We recently received this message from Jay McSwain who leads Place Ministries:

Congratulations on SYG. Just this past Sunday I was talking with a mother who has two teenagers that are 15 and 16.  They were heading to [a particular mega] church because they don’t like their youth group.  The 15 year old had a friend going with her.  All three girls go to mega churches in the Atlanta area.  After church the mother asked the girls how they liked the service and they were somewhat positive.  The interesting point in this conversation came  when the teenagers all agreed they would rather go to a small church where they knew everyone and it was more like a family atmosphere.  All three girls have spent their entire lives in mega churches so they have no other perspective than mega church experience, but all three sense there is something beyond mega church.

You have a fan in promoting SYG.  Me.  I believe God wants churches to grow, but I truly sense it is by multiplying churches not just building bigger buildings.

Place Ministries helps people discover that God has created and gifted them with a unique capacity to serve others. Place helps them to find their unique place within their church. To find out more about Place Ministries, visit www.placeministries.org.

Thanks, Jay.

Lots of youth leaders in small churches are making a huge difference in the lives of the teenagers they get to touch. Never feel like your ministry is insignificant because you only have a handful of students.