At one point during my message I shared a simple concept with my students: “Nothing happens unless you do something!” I was explaining that God has some amazing plans for their lives, exciting and adventurous plans, but they have to step out in faith and DO SOMETHING in order for Jesus to do some amazing stuff in their lives. So here is my youth ministry thought/question for the day: 

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU TRIED SOMETHING, EVEN IF YOU WEREN’T GUARANTEED THAT IT WOULD WORK?

Here are some quick thoughts about innovation in youth ministry: 

1) MAKE AT LEAST ONE MISTAKE EVERY DAY…JUST NOT THE SAME ONE! Try, try and try some more. Keep trying new ideas/concepts/strategies/programs, etc. until you find something that works. When I first started working in full time youth ministry I must have tried about 6 different ways to effectively disciple teenagers before I found the method that worked best in the setting where I was at! 

2) REMEMBER: LITTLE RISK, LITTLE REWARD. BIG RISK, BIG REWARD! Keep in mind that we serve a BIG God! Nothing is too complicated for Him. Don’t you think that the God who spoke the cosmos into existence can bring the right set of volunteers into your ministry? Of course He can! Take some risks this month in your youth ministry setting. Don’t be afraid to dream big, because the size of our God should determine the size of our dreams!

3) UNDER-PROMISE, OVER-DELIVER! When Jesus gives you a God-sized vision, you don’t necessarily have to share that entire vision with everybody right away. Begin to practicing under-promising and over-delivering and watch the momentum that will start to develop in your youth ministry! 

What about you? What are some innovative ideas that you have tried in your youth ministry setting (even if they ended up failing completely!) Share your ideas in the comments section below. I’m very interested to hear some of your ideas.