This is a compilation of a Post-It Note Brainstorm during 2015 Well.
Two questions were asked:
- Where are the students in your community?
- How can you effectively go to where they are – Incarnational ministry?
Where are the students in your community?
- Eli’s Coffee Shop
- Wal-Mart
- Coffee Shops
- Dairy Queen
- Friend’s houses
- Movies
- In the bigger neighboring cities
- Each others’ houses
- Simple Room
- Parties
- MccDonald’s
- Park
- Snapchat
- City pool
- Parking lots
- The pool
Square downtown on weekends
- Ice cream shop
- Other youth in town
- Dances
- Gaming at home
- Band and choir concerts
- Football games
- Hunting
- Race tracks
- Library
- Downtown
- High school games
- Sporting Events
- Pool
- Social Media
- Pinky’s
- The Tree
Perdue’s
- Casey’s in the mornings
- Starbucks
- Maggie’s house
- Working in fast food restaurants
- Working at jobs in general
- Dances
- Soccer games
- FCA
- DQ
- Car wash
- Driving around
- Huck’s Parking Lot
- Basketball courts by city pool
- Football Games
- Sporting Events
- Football games
- Sporting Events
- At home
- Doing homework
- Bus stops
- With friends
- At the mall
- At home
- Park district events
- Surrounding communities and neighborhoods
- Park down by the river
- Family events
- Sporting practices
- Band practice
- Choir practice
- Allerton Park
- Community pool
- Movies
- Mall
- Disc Golfing
- Shopping
- Competitive sports / leagues
- Streets
- Skate Park
- Roller Rink
- Other churches
- At home
- Eating
- Play Practice
- Concerts
- Events
- With boyfriends and girlfriends
- YMCA
- Athletic or academic clubs
- Rec Centers
- Doing homework
- Driving around
- Sitting and waiting at siblings events
How can you effectively go to where they are?
- Home visits
- Attend band concerts
- Attend choir concerts
- Go to concerts
- Schedule a youth hang out night – students pick, youth leaders come.
- Play a game before giving them something for free.
- Meet them for lunch
- Show up with free food
- Take snacks to practices
- Give away sodas after school
- Go to parent’s house for dinner
- Meet after games for pizza, etc.
- Go for a walk
- Take a basketball to the park
- Volunteer to help coach a team
- Free Meals
- Show up
- Set up a game night
- Take youth to various fast food joints to see who has the best french fries
- Have a gaming event at church
- Show a movie at the park
- Go as a youth group somewhere to connect with students
- Volunteer at school
- Go to school programs
- Substitute teach
- Invite kids to go with you places
- Attend school programs
- Cruise the square
- Organize a group concert
- Take students shopping at Christmas
- Free car wash or give quarters
- Show up and cheer them on
- Follow them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram
- Take church bus to attend sporting events
- Take food / drinks to hand out at games or as they exit school
- Volunteer at sporting event concession stand
- Cheer them on at games
- Do a drawing at school or park or McD’s parking lot at a certain time
- Get a game schedule
- Coach a team
- Hold a tourney in the park
- Visit them at work
- Take a walk around the square or other parts of town
- Text them
- Bring snacks to where they are
- Prepare a pre-game meal
- Go with your own kids to watch a game
- Popcorn party after games
- 5th Quarter
- Join a group to play a sport once a week
- Intergenerational camping trip
- Attend soccer games
- Set up some intentional times to meet with students in areas not at church
- Volunteer to tutor
- Volunteer at the library
- Volunteer in custodial
- Meet in Food Court
- Connect on video games
- Play music or sports with them
- Contact them and just talk / listen
- Visit their work place
- Take a group out for pizza
- Be a regular at a coffee shop or other youth hangout
- Go shopping
- Text them
- Meet them on Social Media
- Church van pick up from school
- Invite them to your home
- Host a party
- Ask parents to help drive kids places
IMPLICATIONS FROM THIS LIST:
- When you break it down, there are really just four or five main places where students are. It’s more managable to meet them on their turf than we may realize [sports games and practices, school, home, work, eating establishments, recreation]
- In another sense, it’s overwhelming to think of individually connecting with kids or groups or students, which is why a team approach is so important. Always take another adult or two so you can model “going to where kids are”.
- Students basically hang out and do what they see adults doing.
- Incarnational student ministry is more of a lifestyle than a job. It requires that we have a heart for building bridges with students for the purpose of helping them get a glimpse of the Gospel.
- Hanging out with teenagers doesn’t mean you need to act like a teenager. It just means you need to become comfortable with teenagers acting like teenagers.
- Always use wisdom to be above reproach, when it comes to adult / teen relationships. Always in public, never just you and the student, and all the other standards that are in place for both safety and perceptions of a solid student ministry.