Jump directly to the Content

How to Beat the Youth Ministry Blues

An antidepressant for times when teens skip out, dollars run short, and buses break down.

The decorations were complete. The new washpan for bobbing apples stood full of water. A sack of apples leaned against the wall nearby. Forty bananas lay on the kitchen counter for making banana splits. The buns and chips were stacked high along with cookies and a mountain of soda pop.

Preparations for the all-night party had kept me running all day long. I was expecting about thirty-five teens and four sponsors. Everyone in the youth group had said they would be there, and several had asked if they could bring friends. As the hour drew closer, l began to worry that I might not have enough food. I could hardly resist the urge to run to the grocery store for more bananas.

Two senior high girls showed up and went into the nursery to discuss boys. Two more girls and a boy much younger than the girls came in together. One of the sponsoring couples showed up. And that was it.

Four girls. One boy. Two sponsors. A mountain of food. And me.

So there I was with nearly $150 spent and an activity planned ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Leader's Insight: Giving Value to Volunteers
Leader's Insight: Giving Value to Volunteers
What hospitals can teach us about appreciating our unpaid workers (and other thoughts from my journal).
From the Magazine
The Evil Ideas Behind October 7
The Evil Ideas Behind October 7
The Hamas attacks in Israel have a grotesque ideological history and deserve unflinching moral judgment.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close