This post is part of the Foundations Of Youth Ministry series. Check out the rest of the series!

One thing I’m convinced is necessary in youth ministry is student involvement. Several years ago, youth ministry could be a one-man show, with the youth minister as the main star. I’m not so sure how effective it really was, but it seemed to be the main trend in youth work for quite a while.

In order for a ministry to student to be effective today, the students have to be involved, not only in the life of the youth ministry, but in the greater church as well.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be writing about this necessity. Today, I’ll address some of the benefits of involving student in the life of the church. My next post in the youth ministry category will take a look at some of the dangers and challenges. And the third part of the series will look at some examples from my ministry, both successful and unsuccessful.

Benefits of Involving Students In The Life Of The Church

Student involvement creates ownership.
Let’s start off with perhaps the most important aspect. When you own something, you take a heightened interest in that thing. When a student gets involved in the life of the church, ownership is created. All of a sudden, it becomes his church. Ownership makes participation more likely. Ownership generates excitement. Ownership increases commitment. When students begin to take ownership in the church, they’re more likely to stick around. They feel like they belong.

Student involvement teaches valuable life skills.
When students get involved in the church, they learn or reinforce life skills. They develop responsibility. Their self-esteem is boosted as they succeed; and they suffer the consequences when they drop the ball. Allowing teens the opportunity to lead or serve in ministry also helps them develop decision-making skills. They learn how to examine an issue before proceeding, and experience how to apply biblical principles to the decision-making process.

Student involvement ensure longevity for the church.
It’s been said that 20% of the people in a church do 80% of the work. When a student becomes involved in the ministry of the church, they become more likely to stay involved for a longer time. This helps the ministry survive when such things as staff changes occur. When a student is helping to carry the load, the work is much more likely to continue.

Student involvement helps distribute the work load.
This is closely related to the last point, but stands on its own as well. When students are involved in the church, the work load is lessened for everyone. More people doing the work simply means that less effort has to be expended by everyone. This allows key leaders to step back a bit in order to provide more oversight and direction.

Student involvement in the church encourages evangelism.
Most evangelism occurs through relationships. People are more likely to respond to an invitation coming from a friend than from a complete stranger. And who has more energy than a teen? When students begin to realize that attracting people to Christ isn’t just the job of the church leaders, they jump in whole-heartedly. And when they are deeply involved in the church, they are tremendously excited to share “their” church with their friends.

These are just a few of the benefits I’ve encountered when students become involved in the church. There are others. In my next post, I’ll examine some of the dangers of and challenges to student involvement.

What are some of the benefits you’ve discovered from involving teens in the church? Let me know in the comments.