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Many youth ministry groups cancel or modify their activities in the summer since families often travel or otherwise take a break from church activities during the break. To get back in the swing of things, they often hold kick-off events when fall rolls around.
Many youth ministry groups cancel or modify their activities in the summer since families often travel or otherwise take a break from church activities during the break. To get back in the swing of things, they often hold kick-off events when fall rolls around.
Youth group kick-off events can restart your activities with a bang, renewing the energy and preparing everybody for the year ahead. Thinking about what activities to do to kick off the new season? Keep reading for kick-off activity ideas and learn how to best organize them.
A youth group is an organized gathering of young people, generally children and teens, created to encourage their spiritual growth. In addition to engaging in Bible study and prayer, youth groups also organize social activities and outreach programs.
A youth group works under the guidance of mentor figures like youth pastors or youth ministers. They organize lessons and activities that help members grow spiritually and provide practical advice to deal with life’s challenges.
Members may also take part in organizing youth group activities to build their leadership abilities and develop other important skills.
Why do you need to start the year with a kick-off event? Inviting youth group members to a kick-off event doesn’t just tell them it’s the start of a new year. Involving members in brainstorming, planning, and designing the event, allows you to teach them valuable skills even before the year properly starts.
Youth group kick-off events don’t just benefit the members collaborating and coordinating them. Kick-off events usually include various fun activities that bring together members of the community. By engaging with the community at large, your youth group can potentially gain new members. Additionally, you can potentially find new supporters for your youth group through networking and building relationships.
Now that you know why hosting a kick-off event is a great idea, you may be asking what kind of events you should hold. Before we get into the ideas, let’s look at the big picture. Here are several common types of events you can hold in your youth group:
Preparing for kick-off events at church is convenient. You already know the space and getting permission to run an event in the church shouldn’t be too hard, so venue selection and setup should be a breeze. Another benefit of holding events at church is that you can utilize resources and volunteers from the church community.
You can consider working with schools in your area to co-host a kick-off event. By hosting an event at school, you’ll have more people participating, which may lead to more people joining your youth group afterward. Plus, co-promoting an event with the school means you can reach more people than if you were promoting it yourself.
Who doesn’t love a good movie? Having your youth group and community members laughing along to a good comedy can be a great bonding experience for everybody. Another great thing about having a movie night is that it can be held virtually or in person.
While there’s still some heat left over after the summer, a water bottle relay race is the perfect thing to cool off. This event aims to create excitement and engagement while involving teamwork and collaboration between youth group members. If you make the race as part of a larger event that features music, games, and entertainment, it’s a surefire way to create lasting memories and good times.
Playing party games is a great way to ring in a new youth group year because most party games foster friendships and relationships within the group. It’s also designed to welcome new members since players are split into teams that have to work together to win.
Depending on the game you choose, it may also encourage participation from all age groups, making sure nobody’s left out.
Kick-off events don’t have to be held indoors. If the weather is good, you can consider activities in outdoor locations with competitions and games. This is where your youth group has a chance to shine. They can be the ones to come up with the games and activities in the event.
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Now, let’s get down to business. Here are some of our favorite youth group kick-off ideas you can consider to start the year with. Some of these events may have a specific theme or focus, and some of them also provide opportunities for service and outreach.
Swag or free goodies are always welcomed at events. Look up low-cost goodies on the Internet to bag up and give away to everybody participating in your event. You don’t need to ask for contact details or tell them to do something. Just mention in all your marketing materials that your kick-off event is the only place they’ll be able to get the swag you’re giving out.
If one of your group members’ birthday falls near the start of the new season, why not throw a party to celebrate it? Celebrating a birthday provides so many opportunities for welcoming new members and helps showcase your youth group’s creativity. Assign members to decorating, theming, and baking duties to ensure everybody takes part and has fun preparing for the event.
A youth group kick-off activity doesn’t have to be in the church. It can be at your local park, at school, or anywhere else you can think of. Another benefit of holding events outside the church is that there are so many options to choose from. Sports competitions, scavenger hunts, picnics…the list is basically endless.
Holding a church event outside the church has another benefit: you can potentially get even more community members participating in it.
An event that offers snacks, refreshments, or a communal meal is often the easiest way to get people to bond. Invite your youth group members to come to church on a Saturday morning to mingle and have breakfast together. Make it a chill, fun event where members can get to know each other.
If you want to get right into the swing of things, consider scheduling a one-verse Bible study. Choose one verse for your group members to discuss. One-verse Bible studies focus on faith, bonding, and making new friends among youth group members. Plus, sharing interpretations of Bible verses can encourage their spiritual growth.
Another simple way to kickstart a new season is to organize a quick prayer meeting. Gathering everybody to say prayers and outline what to do in the coming year can inspire members to be active in the youth group throughout the year.
If your group members have been attending church regularly over the summer break, you can start the year by recapping the previous week’s sermon and having the group discuss it. In addition to being a kick-off activity, this can also be a regularly scheduled event throughout the year.
The role of youth group members in kick-off event planning is essential. However, adult leaders and mentors still need to lend a hand to ensure the planning process goes well. Here are examples of how adults outside the group can help with event planning:
If your group consists of very young children, you can ask older youth group members or college students to step into a leadership role. Since they may not be much older than the group members, the senior leaders can connect with younger members better.
Additionally, older members may have skills that younger members haven’t developed yet. They may be better at doing marketing and promotions for your event. They’re also typically mature enough to perform feedback collection and improvement planning for your future events.
Community involvement is important in making successful kick-off events, so embrace your youth group member’s parents. Keep them updated on how event planning goes, and you can even involve them in some tasks that need adult supervision or knowledge.
Ministry leaders, alongside church volunteers, can provide great help in event planning. In addition to the help they provide with event planning and coordination, you’ll bring the youth group members closer to the rest of the church family.
A good plan is key to developing fun and interactive activities. That’s why you need to plan well for these events. Here are our top tips for planning a successful kick-off event:
Finding the right people to organize and run the event is essential. Take a look at what kind of event you’re planning, then identify what skills you’ll need to run it successfully. From there, you can check with your church community and ask people with those skills to help plan and run your event.
Communicating your event well helps you attract more people to participate. Think about the main demographic of your event, then have your youth group craft marketing materials that resonate with those people. For instance, announcing an event for young people means using social media posts, while you may need to use more traditional methods to announce events for older church members.
Decorating is one of the most fun parts of event planning and an essential one at that. Define your event’s theme and have your youth group brainstorm what kind of decorations and venue setup would fit that theme.
Youth group events are where members can showcase their leadership and skills, so lead with a guiding hand. Instead of taking charge of everything, consider delegating tasks to members and let them learn how to organize an event. It’s fine if they make mistakes every now and then since it’s a learning experience.
Communicating what you wish to achieve with the event is important to ensure everybody is on the same page. For instance, you can say that the event is meant to build community and foster relationships. By sharing your goals, everybody will be working with the same thing in mind.
Youth group kick-off events can start the new season with a bang, setting the tone and energy for the upcoming year. They can also serve as a welcome back to members who may have spent their summer away from the group.
Planning a youth group kick-off event doesn’t just involve you and the members. It can be a way to get your entire church family involved. Creating an event that the whole community can enjoy means you’re building stronger bonds and creating lasting memories.
To make a youth group kick-off event fun and engaging for different age groups, you can either make separate events or include multiple activities in one event. Different age groups often like different activities, so it’s essential to ensure everybody has fun.
Here are some creative and unique themes that can make for a memorable youth group kick-off:
You can include parents and families in the kick-off event by asking for their help. While youth group members are busy with event planning, family members can contribute in “adult” ways like looking for sponsors or promoting the event among their peers.
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