Youth fellowship is different from youth worship or youth gathering. Youth fellowship is an organizational form in the church, with young people as the main body. Through various activities, young believers can pursue spiritual growth in Christ and establish a physical love relationship between them.
2. How to organize youth fellowship
To organize youth fellowship, the church must solve three problems: the members of the fellowship; The organization and leadership of the fellowship, as well as the external environment such as the location, time and method of the fellowship activities. First of all, the organization of youth fellowship should be approved by the responsible pastor or church Committee. After approval, you can declare the establishment of a youth association after the party or at other times. And put forward requirements for members who participate in the youth association. Generally speaking, the members participating in the Youth Fellowship should be 18-35 years old, both believers and young friends. Don't expect too much of faith, because it will easily hinder a large number of young friends who are willing to pursue but still wandering outside the faith, and become a small circle of believers who are only "enthusiastic and spiritual" and self-righteous. As for older believers, we should try our best to persuade them not to join the youth fellowship, so as not to have a negative impact. After all, there are many differences between young people and middle-aged and elderly people in their thinking patterns and attitudes towards life, and middle-aged and elderly believers should also pay attention. Of course, we don't despise middle-aged and old believers, but we just say that middle-aged and old believers are not suitable to participate in young people's activities. If necessary, we can organize a fellowship for the elderly or women, which is beyond the scope of this article. Secondly, let's look at the requirements for the organization and leadership of the fraternity. If there is no high belief requirement for fellowship members, then the person who organizes and leads the fellowship is different, and he should be pure in faith; Life has witnesses; Enthusiastic service, godliness and love for the Lord, people with certain knowledge. He should also be a young colleague or at least familiar with the characteristics of young people. Generally speaking, it is more appropriate for a newly graduated student of God or a young priest to do it. If the church lacks young priests, enthusiastic teachers among believers or more prestigious volunteers and directors among young believers can do it. Even if not, we can choose those who are recognized in spirituality, knowledge and life from those who have been baptized by young believers and formed and led the youth fellowship under the guidance of the church. Sometimes I find it strange that there are many young people in a big church with thousands of people, but the leaders of the church always have various reasons not to carry out youth work or form youth fellowship. I don't know why. Finally, we must solve the problem of the time, place and way of youth networking activities. Because young people have different characteristics from middle-aged and old believers, this determines the particularity of their activities. Generally speaking, most young believers have formal jobs or have to complete a considerable amount of studies, and time is very tight at ordinary times. Therefore, it is better to put the fixed activities of youth friendship on weekend nights. The activity time of the church youth fellowship where the author works is between 6 pm and 8 pm on Friday. This is convenient for many young believers who go to school or work or have families. After a busy week, they can come to the church and have time to share and communicate with everyone in the Lord. Through activities, they can get strength and help from the Lord, and bear the burden and encourage each other with their brothers and sisters. Don't delay the rest of my family's weekend vacation. The activity place is usually in the church. However, a qualified church may want to be in an inclined hall or other legal venues. Because young people are lively and don't stick to tradition; They are not satisfied with the traditional ways of worship and gathering. Moreover, because the youth fellowship is based on communication and sharing, the stools in the church are generally long chairs, which is not conducive to communication before and after. However, some remedial measures can also be taken. For example, the church where the author works usually meets in traditional ways such as preaching and singing poems, but then there are group activities such as traffic meetings, prayer meetings, English groups, worship and praise groups, which breaks the traditional model of the church. In some churches that emphasize etiquette, it is best not to have activities in the main hall. The venue should be clean, spacious and bright. Give people a relaxed and happy feeling. Don't take it too seriously, it will give young people a feeling of depression. Especially for the "new and new human beings" in the 2 1 century, they don't like the heavy and serious atmosphere. Activities can be varied and eclectic. But we must distinguish between regular activities and special activities. Generally speaking, the regular activities are mainly about half an hour of youth worship and gathering. It is best to set aside one to one and a half hours for other activities during or after the gathering. As for how to proceed, it will be discussed in detail in the next part. In case of major festivals or special circumstances, the activity mode can be changed. Timely action is more lively.
3. How to lead youth fellowship
This is addressed to the person in charge of organizing and leading the Youth League. In addition to the high demands on the faith and conduct of the youth fellowship leaders, the youth fellowship leaders should also pay attention to the following requirements. Obviously, youth fellowship is a fellowship with strong sense of participation. Therefore, the leader of the fellowship must not pretend to be a leader and give orders to other youth fellowship members. Instead, we should negotiate something. Most like Jesus, it forms an inner circle of disciples, usually activists in youth fellowship and responsible colleagues in various groups or activities in fellowship. Only with Qi Xin's concerted efforts can we bring about a good fellowship. We cannot fight alone or speak at the same time. Obviously, the youth association is inseparable from all aspects of youth life. Therefore, the leaders of the fraternity must be familiar with the study, life, work and family of most members of the fraternity. If it's a cathedral or a big fellowship. Then it is necessary to adopt the way of group activities and divide the members participating in the youth league into several groups according to the standards of age, occupation, region and interest. Set the "leader" of the team. Establish a team case so that the team leader knows every member like the back of his hand. This can strengthen the sense of belonging of each member. Can take care of everyone's needs. As for the criteria for grouping, they are different, and we should adjust measures to local conditions. The author's church is basically divided by interests. There are also some churches that are divided by age. In short, the standards should be clear and unified to meet the different needs of members. Clarify the diversity of youth networking activities. Leading youth friendship, activities must be diverse. Of course, it is essential to preach the truth of God and to lead and cultivate young believers spiritually. Therefore, the main activities of fellowship should be gathering and worshipping or studying the scriptures and preaching. Generally, it accounts for about one-third to half of the whole activity time. However, the party must take into account the characteristics of young people. It is best for the speaker to be a young priest or a popular person among young believers. The sermon time should not be too long, the content should focus on topics of interest to young people, and it should be substantial, vivid and healthy. It is better to have a continuous theme, and it is also important to study classics or special books to recite poems. Young people like gospel poems with bright and relaxed melodies. Don't be too elegant and obscure in lyrics. In recent years, this popular way of worship and praise is deeply loved by young people. I remember when my church just established the Youth Fellowship, it was a beautiful and simple song "Jesus, I love you." Touched everyone present, and then at almost every party, everyone chose some hymns that young people like to worship and praise. The church followed the trend and later published a collection of short songs called "Worship and Praise". Popular among young believers, demand exceeds supply. In addition to parties, social gatherings and other major activities. Group activities should also be carried out according to the characteristics of teenagers. Group activities will be held immediately after the party. The number of people in each group shall not exceed twenty, and the leader shall be elected. If the number of members in the same group increases to more than 20, they must be grouped. This will make it easier for each member to have the opportunity to participate and get help in the group without leaving someone out in the cold. The division method of the group has been introduced above, so I won't say much here. Newcomers can participate in social activities and organize Taoist groups. After giving him a systematic understanding of his beliefs, he doesn't need to believe in the Lord. After a certain period of time, he should be integrated into a group. You can also report the time and place of group activities after each youth gathering, so that newcomers can join the group themselves. The group should ask the newcomer to introduce himself, and the colleague in charge of the group should establish contact with him as soon as possible.