So, your senior minister calls you to have lunch with you because he wants to ask you a favor. After you order your food, the minister leans over the table and asks you how you feel about youth? You respond that you used to be one, but other than that you don't really have a strong opinion one way or the other. You also tell the minister that you like being around kids and they are an important part of your church. "Great", responds the minister who is building up the courage to ask you the ultimate question. "Would you be willing to lead our youth group this year"? After the shock of the question sets in, you swallow hard and answer with a shaky, "Yeah, I guess so, what could be so hard about that"?

With that answer, you now find yourself as part of a multitude of people who have volunteered to be a youth director in churches across America. The question you ask is, "how am I going to do this? How am I going to be successful with kids when I don't know the first thing about leading a youth group?"

Although terror is a common response for youth leaders there are some simple things you can do to have a youth group that just doesn't exist but goes "Full Throttle!"

First of all it is important that you meet the kids where they are. Both Chi Rho and CYF kids lead busy, hectic lives. They have a lot going on and they would love to see you at their next athletic event, play or concert. By taking the time to go see them do what they love to do you are saying to them that they are important to you and you want to get to know them outside of church on Sundays.

One CYF sponsor went to see one of his kids run in a local cross-county event. He went and cheered his athlete on as he ran in his event. After the event the student thanked him for coming and as the sponsor was leaving he saw the student's parent arriving late to the cross-country meet. They explained they got caught in traffic and thanked the sponsor for coming. That year, the high school student in CYF went to become one of the leaders of the group.

Another way to grow your youth group is to ask various kids to be in leadership roles that they have never been in before. For example, in one youth group, one girl was always quiet and did not participate on a regular basis. However, this girl did have an interest in photography but had no outlet to use that talent in church. The leader of the group approached the girl and asked her if she would be willing to be the official photographer of the group. The leader explained to the girl that she needed someone who could document what they did all year in order to make a slide show for their end of the year picnic. The girl reluctantly accepted and now that girl has found a home and a purpose in CYF.

Other ideas that work in getting your youth groups to thrive include such things as making a bulletin board with pictures that show what the group has been doing and what it will be doing in the future. This will help spur interest in youth because they can see what the group is doing.

Another idea is to get an e-mail team together. This team's responsibility is to stay in touch with kids throughout the week to let them know what's going on with the group and to invite kids who are not currently participating in youth group. Another good way to stay in touch with kids is to text message them throughout the week to let them know what's coming up.

Try these ideas on your youth group. With enthusiasm and dedication, your youth group can go "Full Throttle" this year.

Be sure to sign on to DHM's Constant Contact list to receive monthly updates on youth ministry.  Go to www.discipleshomemissions.org.

The Rev. Tod Iseminger, Minister for Leader Development, is a native of Sioux City, Iowa, and is a member of Geist Christian Church, Indianapolis.