Comments on: Q&A: Following-up with absent youth group students

By: Nathaniel Dame

Nathaniel Dame — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 22:37:30 +0000

Good points. I like the 5 to 1 ratio, although you can’t always count on perfection from leaders (they’re people too!) so I’d say having a VERY simple sign-in system is good to. It’s especially hard to keep track when students are coming & going (especially when they get older and start “youth group shopping”), and having the sign-in is a great way to catch & meet every single visitor.

By: Do you know who was there? « Franklin County Youth Network

Do you know who was there? « Franklin County Youth Network — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:08:11 +0000

[...] struggle with this. Tim shares some good thoughts on his blog. What do you [...]

By: Tim Schmoyer

Tim Schmoyer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 02:15:46 +0000

@ Wesley Perkins: Yeah, like I said in my last videoblog, when you have a relationship with someone, their opinion matters. That’s why it’s important to teach God’s Word in the context of relationships.

By: Wesley Perkins

Wesley Perkins — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 23:53:34 +0000

Tim
Love the post man! In my travels, I often see a lot of youth ministries that are struggling because they are more concerned with building the number of teens rather than building the relationships with them. It is the relationship with the teen that keeps them coming back. If the Church is not concerned enough to show that they are truly interested in their life, then they will find it in the world.

By: Kevin Twombly

Kevin Twombly — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:25:09 +0000

Great post Tim. Every kid needs to know that there is someone excited about seeing them each week but even more so to have someone call you to see how you are doing even when you don’t show up means so much. Relationships are huge for young and old and when it goes beyond the “meeting” it means even more.

By: Tim Schmoyer

Tim Schmoyer — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:23:02 +0000

@ Chuck Church: Good response. Fortunately, the “higher ups” in my church don’t care much either. Throughout all the time I’ve been here, not once have I been asked about attendance or numbers. I’ve been asked, “Did you have a good turnout?” but that’s a different question with different intentions. Our denomination asks that we report attendance, though, so every December (before it’s due in January) we take guesstimated attendance for a couple weeks for their sake, but that’s it.

As a disclaimer, I DO believe that numbers matter. A lot of ministries use the unbiblical excuse that “numbers don’t matter” as a cop-out for a lack of growth or to inwardly hide their disappointment of it. In the words of Perry Noble, though, “Numbers matter because every number represents a soul.” Even Jesus said that it is His desire that ALL would come to know Him and that none should be lost. God wants our ministries to grow even more than we do! The problem, though, is that we start to focus on numbers as a whole rather than numbers as individuals. It’s the individuals that God cares about, not the size of a group.

My ministry is past the 100s, so I understand your idea here and I think it’s a good one. Personally, I get a ballpark idea about that when we split up by grade into teams for games. In our high school large-group meetings, for example, I may need 4 teams. So I’ll send each grade to a different corner of the gym. If it’s not balanced, the adult leaders shuffle some kids around or we combine 2 grades together. (Like, if there’s 40 freshmen but only 5 seniors.)

And having a backup plan is fine. There’s certainly nothing wrong with taking attendance the traditional way as the only source of record keeping. I personally just don’t feel a need for it in our ministry.

Good thoughts. Thanks, Chuck!

By: Chuck Church

Chuck Church — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:51:16 +0000

Absolutely agree with you on this one about making a set of adults intentional about the kids in your ministry.

However and it is a small however… to your qoute:

“In my ministry, we don’t take attendance. When I get the question, “How many kids are in your youth ministry?” the honest answer is, “I don’t know.” Frankly, it doesn’t matter much to me if we have 1 kid show up or 100. We’re excited about whoever is there and will invest into them personally.”

There is value in taking attendance or knowing your numbers…

1. It allows true feedback to those in your church who are all about the numbers… true I care more about spiritual growth then numerical growth, but doesn’t mean the higher ups don’t.

2. Also with numbers growing in 100+ attendance it allows me as the youth pastor to take a look a signs of weakness. For example if there is a particular age group missing consistently, I can find out what is the root of the problem.

3. I want to be able to rely on the relationships of my volunteers but if I take attendance I know who is missing personally and can follow up with them if I see what is going on in the lives of my students.

Don’t get me wrong I hate the thought that our job is to get butts in seats… but for greater job security I have come to learn that this is valuable to our higher ups.

By: Lee Roberts

Lee Roberts — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:37:21 +0000

Great post Tim. Similar set-up in our ministry. Only you phrased it in a clearer way than I ever have. So I’m totally gonna steal this man. But I promise I’ll give you credit…hehehe

By: Brian Eberly

Brian Eberly — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:25:04 +0000

Great answer Tim. We have a very similar system set up in our ministry. I call my adult leaders “dedicated fans.” I want every student to know that they have at least one dedicated fan, a person that can’t wait to see them, talk with them, and get to know them.