Provide a transition time. By the time a student shows up at your ministry she has experienced an emotional roller-coaster of experiences. This may be the first time a student has had a moment to relax all week. Provide a time in the schedule when students can show up and simply connect in a relaxed environment.

The format We Used:

    10:00 a.m.    Adult & Student leaders arrive at Coffee shop (Connect S.S location)

    10:15 a.m.    Students arrive: Purchase beverages and connect

    10:25 a.m.    Students divide into groups of 3-6 and sit at different tables

    10:30 a.m.    Connect: (Leader, adult or student) asks ice-breaker questions

    10:35 a.m.    Introduce topic and read Scripture passage

    10:40 a.m.    Discuss topic and questions

    10:50 a.m.    Close in prayer for one another

4) Change the Leadership, Including Students in the Process

If we want students to get connected we need to let them speak. If we want students to grow in their faith we need to let them ask questions and talk about it. Never underestimate the interest and ability of a teenager to bring a meaningful thought or question to the conversation.

When we first started doing connect we led the morning with two adult leaders introducing the topic and facilitating the conversations. We quickly realized the power of including students in the process. Now before we take leadership credit, I should acknowledge that we began including students because we realized that students who were not leading were not always listening.

The way we did this was to select 6 leaders from our youth ministry and ask them to help facilitate a small group discussion. Since our connect topic was a follow-up of the Wednesday evening program we sent out the outline to students on Thursday. These 6 students would arrive early and purchase their beverage. When the other students arrived they would naturally gravitate towards one of these six groups. Note: it is important to select mature students but also a diverse group that represents the different "cliques, or groups of friends" in the youth ministry. By choosing a few mature students you provide your other students an option for involvement in a variety of groups.

Another opportunity that usually opens up as a result of changing the environment and the format is that more adults are usually intrigued and willing to help out with the ministry. Most adults are very reluctant to teach a Sunday school class to teenagers but they are willing to show up for coffee, hang out with the students and engage in a conversation about a spiritual topic.

Refresh Communication

We have been doing the Connect ministry for three years now and a lot has changed. We learned that consistent communication is essential.  Even though we had a parent meeting which presented our plan and our purpose, adults continued to have questions along the way. And as always, we encountered a few parents who were uncomfortable with the model because they did not feel it was biblically centered, even though every week we were reading and discussing the bible. We learned that even though we met at the same place and same time every week, students were often unsure whether we were meeting on or off campus. We still get kids asking where Sunday school is at. We learned that providing an adult driver and vehicle for transportation from the church to the location was essential and very helpful. Refreshing Sunday school is an ongoing project held together by consistent communication.

The solution is simple. Stop doing "school" and start connecting students. Refresh Sunday school and you may refresh their faith.