How do we get teens to want to come to church?

Question

I am this years' Youth Director at my church and we have a lot of teens that come (or forced) to Sunday mid-day service, but when it comes time for Youth Church they have too many other excuses not to come.

Answer 1

It's harder when they were not brought to church regularly from the time they were born. Keep them in your prayers, that God convict their hearts and bring them into His house of their own will. God will do this in His perfect time. We must all pray for our youth every day!

Father,

I ask that you open all doors to this church so that their youth come willingly to Your house. Lead this youth dirrector in the path You choose for them, bringing their youth ministry to victory in the Jesus name. Amen!!

God bless you and your youth ministry!

Carol

Answer 2

Mr. Jankovich is right. We had a youth pastor who treated the kids like they were in elementary school, playing stupid games and telling them stories they'd heard since childhood. They were bored. The new youth pastor has a lot of kids coming who have never even come before or who haven't been to church in a long time. The reason? He talks about REAL issues going on today and he talks about what the Bible says about these issues. He also talks about his own opions and beliefs and allows the kids to talk, discuss, ask questions and gets them involved a lot. Once in a while he has a teen panel and the teens get to ask this panel questions. It gets good debates going. He has also had an entire youth meeting where he asks the kids what they want to know. Media is a big thing too. Instead of just standing there telling the kids what's going on next week, he records a video against a green screen of one of the teens giving the weekly announcements. Put something in the background (like the youth group's logo) and put some good music to it (he has used Kanye West beats) and there you go, an attention getter. He also has a teen led "creative team" which decides what will happen at youth group in the next month (games? no games? small group discussions? what will the questions be in the small groups? etc). Our kids are learning about missions, not just on the other side of the world, but here in their community. They are learning what they can do to help make their world better and they decide how to go and do it on their own without someone organizing a group missions thing. They are involved. They are not talked down to. They learn about what they have always been curious about. They are made to feel that their opinion matters - and it does if we want them to feel a part of God's family and if we want them to stick around after high school.

Once you get some of the kids going and loving it there, they'll start spreading the word that youth group doesn't suck anymore. You'll get kids in

Answer 3

Have you talked to your teens to find out what they see as important in their lives? Perhaps changing up the format of Youth Church to address their needs, spotlight their talents, etc, would make things exciting. I know that I church I attended had a Maundy Thursday special service where men of the church reinacted the Last Supper--they each told a bit about themselves, and what Jesus meant to them. At the very end, they posed like the famous painting. It was one of the most moving and memorable services I have ever attended. I'm not saying you have to do this, but something different that is still relevant and reverant may get the teens interested.

Answer 4

You've probably nailed it in one there when you said "forced". I remember going to church as a teen and people were so hypocritical, and people just "went through the motions"...and yet talking with other teens, I realized that I TRULY knew so much more about why we did what we did than they did. I didn't understand why you should have to go to church and not truly understand WHY you did the things you did. Sunday School often does not broach this subject, and to be honest, church is just not FUN. Kids see it as stuffy and boring.

If you want more kids to come, you need to sit down with those kids and have an HONEST conversation about what could make it more fun. See what you could do to make them WANT to be there.....and not get offended by their answers. Many teens are more adult in their spiritual quests than adults give them credit for, and many of their questions are genuine. Give them an honest answer, even if the answer is "I DON'T KNOW"...It's the most honest thing you can do for them, and the best thing to help them in their spiritual journey is for them to see that everyone looks at spirituality differently, but that religions are put together of people who have SIMILAR spiritual outlooks.

Answer 5

Be more active! Most teens do not want to go to church, but one of the sad things is you need to do secular activites, go to a theme park, watch a movie or whatever, to get them up there. The key is to not pressure them at once into youth activites, but yet, when they do come just beat around the stick. Good luck with this i hope for you the best!

Answer 6

I would like to make a few simple, helpful suggestions; but I have come to the conclusion that religion is not merely the cause of so much hatred and war in the world...religion is also the single largest barrier to social progress in the world. Religion always insists that its tenets are real and true, but whenever it is measured in the same manner by which other things are evaluated as to whether they are real/true or not: credible evidence is found lacking; infallible positions of dogma are proven false; and we are then told that we must accept them on faith and NOT hold them to the same criteria of validity that we assess any other statement of fact.

Religion is losing the youth mainly to the pervasiveness of our rampant consumer culture. But, religion is also losing the youth and many of the adults by its failure to either produce credible evidence for its claims or to accept a more metaphorical position that allows for it to be a non-literal, non-real entity.

Answer 7

May be a a little nice party after church session? you have lure them first few times to get coming and once they are there and start listening carefuly,,they will get more and more interested and gettin to know more abt ur religion.

May be give them a question regarding ur religion and then ask them to bring their answers to the church and whoever get the best answer,,gets a prize. if thats possible. May be you can talk to the chruch officials to help you out finanacially for this good cause. I am sure they get lots of money in donation, and if they dont,,one sunday you can ask the ppl who come to chruch to donate for this good cause of getting kids involved in shurch activities.

I am a muslim. when i was young i hated to go to Mosque,,but then i started going there to meet my friends and make new ones...this is how i started and now i dont even care if i will see any friends there,,i just go there for myself.

I hope all this helps you..good luck
A Muslim friend!

Answer 8

I have 2 teens . 1 likes teen service . other not . On wed. night They pack in at our church. They seem to play a lot of praise & worship music. The cool stuff on the radio. They discuss issues that teen deal with. Our church doesn't try to con them with bunch of games and outings. It 's about God and being in his presence. I haven't sat in on service , my kids input. I think my other teen would enjoy it more, If it were more intense ,Like adult quest who have live through things . (sex and drugs ect...) Hope it help you. GOD BLESS

Answer 9

Have a talent show once a year, and start a church youth group that meets once a week or bi-weekly. Do fun things there like you would in Girl Guides and practice for your talent show as well.

Answer 10

Prove that the church is real and worth their time. I stopped going to church in my teens because the Bible seemed false to me. Now I am a Pagan because it makes more sense to me. Teens can't be fooled by fear tactics or deception like children. If you want them to pay attention, show them some proof.