When I served a small church in Texas, I asked a youth pastor from a large church in Tennessee to speak at our church. I planned a youth rally…and no one came. Of course I was embarrassed. My friend was gracious and even expressed a bit of envy at the possibilities that existed with a small neighborhood church. He made some suggestions for a new approach to youth ministry . . . one that fit the church I was serving.

What did we do?

• I began to include students in everyday things I would do like going to the store or grabbing a hamburger. Because I only had a few students, I could get two or three to do something with me and, in a few weeks, had spent a little time with all of them. The students loved hanging out with me and I was able to model what faith looks like in daily life for them. Try that with a youth group of 1,000.
• A widow in her 80s named Elaine hosted a lock-in for us. She knew where the light switch was located at the city park and we played tennis at 2 A.M. We played games in her living room. At sun-up she cooked pancakes for us and kept everyone awake by playing ragtime on the piano. My students (who are now adults) say the night with Elaine is a favorite memory of their youth years. (I named my daughter after Elaine.)
• We did simple things, like going to a restaurant or someone’s home on Sunday after church. It didn’t take much planning. If I could grab one or two parents to go with us, we were set with transportation and supervision.