Kurt Johnston & Josh Griffin
Annual events in your youth ministry are certainly a double-edged sword. For many of the same reasons they are great … they are terrible. Today, we’re only going to give you a positive take on annual events, reasons we think a few annual traditions make good sense. Annual = momentum
If an event is great – students will look forward to it every year. Every year in our junior high youth ministry we host The 3 – an incredible night of fun for $3 on the 3rd Friday of the month. It is awesome and the buzz around the middle schools is incredible. Legends have been passed down from generation to generation of 7th and 8th graders about how awesome this event it. OK, we’ve only done it for 3 years, but still. Annual = safe
“We’ve done this before – you can trust us with your kid on this trip!” That’s what a long-running annual event says to a parent. “I don’t know about axe throwing, but shoot honey, they’ve done it for 6 years - I think we’ll let Kyle go.” After a few years of the same event, you get the benefit of perceived safety. Total aside: an Old Spice-themed youth group logging championship sounds interesting, right?Annual = longevity
A youth worker who is hosting their 7th annual parents conference is doing something right. Granted, it is possible they inherited the program and just kept it going, but when we hear about a youth ministry doing something for years and years, we get excited because someone is investing in those students.So should you turn an event into an annual occurrence? Maybe so! Annual events in youth ministry can be a powerful weapon in your arsenal. A few cautions:- Not everything needs to happen every year. Mission trips to the same place at the same time every year seem ideal, however it might be good to keep the tradition of “summer retreat” but mix up the locale.
- Make it “The 1st Annual (whatever)” … and if it bombs, make it the last one, too! Don’t value “tradition” over “effectiveness” . If something is lame, don’t make it lamer by repeating it year after year!
- Just because something is an annual even doesn’t mean it is exactly the same every year. Pour your heart into the planning andpreparation even though this may be the 2nd or 3rd time.
- Don’t forget about the new people in your ministry! Never assume anyone knows about your event or the history of it.
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