COVID-19 and Youth Ministry

One of the hardest things to do is hit a curveball when all you’ve been trained to hit is a medium speed fastball down the middle. The movie Trouble with the Curve touches on this. In the midst of this pandemic, it feels like we’re being thrown curveballs every day. Youth ministry right now feels like a moving target. Here are some resources that might help you hit the ball out of the park.

Mechanics of Online Youth Ministry

• The good people at Youth Specialties share Five Beginner Essentials for Digital Experiences in Youth Ministry.

• In Everything Has Changed! Brian Aaby offers 10 ways to adjust ministry in this strange reality.

• Lisa Hanle of Fuller Youth Institute provides excellent, practical tips in Navigating New Territory: Moving Ministry Online

• Anthony Taylor helps you learn How to Use Zoom and Sidekick for Youth Group Online

• In Youth Workers: Embrace the Pandemic for Viral Ministry to Parents, Walt Mueller says “we find ourselves in a season where ministry to parents can thrive like never before.”

• Now is a great time to build better relationships with the parents of your youth group kids. Brad Griffin of Fuller Youth Institute offers Five Ways to Engage Families as Partners in Ministry.

• In Thinking Ahead: Rites of Passage in the COVID-19 Moment Chris Wilterdink provides great ideas for celebrating big moments virtually with teens.

Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Health During the Epidemic

• Christine Carter passes along great advice for parents in How to Help Teens Shelter in Place.

• Brad Griffin shares tips for helping teens process grief and share their gratitude in Naming Loss and Gratitude with Young People in These Uncertain Days.

• Parents and teens alike can benefit from the helpful ideas Dr. Chinwé Williams shares in Managing Fear and Anxiety During a Health Pandemic.

• The stress of isolation is real. Dr Stephen Grcevich encourages churches to think about Flattening the Curve of the COVID-19 Mental Health Epidemic to Come.

• Tim Keller helps those who are processing the Christian faith explore Peace in Times of Suffering and Uncertainty.

Online Meeting Topic Ideas

• Support each other. Go "around the room" and invite everybody to share what they are missing and mourning and what they are grateful for. Pray about those things together.

• Interview each other using these conversation starters from the Faith Storytelling Toolkit.

• Host a virtual and intergenerational game night. Building Faith shares these ideas for Games for All Ages Via Zoom.

• Watch a movie or a video separately and then discuss it together online. Check out some movie ideas here: Stuck at Home? 20 Hopeful Movies to Watch During the Coronavirus Quarantine.

• During the COVID-19 crisis, RightNowMedia.org is offering free access to a limited library of small group studies and other resources. (Your church may also already have a full subscription to this site.) Since not all resources are compatible with a Reformed worldview, we suggest you review content beforehand.

Summer Program Decisions

Many of us are navigating the uncharted road of canceling our VBS, camps, and youth ministry short-term mission trips. Building Faith's blog post on Canceling Summer Programs offers helpful insights. 

For more assistance with youth ministry in the Christian Reformed Church, contact your classis Youth Ministry Champion or Ron deVries, the CRC's Youth Ministry Catalyzer ([email protected]).