Every church faces the challenge of keeping young people engaged and attracting new ones to ensure growth and vitality. In today’s world, maintaining and rejuvenating relationships with young people as they grow up and form their own values is crucial. It’s easier when they grow up in the faith, but it becomes challenging to keep them engaged as they mature.
Summertime offers churches opportunities to capture their attention with activities like summer camps, beach trips, mission trips, and even STEM and academic classes. But what happens when these special events end and regular routines resume? How can churches keep the fire burning?
Form Genuine Relationships and Adapt
“It’s all about relationships and letting the young folks know you’re sincere about your care for them because they can tell if you’re not real,” says Rev. Dante Kwiyisi Miles, senior pastor at Koinonia Baptist Church in Baltimore.
“Our problem is we’re trying to minister in 2024 with methods that worked in 2004 and 1984, and it’s a very different time,” Miles says.”People have shorter attention spans. They didn’t mind two to three-hour services then, but not now. Parents and children have so many other things, so many other obligations.”
Miles says you must offer services and hold their attention and commitment to attract young people.
The church, a mid-size congregation in the city’s northern sector, has long tapped city and state resources — such as midnight basketball — to successfully engage the young people in their community. They’ve also run their own programs, such as an after-school program, Project Safe Haven — and a daycare for years.
The church doesn’t just expect its young people to patronize its events and services.
“When our young people have a sports game or performance at school, I try my best to be present to support them,” he says. “It’s as important to be present for them as it is for them to be present with us.
And he should know since he’s been a youth minister in his church almost since he was a young person himself.
Koinonia was founded in 1992 by Miles’ father, the late Bishop Douglas I. Miles. The progressive, politically active congregation is a founding member of Baltimoreans United In Leadership Development (BUILD), a local chapter of Industrial Areas Foundation, the nation’s largest and longest-standing network of local faith and community-based organizations.
Emphasize Educational and Spiritual Growth
He says the church might not attract new members, but its real goal is to make disciples, and there’s a need to reacquaint the children with the church’s teachings.
One way to achieve that is the total involvement of young people in the worship service on second Sundays. “They play instruments and participate during every aspect of the service,” he says.
During summer camp, one of the church members takes the children on tour and shows them the sections of the church and the objects used during worship. Every teachable moment counts.
Miles also started inviting children from the community in for prayer every few months.
“The church was filled, and some of my ministry compadres did the same at their churches at the same time,” he says.
Create a Culture of Respect and Reverence
Miles’ goal is to return the church to the place of respect and reverence it was when he was one of the children.
“I learned so much at church, basic things I needed for life, like how to tie a tie, how to dress correctly. I want the same for them.”
His biggest problem is parents who aren’t church members but whose children are now part of the youth ministry.
“It’s our challenge to figure out how to minister to them and have them act responsibly in bringing and picking up their young people as expected,” he says.
The funny thing is that the children in his programs are now second-generation because many of their parents were also participants, so they have a rich history of retention.
Graduates of Project Safe Haven, which has provided after-school care for 31 years, are currently staffing ministry positions such as the chair of the trustee ministry and an executive assistant and working as some of the youth leaders.
Care and Connect
Overall though, Miles stresses that young people “need to know you care about their life as much as you care about their spiritual well-being. What’s important to them needs to also be important to you,” he says.
“People are more responsive if you reach out to them in person and engage them in conversation. People are hungry for relationships. That’s going to be the thrust of our ministry for the rest of the year.”
