Wat's up everyone?
Let me start by saying that the following is not a full proof plan that will work with every situation, every time. The priciples will have to be shaped to fit your situation. so lets go.
1. Pray- The first thing you should do is pray. Seek God for direction, mission, vision, and inspiration. But, you might ask, how do I know if I'm called to do urban youth work? Let me just say, you will know. If you wake up with it on your mind, if you are always thinking about ways to reach this culture, then i would say, you already know. But again, the first thing to do is to drown this thing in prayer.
2. Come up with a mission statement- Your mission is what your going to do. A statement will help you stay focused when those times of different ideas start to go crazy in your head, you will always want to refer back to your mission. Remember, you can't do everything, so stay focused.
3. Come up with a vision statement- Your vision is how your going to get your mission done. The vision is all the nuts and bolts of the ministry. What are some things that you would include in your vision? where you will meet, how many volunteers you will need, what kind of music will you play, what happens before and after the meeting, etc. You get the point. Remember, you will come up with things that fit your situation.
4. Picking your team- I would suggest that you hand pick people that you already know have a burden and a heart for urban ministry. Urban ministry is very different in alot of ways than regular youth ministry. make up invitations to pass out to those people in your community. do it up nice, and show them that you are not just looking for bodies to fill space, but you are looking for a team to build this together. maybe serve some food and drinks. it is at this meeting that you will share your burden, the mission and the vision, and then get there imput to add to everything. Also getting a commitment from them can't hurt either. lol. It will also be important to have a list of areas that need to be filled, and really stress that every job in important. explain why greeting at the door is as important as speaking, and so on.
5. Choosing a location and creating an atmosphere- Find a room in the church that can be used, or just use the main auditorium. The size of the room is not really that important, the important thing is what you do with that room to make it inviting to those coming out. Remember, you are trying to reach urban youth, so the way the room is set up is vital. For us, we were able to paint, put up pictures that reflected the culture, our theme for the room was a subway, and we even built a D.J booth that was the head car of a train. All of this created atmosphere as soon as they walked in. And please remember that it's deeper than playing rap music, it's about knowing what makes this culture tick. That's why it's so important to know that you are called to do this type of ministry.
6. Advertising and launching your opening night- I would say two months before you launch that you hand out fliers, put up posters, and really get the word out. Lets face it, no one will come if you don't tell them. Make sure that the flyer is eye catching and not to wordy. Just put the things that matter-what, where, why, when, how much. I would suggest that you hit schools, and with that said maybe your launch will be a back to school jam, malls, movies, your downtown area, basically any where there are youth.
7.Your opening night and the team- Signs are going to be so important. You don't want people having to guess where to go. Put signs up everywhere, with arrows, pointing them in the right direction. Your team-There should be 2 greeters at the front. make sure that these are very outgoing simply because they are the tip of the sword for the night. First impressions are everything. At the front there should be a table so people can sign in and give there info, so you can follow up with them in the middle of the week. Have 3 people working the room. They are there to help break the ice for people. Have someone who knows sound working the sound booth. Have a host for the night, and it does not need to be the youth pastor, in fact I suggest it not be the youth pastor. Have someone do offering, have someone welcome the guest who came, and then have someone intro the speaker. All of this is done to create an atmosphere.
8. Ushers- Having ushers to help people find a seat is great, and another thing that works well with creating atmosphere is filling the seats from front to back, as this will create the illusion that the room is fuller than it is. I would start off the first night by putting out 70 seats and packing the place, remember a crowd creates a crowd. You want people there to hear the gospel, period. That's what this is all about.
9. But you might be saying, what makes this urban? It's all up to you. You create the atmosphere that will appeal to these youth, you set the pace, you choose the music, you choose the style of speaking that will grab and keep their attention. It's all what you make it. If you have a heart to reach urban youth and young adults, then be as creative as you can to break down every wall that has been put up by them. They key is knowing your audience.
10. Finally- As we look at the different cultures around us we can see that may urban teens, as well as white teens, don't want to be in church. But when you look at non urban youth ministry you can see a big difference in the numbers. Now numbers are not what this is all about, but they say something about us. They say that youth are not interested in what we got going on, and that says alot. Urban youth ministries are dead or are dying, and there are very few who have even 50 coming out on a regular basis. We have to turn the tide. We have so much in front of us to lose a generation to Hip-Hop, clubs, and everything else that they face in the concrete jungle. Please don't settle for 25 kids and the position of a baby sitter, go for it all, set goals, inspire your team, and reach the generation before you.
I hope this has been helpful, and know that this is just the tip of what you will come up with in your context.
God bless,
Dee
"Till the culture knows."
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