Whether you are a senior pastor, a new youth pastor, or a student ministry volunteer, knowing what to do to grow your church’s student ministry can seem daunting. Growing a student ministry is not exactly like growing an adult ministry or a children’s ministry. But there are a few things every church can do to help give their student ministry a jumpstart on growth. Here are 4 tips to help you out if you find your ministry has grown stagnant or needs some help growing.

Give Your Students Ownership

The most simple thing you can do to help your youth ministry grow is to give the students in your care a say in the work of the ministry. This gives your students some added buy-in to the ministry where it is no longer just about what you are doing, but also what they are doing. So let your students help pick what series you teach, the songs you sing, plan activities, etc. Creating a student leadership group that can take on these tasks and more will help grow your ministry.

Tackle the Hard Stuff

Students today want to go deeper into the Bible and theology than many adults realize. They are hungry for more than just surface-level approaches to studying scripture. Do not be afraid to go deeper with your students about how being Christian impacts their lives. Walk them through theological truths in ways they can understand. In short, take this time in your student’s lives seriously by how you teach scripture.

Don’t Ignore Parents

One of the wrinkles to student ministry that makes it so different from other forms of ministry is that you are not just ministering to students. Your student’s parents are also part of your ministry. To help your student ministry grow, you can’t ignore the parents. It’s tough, even as a parent, to keep up with all that’s going on in youth culture. Keep your parents up to date on new trends or news that their kids are interested in. Be a guide for your student’s parents into youth culture so that parents are better equipped to talk with their teens about all the things going on in the lives of their teens.

Celebrate God’s Faithfulness

One way to help your student ministry grow and bring your students into a deeper faith in Christ, is to help them celebrate the ways God has been faithful to your ministry and to your students. Celebrating that God is faithful, even when times are hard, is an essential part of Christianity. Modeling this kind of celebration, and making it fun, for your students will show them that God cares for them.