What’s the first step to creating a service for your youth ministry? Most people might start by looking at teaching, activities, or videos. Some might even sort through their volunteers and see who’s available to help. But if your youth ministry holds multiple services each week, you have a whole different set of questions.
You’ll need ideas for how to stretch activities across multiple services. You’re probably looking for ideas to maximize your teaching without spending twice as much money. You might prefer continuity between your services than creating entirely new programs twice a week. So, if you’ve ever wondered if Grow Students Curriculum can be used across multiple youth ministry services, then we’ve got great news. Yes! You can!
There are all sorts of strategies for coordinating two different youth ministry programs each week, and what we’ll offer isn’t the only way to use Grow Curriculum multiple times throughout your week. But these ideas may be the inspiration you need to develop your own strategy that best fits you and your ministry context. (If you’re looking for similar strategies for Grow Students, check out this article!) By the end of this article, you’ll have a great idea of some of the ways you can creatively use Grow Students during two services, but if you still feel like you need help developing a plan for your ministry, schedule a call with one of our incredible Grow Strategists. They’d love to give you a hand with adapting Grow Students Curriculum to your ministry.
Before we jump into the ways you can use Grow Students Curriculum in two services, you’ll want to think about the structure of your services. What do both of your programs look like? Is one a high-energy event while the other is more relaxed? Do they both have a similar atmosphere? Where do your small groups fall? What about worship? And, most importantly, which program has more (or the most available) volunteers?
For some of these, your answer might be “both,” and that’s okay! The point of these questions isn’t to make you feel sweaty about what you’re doing in your youth ministry. Each of your answers to these questions helps you think through the ways you can start to approach using Grow Students.
If you know your mid-week program is low on volunteers, then it might not be the best time for you to focus on your small groups. If you’ve got teenagers with a ton of energy, you’ll probably want to include more active games. The structure of your programs is so important to building out an effective strategy.
So, with that in mind, are you ready to get into it? Let’s go!
STRATEGY #1: THE DEEP DIVE
Program Differentiation Strategy:
- This is ideal for a program resembling a Sunday School format.
- Utilize this session for delving deeper into Scripture and discussions.
Approach Details:
- Focus on the primary Bible passage provided each week during this program.
- Offer a contextualized understanding by exploring the historical background, facilitating personal application, and enhancing comprehension for students.
- Enhance the passage’s depth by unpacking its layers and making it more relatable to the students’ lives.
Additional Option:
- If time allows, expand the small group passage into a brief devotional for the teenagers during the week.
STRATEGY #2: DISCUSSION GROUPS
Simple Strategy Overview:
- During one program, follow the Grow Students curriculum excluding the discussion questions.
- In the other program, present the provided 1-minute Sermon Video and conduct all discussion questions then.
Benefits of This Strategy:
- Facilitates teenagers in exploring the relevance of the Big Idea to their lives.
- Offers a comprehensive recap of the earlier program’s content, fostering inclusivity for absentees and setting the stage for meaningful conversations.
- Provides flexibility by offering the option of using provided sermon scripts for a manual recap instead of showing the video.
STRATEGY #3: DIVIDE EVENLY
Structural Alignment Option:
- Utilize this option if both programs follow a similar structure.
- Divide content from each week’s Grow Students material between the programs:
- Focus on the main Scripture passage in one program and the secondary passage in the other.
- Distribute modules from the What?, So What?, and Now What? sections evenly between the programs.
Advantages of this Approach:
- Maintains coherence with a shared Big Idea while introducing fresh concepts to teenagers.
- For programs involving discussion groups, split these sessions evenly between both programs.
Variety of Strategies:
- These suggestions provide a glimpse into using Grow Students Curriculum across different programs.
- Encouragement to experiment with structural variations, seek input from volunteers and students or explore these strategies to find what aligns best with your ministry’s needs.
If you have two programs that are both structured similarly, you might consider this to be your best option. Inside each week of Grow Students, there’s a ton of content for you to split up across your programs. Just focus on the main passage of Scripture during one program and the secondary passage during the other. Then, take each of the modules included in the What?, So What?, and Now What? sections and divide them evenly.
This is a great way to keep your programs related to the same Big Idea each week while also sharing new ideas and concepts with your teenagers. If you plan to hold discussion groups during both of your programs, just split those in half, too!
These are just a few of the ways you can use Grow Students Curriculum across different programs, but there are so many other options, too! Experiment with your structure, ask your volunteers (and students) for their input or work your way through these strategies to find one that suits you and your ministry.
Just know we’re here to help! If you have questions about how to use Grow Students Curriculum across your programs, set up a call with one of our awesome Grow Strategists. They want to answer your questions and help you find the rhythm and approach that works best for your program! And, if you’ve never used Grow Students Curriculum before, then try Grow for free!
So, whether you use one of these strategies or you’ve been inspired to create your own, we hope it helps you serve teenagers and point them toward Jesus!
In this post, here’s what we’ll cover: