Momentum

Momentum is powerful in preteen ministry.  Over the past 5 months the preteen ministry that I oversee has gained lots of momentum.  At our last event we had twice the amount of preteens that normally show up.  So, here are my thoughts on gaining momentum.

Gaining Momentum
The best way to gain momentum is through hosting fun relationship building events.  I’ve used this approach for years and it works because preteens are relational by nature.    Usually, I would host a fun event on Friday night.  Stuff like Laser Tag, movie night, bowling, etc.  We would also get creative and do events like Nick at Night, Friday Night Live, Elevate, SuperSmash Brothers Tournament, RockBand Tournament, etc.  We encouraged preteens to bring their friends and they did.  Lots of them in fact!  The events served as an entry point for newcomers and connecting point for regulars. After the event, we invited newcomers to our weekend services or midweek, whatever was our goal at the time.   They showed up and got plugged in.  Lives were changed!

Lately, I’ve made some minor adjustments with much success.  Our current main program for preteens is on Wednesday night.  I’ve been thinking of ways to simply and streamline our efforts to reach preteens.  So, the idea came to me, “Why not have the event on Wednesday night?”  We won’t have to run two programs in one week and won’t have to ask newcomers to leap from a Friday night to Wednesday.  A few weeks ago, we tried it and three times the amount of preteens who normally come on Wednesday showed up!  It was twice the amount who normally come to an event.  They got a taste of what we do on Wednesday nights. Now, my entire approach to Wednesday nights has changed.  Why not make every Wednesday night an event?  I have.  My goal is to keep it simple, but fun.  And it’s working!

So, how did we change Wednesday nights?  We extended it an extra half an hour leaving plenty of time before and after for unstructured hang-out time playing foosball, air hockey, video games, etc.  The “game time” is now 30 minutes and the games we play are cool enough to attract lots of preteens.  Games like Silly String War, Food Fight, Toilet Paper a Leader’s Car, Blacklight Hockey, American Gladiators, etc.  The name of those games speak volumes to preteens.  They don’t want to miss a single night!  We don’t have all fun and games though.  Each night we have a large group teaching that is innovative and exciting.  We talk about issues that are relevant to preteens.  Here are the topics of our most recent series:

Is Being a Christian Boring?
Is Being a Christian Outdated?
Is Being a Christian Risky?
Is Being a Christian for Me?

For each large group teaching we keep two audiences in mind: newcomers and regulars.  Small group is also a key component of each night, spending about 15-20 minutes discussing what their thoughts are on what was communicated.  Lots of open ended questions challenging preteens to think about their faith, relationships and others around them. We also pray for one another and all the others good stuff you do in small groups.

I realize this is one approach to preteen ministry.  It might not be for everybody.  But it does work!

Lastly, there are other components to gaining momentum.  Stuff like room atmosphere, music, using media, relationships, team building, creating an group identity, etc.  But I simply don’t have time to further develop those thoughts.