Today I want to talk about 3 Ways to Monitor Your Youth Group’s Temperature During The School Year. During the summer you have the opportunity to be around your teens for hours on end. Relationships are solidified during trips across the country and decisions for Christ are made while painting houses together. When students return to school your opportunities to connect with students and to check in with them can be greatly reduced. During the summer you can monitor their spiritual temperature more easily. How can you continue to monitor how they’re doing once math class, band practice, and homework come back on the scene?

First, the best way to check in with your students is through TALKING with them. The summer is filled with late night conversations about everything from choices, likes/dislikes, and even theology. During these convos hopes, dreams, struggles, and beliefs are laid bare. It is one of my favorite things about the summer. Unfortunately, the school year can put the kibosh on these meaningful interactions. The challenge then is to intentionally create moments where you can have sustained conversations with your teens. Offer to meet them for coffee before school once a week, build in discussion time during your midweek meeting, meet for milkshakes after the games. During these interactions don’t be afraid to dig a little deeper under the surface. The point isn’t to log hours talking about C.O.D. (Call of Duty, Noob.) but to understand where your teen is, where they are struggling, where they need encouragement.

Another way to gauge their spiritual temperature is through TECHNOLOGY. Facebook, Twitter, Text Msgs- they’re not just for wasting time anymore. You can harness the power of these social networking technologies to check in with your teens. I have a Twitter account set up for our youth group. I use it to announce upcoming events, brag on students who have done something amazing, and post thoughts for the day or week. I have also used it to take surveys and ask questions. The answers to these questons can be a great insight into what’s going on in the hearts and minds of your students. Twitter isn’t just a megaphone to blast information. It can be an invitation to conversation. Deep, I know. Right now, think of 3 different ways to use Facebook this week to check in with your teens.

A third way to monitor the spiritual health of your teens during the school year is by engaging in their TALENTS. In the coming weeks I know that I’ll be sitting in the stands watch my teens compete in sports or march in the band. My evenings will be full of choir performances big and small. If your teens are anything like mine they are talents and involved in many extracurriculars. When you show up to an event or performance you are engaging with them as they apply the gifts and talents given to them by God. Any encouragement you can give them, any time that you give them, any affirmation you can give them deepens your relationship with them. When your relationship deepens and goes below the surface you can truly understand what’s going on in their heart and soul.

By carving out intentional opportunities to TALK with your teens, by using TECHNOLOGY to connect them, and through recognizing their TALENTS you can begin to measure the spiritual temperature of your students during the school year.

God’s blessing on all of you who dedicate your time, talent, and treasure to serving teens and their families in the name of Jesus Christ.