one High School Student and one Post High School (Adult) Student. This allows, not only for mentorship of the Young Students, but also builds a strong one on one relationship between the High School Student and the Adult Student. The Middle School groups (Fifth or Sixth grade through Eighth grade) should be led by a High School Student, a College Age Student (18-25 years old), and a Post College Age Student. This three-fold leadership allows for more contact between students and leaders.
The High School Life Group must be led by mature Disciples of Christ. High School is the point in your life where you start becoming independent, yet still have the support of your family. There should be at least one College Age Student and one Post College Age Student. At this point, the leaders should start meeting one on one with the members of their life group on at least a bi-weekly. When the students and leaders meet, they should spend their time getting to know each other, getting to know the Body of Christ, and getting to know Christ Himself. This will take up a lot of the leaders’ time, so it is vital that Life Groups are small enough to allow the leaders room to breath.
The College age group (18-28) is where the transition from child to adult must be guided. College students are no longer harnessed to the beliefs of their parents, and are often living away from home for the first time in their life. At this point, college students need people that they can look up to for help both spiritually, physically, and emotionally. In situations where college students are away from home, they should be adopted by an older married couple. This couple should be able to demonstrate love for each other that places God first, each other second, and themselves last. They should purpose to integrate the college student into their own life by inviting them on family outings, sitting together in church, and by allowing them to bond with their kids (if the couple has kids living with them). At this point, it is important to fold the college students into the adult community. If they are able, they should be encouraged and trained to lead small groups, volunteer with other ministries, as well as start mentoring younger students. They should also be involved in an adult Life Group. These groups are adults of all ages, all backgrounds, and all walks of life. It should be led by an Elder of the church (appointed by the pastor or some nominating committee), another adult, and an older college aged student should help out as well.
There should also be a weekly college gathering where the students can share what God is doing in their lives. Worship should be a central part of this gathering. Students should take turns speaking, with one or two people speaking each week. The Elder who is in charge of the college group can facilitate discussions based on what is talked about, but they should allow the students to be in charge as much as possible.
Adult life groups have been touched on already, but there are a few things left to note on this subject. Because the Adult range is much larger than the other age groups, it is important to keep these groups as small as possible. The ideal size would be somewhere between 10 and 15 members, but this depends completely on how many people you have and on how many leaders you have. All members of the Life Group should be encouraged to meet with each other (of the same gender) one on one to build relationships and for accountability. If desired, the Men and Women of a Life group can meet separately on occasion to dive into issues that are unsuitable for mixed company. Life groups can serve together in ministries in and out of the church together, they can go serve lunch to the homeless, and they can even pioneer new ministries together.
It is also important that they know that they are still a part of a larger Body. Life Groups should be encouraged to do things with other Life Groups. They should strive to not become a clique that doesn’t allow other people in. They should remain open to new members, and willing to allow members to leave when they are ready to lead their own life group.
All members of the Church need to be involved in community. Even before God created us, He lived in community with the Trinity. When people start living outside of the Body of Christ, sin is allowed to move untouched and unchallenged. A church that encourages its members to join community, and invites people from outside the church to witness community, is a Church where the Body of Christ can move to its fullest potential.
