So last night into this morning we had a party. I learned a lot of good things from the experience. I also used some of the things I learned from others and found them to be a success. The Source, linked under blogs and websites I like, is an excellent place to find all kinds of things for Youth ministry. I used some of their tips and I'm glad for it. So let's see what I learned.
- If the place you are using will be used prior to your event spend more time getting details and working out exactly what is going to happen. The adults were using the fellowship hall until 10, and our party started at 10. We had reserved it first, but they ran late because of prayer, which really made things rough getting started. Now I'm all for prayer, but at that point it would have been nice for them to move to the prayer room or sanctuary. This is a detail I should have worked out before hand, but now I know.
- Plan more than one thing. This is something I learned from The Source, and I'm glad I listened. We had a movie night planned, but I also had several card games and a place to just chill. Most everyone spent time in various places, so it worked out nicely and I think added to the overall fun. I think if I just had the movie people would have bored quickly, even though it was a super awesome movie.
- For New Year's Eve you need a timer set a few minutes before the countdown. I accidentally got caught up in a card game and almost missed it. We all did. I didn't have time to get things switched over from the movie, which had just ended, get the party favors and such handed out, and do the "Happy New Year!" thing. Next time I need a bit more organization just before the big moment.
- You can bring everyone together, but it takes a lot of work. Don't worry if things break up into the normal clicks, that is why you need more than one thing going on so each group will have fun.
- Finally, girls are still weird and I still need to get more guys in my Youth group. Seriously it seems like each week we get more girls coming. When I started we had a small majority of girls, now we are about 2 to 1, but last night it was 3 to 1. The guys aren't leaving, but very few new guys come to the group. Honestly, if the guys figured out that the odds were stacked so well in their favor here then the Youth would double next week.
Anyways, I had a great time, I think everyone else did. We ran an hour longer than planned but that was fun too. I learned a few more things, like I do with every new experience. I hope those add up to making the next event run better. Let me know what other bits of wisdom you might have from similar experiences. I'm always looking for ways to save myself from making a mistake.
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