How to Plan a Youth Group Session

It’s getting close to your turn to lead the youth group.  You’re quite excited about the opportunity but you might also be a bit nervous.  You might not have led it before, or you might have forgotten the amount of times you’ve done it.  Either way, you know it’s important and you want to do a good job.  Here’s a few things that might help you think it through:

PRAYER

Try to set some quality time aside to spend time with God, praying for the session and asking God to help you during planning.  Also, pray for the team and the young people that God will grow you all closer to him.  Remember, apart from God, we can do nothing.

PEOPLE

Let’s assume there are a few things that you can expect to be familiar; the age, time, size, venue of the group.  There are also a few other things to consider – faith maturity, ability, team availability – you can probably think of a few more.  

Example – You regularly help this group so you’re familiar with who will be there.

PURPOSE

Consider why the session exists.  There are many reasons why groups meet.  It might be a discipleship group, maybe the session is Sunday morning during the Church worship gathering.  It might be an evangelistic session or a meeting Friday night where young people invite their friends.  Is this a fellowship session where young people meet up to build friendships?  It is important to think about why the group is meeting.  Sometimes, ‘leading the youth group’ can lose its purpose of the great commission.  

Example – Following this, you can then start making plans.  The youth leader has asked you to lead the session and they’ve reminded you that the purpose of Sunday mornings is in their vision statement – “to help young people grow as passionate followers of Jesus, in everyday life.”

PEOPLE

An excellent next step is to start to think about your team.  This is a great chance to meet with them, pray for the young people and have a planning session.  These can be really good fun and a chance to cast vision and inspire them.  You can also, pretty much guarantee all the good ideas will come from your team – they’ll enjoy contributing and using their skills.  It might help to be ready to explain the purpose and maybe an idea or two to catalyse the creative process. 

PLAN

Now we can start thinking about how to achieve the purpose.  Think about the session as a journey.  How will you best help the group on the journey to achieve the purpose?

Example – You’ve been given the topic – which is about prayer.  A good place to start planning is by putting a schedule together, this can move and adapt as you go.  Below is a table which can be adapted for your session.  

Be intentional about making a plan and a schedule.  It will help you be intentional about the purpose and work with your team to lead the group.

SUMMARY

Think about the P’s above – they will help you take the group on a journey and achieve the purpose of the session.  Hopefully that’s provided a few thoughts and a few points to remember to help you get going.

Over to you – try having a go.  Try and complete a plan for a session.  You could try it for an evangelistic session, or a youth worship gathering.  

SOME HELPFUL QUESTIONS

Do you have the resources you need?  Is there anything you need help with?  Will they listen and remember what you will teach?  Is it fun?  Have you thought about health and safety?  Will they be able to invite friends?  Have you equipped and released your team to serve?  Have you equipped the young people to follow Jesus?