Does your Church have a strong Jr. High Ministry?

Jr. High ministry to many Church folk means a room fully of hyper kids playing disgusting games, wrapping each other in toilet paper and throwing balls at each other.  Although this is sometimes part of it I wanted to take a few minutes to help you and your Church’s understand the massive significance and consequence this ministry is to the local Church.

In most Church’s there is one youth pastor who oversees Jr. high, Sr. High, sometimes youth adult ministries and almost everything else the more “important” staff don’t want to do.   In the mix of that schedule Jr. High ministry usually takes a back seat and is neglected.  Even in many large Church’s who could afford to resource a Jr. High ministry with staff it often doesn’t happen and isn’t a prority.  Here are a few reasons why you need to make Jr. High ministry a MASSIVE priority for your Church.

1. In the developmental stages of early adolescence there is a significant openness and responsiveness that remains as a characteristic of childhood.   Jr. High students are open to the message of the Gospel and are unashamed to respond to Jesus.   Barna research group did a study to show that the majority of youth who begin a relationship with Jesus do so before the age of 14.   This is a fundamental age where where resources and attention in the local church need to be given.
2. Jr. High youth have the ability to dialogue, process and retain information in many of the same ways an older teenager is able to.    In our ministry small groups are a massive part of our strategy.  Not only is mentorship a huge benefit of this but most of the teaching happens in the context of small group discussions and dialogue.
3. In my many years working with Jr. High youth I have seen this ministry infiltrated with youth who don’t know Jesus more than any other ministry I’ve been apart of.   As Jr. High youth feel connected, loved and a deep sense of ownership of their community there seems to be a deep desire amongst the Jr. high youth I’ve worked with to bring all their friends from school or their neighborhoods.   At this stage of development they don’t feel a sense of shame or insecurity.  They simply want all their friends to experience the deep sense of community, love and mentorship they feel.
4. It is so incredibly important to introduce young teens into a loving and caring community at the pre teen age.    Once youth hit grade nine they desperately begin their search for community, love and friendship.  Unfortunately if a high school student has never had that in their pre teen years in the context of the Church they will not likely find that community in the Church once they hit high school.   I speak to youth workers and parents almost every week trying to get this truth through.  If Jr. High youth don’t integrate into youth ministry in their pre teen years it will be very difficult for them to transition during their high school years simply because their friends and community will be found in mostly unhealthy ways outside the context of the Church.

If your church has a strong and healthy Jr. High ministry I guarantee you will see a new vibrancy, excitement and life in your Church community. What an amazing opportunity your Church has to lay an incredible spiritual foundation in the lives of many young teens in your community. Get excited about Jr. High Ministry!