Everybody needs a little bit of encouragement, and the members of your youth group are no different. Teenagers and our youth in general need encouragement when they do something positive, here are a few tips for you as a leader.
As a youth leader and a role model, a piece of encouragement from you carries a lot of weight. So here are a few different ways that you can encourage and motivate your youth ministry students throughout the year.
Shine A Light On Them
One of the best ways to encourage somebody, is to help them look at themselves in a positive light. So a great idea to encourage your teens is at each meeting or Bible lesson class, have a segment of each class that is dedicated to sharing about each other’s lives and what positive things everybody has done in the past week. By having everybody open up and sharing something positive from their life that they have done in the past week, you are recognizing their actions in a public forum, you are also having that students recognize their own actions when they most likely would’ve overlooked them.
Notice The Small Things
Another great way to encourage your students is to recognize the small things and the small accomplishments. Maybe you have a student who is shy and quiet. If that student participated even just a little bit more than their normal amount during a group discussion, a simple direct encouragement such as,” thanks for your input”, will go a very long way. By recognizing and encouraging your students when they have the ability to step out of their comfort zone, will only encourage your students in the future to continue to participate in a positive manner.
Be Positive At All Times
A great way to encourage your students is to make sure that you never put them down in any manner. When you’re in a group environment it’s easy to crack a joke at someone’s expense and not mean anything by it. But some students and some people in general take everything to heart. Keep this in mind, and make it a point that if you are going to use comedy with your youth group that you yourself are the butt of the joke each and every time. By being a person who doesn’t crack jokes at someone’s expense you are seen as a positive figure and one who can be respected by their students.
Be A Cheerleader!
Another way to encourage your students is by getting out and supporting them in their extracurricular activities. If one of your students is playing in a big sporting event, a great idea would be to have a field trip with the rest of your youth group to go and support the student playing in the big game. Do this with all your students if you can, maybe one of them is having an art show, plan a field trip with the rest of your youth group and show your support along with the group of their peers.
These quick and simple ways to encourage your students are simple yet very impactful when leading a youth group, so get out there and encourage your students!.
