Getting Grads into Youth Group
Some of the club members “graduating” from your oldest Pioneer Clubs age-group may need help and encouragement to make the transition into your church’s youth group. Youth leaders visit club. One idea is to have the youth leaders come to club to introduce themselves. This might make club members feel more comfortable when they switch to the youth group. Last year’s grads. Perhaps when the youth leaders come, they could bring kids from the youth group who graduated from club last year. That way, club members who are about to graduate would know them from last year. They and the youth leaders could conduct a sample youth group meeting right during club time. Capture the kids. At one church, during one of the last club meetings of the year, the youth sponsor comes to club, “captures” all the graduating kids, and takes them to the youth group meeting. There they have a friendly initiation. Kickoff event. Work with the youth leaders to have a major kickoff event for the youth group. My church had a special day to welcome freshmen. We went to a lake and invited student leaders, adult leaders, and incoming freshmen to go water skiing. This helped us all get to know each other and helped the leaders “plug” the start of youth meetings. Buddies. Invite last year’s club members to pair up with graduating club members to bring them to youth group and introduce them around. |
