8 WAYS TO KILL THE BUNNY

Group, Jul/Aug 2005 by Tucker, Jason

HOW TO COMMUNICATE YOUR MINISTRY'S VISION, PURPOSE, AND VALUE TO THE SKEPTICAL "STAKEHOLDERS" IN YOUR CHURCH

Six years ago, shortly after I was hired as youth director at a Pennsylvania church, I discovered the youth group had a serious image problem. At the time, most people in the church dismissed our ministry as merely an excuse for a little "good, clean fun." They saw us as a safe place for their teenagers to hang out-nothing more. And for the most part, that's all we were.

But our youth ministry leadership team wanted a lot more than that. We worked together to develop a vision for what the ministry could become. One problem: We knew the congregation would have to buy into that vision or we'd always be slogging in the muck. What would it take to change their expectations? They say a good reputation is easy to lose and incredibly hard to restore-we needed communication strategies that would saturate the church with our new vision.

Well, that was all fine and good, but as my senior pastor always says, "Communication is a miracle." There's so much information pouring from the electric knickknacks that surround us that we can't keep it all straight. That's why, with all our gadgets at our disposal, we still forget meeting times, important deadlines, swim meets, school plays, and important announcements for the church bulletin.

To make a widespread change in the way our ministry was perceived in the church, we'd have to find new ways to "kill the bunny"-the "Chubby Bunny," that is. You know, like we did, that you have teenagers in your ministry who are showing remarkable growth in their relationships with Christ. But a lot of people in the church just don't get that-they think of youth ministry as one big game of Chubby Bunny.

Why is it so challenging to kill the bunny? It's flat-out hard to spot the mystery of God's work in a teenager's soul. When church members see our youth, many see faces stuffed with marshmallows (so to speak). So how do we get past the "carpet stain" complaints and generate excitement about ministry to youth?

Obviously, this is a God thing. But it's a betrayal of our relationship with him to simply sit back and wait for him to move. We have a responsibility to do everything we can to communicate the substance of our work with teenagers. These are the practical steps we took to begin that process.

1. CHAMPION YOUR MINISTRY'S IMPACT IN YOUR CHURCH'S LARGEST PUBLIC FORUM.

Your church's worship service is the best setting for face time with your congregation, so look for opportunities to infiltrate it, even if it's only a 30-second blurb.

* Once you make your 30-second slot count, the next time ask for five minutes to describe the ministry impact of a recent event. Show pictures of your kids in action, and choose a couple of them to tell the story of how God used the event to deepen their faith.

* If that goes well, start planning for a Youth Sunday-a worship service entirely designed and facilitated by your teenagers. The key is to pack this service with spiritual depth. It's not enough for kids to serve as ushers or read a Scripture passage (although there's nothing wrong with that)-you want them to show how the church has helped them connect with Christ. The best way to do that is to help kids plan something that makes the congregation want to worship God with all its "heart, soul, and strength."1

2. INCLUDE EVERYONE ON YOUR MAILING LIST.

There's a simple reason why we have a communication problem in youth ministry-the overwhelming majority of church members have no connection at all to our ministry. They simply don't know what a 30-Hour Famine is, and they couldn't tell you what your kids do at that "workcamp" they attend every summer.2 How could they know if you don't tell them?

* Send all your youth ministry emails, newsletters, calendars, and advertisements to your entire church roll. Yes, it's a lot more work, but it'll help educate the "disconnected" and profoundly increase your ministry's support.

* After every major ministry event, send your list special follow-up emails or postcards that describe how God moved in teenagers' lives through the event. You can never tell too many stories. This will help them understand the why behind your events and programs.

3. WORK TOGETHER WITH OTHER CHURCH MINISTRIES.

A lot of youth ministries are like Survivor's Richard Hatch-they've managed to get everyone else off their island, and they like it that way. It's easy for us to morph our youth ministry into a church-within-a-church that rarely interacts with any other church ministries. That not only damages our reputation within the church, but it belies the biblical DNA of the church as a body. The more people you welcome into your circle, the more people will discover firsthand your ministry's effectiveness.

* Team up with adults in your church for a Habitat for Humanity work day. Or send a combined team of adults (not already connected to your ministry) and teenagers to a workcamp.

* Invite children in your church to join your teenagers in baking cookies to send to college students. Or get your teenagers involved in leading your church's vacation Bible school in the summer.3