American Baptist Youth

of First Baptist Church Greenwood

Strategy

Stage o

Description of stage

Strategy

Ministry Focus

Challenge for Stage

Lost:  

Non-Christians with no faith; don’t attend church

Reach through relationships with students in the Engaging, Practicing, and Committed stages. 

o   Relational Evangelism by students in last three stages

o   Train current believers for evangelism

Attending:

 

Attend, but have no faith—come to hang out with friends

o   Friday Night Live:  reached through relationships built at Friday evening drop-in-center.

o   Invitation to Sunday Night Gathering.

o   Incarnational/

relational ministry by youth ministry team and Practicing and Committed Students

o   Fellowship

o   See the difference faith makes in the life of believers

o   Get curious

Believing:

 

Believe but don’t act on faith; think believing is enough

o   Friday Night Live

o   Sunday Night Gathering reached through relationships, worship, and lesson presented at Sunday night youth group

o   Invitation to Service projects

o   Invitation to Join a small group

o   Exposure to Worship

o   Exposure to Instruction

o   Continued fellowship

o   Continued I/R ministry

 

o   Understand that faith is more than believing—it’s a relationship and an opportunity to serve something greater than one’s self.

Engaging:

 

 

Engage the Word and other believers regularly; attend; participate in regular youth activities; not yet ready to serve regularly or go deeper in their relationship with Christ

o   Friday Night Live

o   Sunday Night Gathering

o   Service Projects:  reached through intentional projects designed to open student’s eyes to reality and the need for God and His people serving the world and the communities around us.

o   Small groups:  reached through building closer relationships with peers and adult leaders through development of intimate/meaningful small groups

o   Invitation to Rite of Passage programs

o   Invitation to Mission Trips

o   Worship

o   Instruction

o   Fellowship

o   Exposure to Service

o   Continued I/R ministry

o   Understand what it means to truly Worship

o   Understand your calling to the Great Commandment

o   Understand its fulfillment in serving one another


Practicing:

 

Put the Word into practice as much as possible but avoid leadership roles; belong in small group; go on mission trips

o   Friday Night Live

o   Sunday Night Gathering

o   Service Projects

o   Small Groups

o   Rite of Passage: reached through high impact, intense experiences focused on “becoming”

o   Mission Trips:  reached through intensely developed and requiring sacrificial commitment to get oneself out of one’s comfort zone and serve peoples’ of differing cultures

o   Invitation to join ministry teams

o   Worship

o   Instruction

o   Fellowship

o   Service

o   Training for Evangelism

o   Continued I/R ministry

o   Find and recognize the spiritual gifts and other talents you have and how they can be used for the Glory of God.

o   Seek maturity and understand adulthood

o   Begin to understand being committed to Christ

o   Seek mentorship

o   Begin to focus more on evangelism

Committed:

 

Devoted disciple; serving God has become a priority; readily lead through service; strongly founded in the Word; take personal responsibility for contributing to the growth of the kingdom

o   Friday Night Live

o   Sunday Night Gathering

o   Service Projects

o   Small groups

o   Rite of Passage

o   Mission Trips

o   Ministry teams:  training, development, mentoring, and placement in a peer serving ministry position such as worship team, planning team, drama team, ministry development team, small group peer leader

o   Worship

o   Instruction

o   Fellowship

o   Evangelism

o   Service

o   Training for I/R ministry

o   Internalize maturity

o   Apply Truth to your own opportunities to set an example for others

o   Plug in to ministry