I’ve been living in Southern California for over a year now and finally did it. My two nieces were in town and I took them to DisneyLand. I knew the park was very old and was not sure what to expect. I’ve been to amusement parks that were in disrepair. Most of the parks I’ve been to have chewing gum stuck along the rails leading to many of the attractions. What I discovered was a park that was in near perfect repair, unbelievably clean. I think that was Walt Disney’s dream, that everyone who came to DisneyLand would feel like he or she was the first person to ever step foot in the gate.

I’m not really extolling the virtues of DisneyLand as much as pointing out the care that it takes to create excellence. I believe we should approach youth ministry with excellence. I know, that kind of statement always makes me cringe, too. How do you create an excellent youth ministry when you have a $100 budget and very little help. Here are my thoughts:

1. Make your youth room “new” every time youth come. Classroom space can get cluttered with old literature, posters from the 1970′s, and chairs that are always sitting in the same place. Look for ways to arrange the space that addresses what you will study that morning. Move the chairs from a circle to two or three smaller circles, or put them in rows. Only put things on the wall that have meaning for your students and for this Bible study. You don’t have to create a masterpiece, but give thought to what students see when they walk in the room.
2. Only plan what you can do well. Yes, if students love your events, they will want more of them. Don’t fall into the trap of saturating their desire. Always leave students wishing there were more events and looking forward to the next time you do things. If you are doing youth ministry with little help, it is a big job to plan, promote, and organize an event. Schedule a few well done events rather than many thrown-together experiences.
3. Give everything you do purpose. Too often, in small youth groups, we plan events that are just something to do. When you plan an event, think of what you are hoping to accomplish. Is this an event designed to reach out to the friends of your students? If so, you will need time for the students to buy into it . . . and time for their friends to decide to come. Is this an event to build tighter bonds within your youth group? Make sure you include things teenagers do together. Is this an event to stretch the faith of your students? Think through and plan experience to move students out of their comfort zones. The point is, all of this planning takes time.
4. Get people involved doing what they do best. Never plan the food for an event if you know someone in your church who loves to plan menus and prepare food. Never deal with organizational details if you have a worker who handles those things effortlessly. It may be hard to coordinate the efforts of others, but you can get a lot more done when people are helping. And when they are working out of their passions, the events will take on an excellence beyond what you can do by yourself.