If you’ve spent any amount of time planning an event in kids or youth ministry, I know you’ve been here before.

The last kid in your ministry has finally been picked up, you’ve spent hours vacuuming tiny pieces of glitter and confetti out of the carpet, and décor has been taken down and packed away to be used again and again (and if we’re being honest…again). Looking back at all that happened, you know that God moved in an amazing way and people grew in their everyday faith. And just as you get to sit down to give yourself five minutes of congratulatory rest, someone asks the dreaded question…

“So how are you going to top this next year?”

It’s a question that gets asked in so many ministries, no matter the age group. As soon as we finish one great event or program, we’re already jumping to see how we can make it better for next year. Or bigger. Or more extreme. And that pressure often doesn’t come from outside sources like parents, kids and teens, or lead pastors. Most often, it comes from ourselves. We think we HAVE to do more and more to make the kind of impact we desire for our kids and teens. Worse, we often think that they NEED the bigger and better to want to come back to the events we offer.

But what if it can be different? What would happen if we released the pressure to create the next best thing? What if instead we worked to create the next good thing that our kids and teens need?

Hear me out.

I’m not saying don’t go big or go bold! Instead, I want to give each of us permission to keep on creating good content and events, instead of constantly exhausting ourselves trying to outdo what we’ve done before. And to do that, I think we should keep a few things in mind.

Good Can Be the Goal

Now, I may be saying something a little controversial, but since you’ve read this far, I’m sure you won’t be too surprised to hear it. Not every event or program has to be the best thing ever. For the overachievers and perfectionists among us (me included!), this was a pretty painful realization. I LOVED trying to outdo myself. I WANTED every event to be the best thing that has ever happened. Of course, I’m not saying don’t put in 100% effort or don’t put in your best work, but it’s important to remember a lot of what we do is out of our control. Sooner or later, a game we play is going to bomb. A message we give isn’t going to land in the way we thought it would. And sadly, there will be a time when a kid or teen tells you they didn’t have a great time.

And all of this is okay. It’s bound to happen! God can still work in events that aren’t your absolute best. And chances are, it probably was much better than you thought. A good event or program can be the goal in ministry.

Prioritize Community in Ministry

Nothing really beats the absolute privilege of taking the time to get to know a kid or teen in our ministry. That time can happen during deep conversations around a campfire, through small group questions after hearing a thought-provoking lesson, or even when laughing hysterically during a game that ends with you covered in some sort of homemade slime. The community and connection built during your events and programming are where life change can truly happen!

So what would it look like to focus on building community within ministry? For some of us, it may mean including more time for small groups to be together during an activity. For others, it may mean changing up our event to be less centered on activities and more on conversations. If this is a big change for your style of event, it may be helpful to meet with leaders to cast vision on why relationships are so important.

Keep the Focus on Jesus

This is something I’ve been guilty of myself, more times than I would like to admit. Sometimes I would get so distracted trying to find the best game to play on stage, or the perfect playlist to have running in the background of a weekend. That my eyes would wander from my ultimate goal: creating a place where kids and teens meet Jesus. Honestly, that distraction came right at the beginning of my planning. Instead of creating an overall goal for what I wanted to see happen, I would find myself looking to “outdo” myself…or worse, outdo what I had seen others do.

We can create amazing times of worship where our teens can meet with God without getting lost in the lighting plan or perfect chord progressions. With hilarious games that build bonds between kids and leaders, even if some are games you’ve played the year before. We can keep an eye on the details without getting lost in them and losing sight of our main goal: helping our kids and teens know they are loved by us and by God.

I hope you now feel empowered when it comes to your events and programming in your ministry…both the good AND the great!

If you feel like you need a little more help in the planning department to help you get to good, we have you covered! Check out the new Family Ministry Planner, which is a great one-stop shop when it comes to planning out your ministry year, events and all!