N&B – Preteen

This is one in a series called Nuts and Bolts, single concise thoughts on some of the topics that make up life ministering to children in a local Church.

Nuts & Bolts – PRETEEN

The single best thing we have ever started as Hillsong Kids is a preteen specific ministry.

Not enough could be said about just how effective this can be for a Church… any Church.

Your 10-12 year olds are in a massive transition phase, hormones are just around the corner, high school is getting closer and they are about to select any number of tribes to be a part of.

(Tribes are divided by musical taste, sports ability/affiliation, geek* tendencies, gaming console choice, parental dress choice etc.)

So at the maximum, start a fully fledged ministry.

At a minimum:

• Create a leadership program
• Have a separate space for small groups
• Create a logo
• Have a different style name tag (or whatever you have for kids)
• Gather all that demographic at least once before school ends
• Use texting, email, something, anything to communicate extra to them (through their parents if need be)

Note: Don’t do anything on Facebook for preteens (they are under Facebooks 13 year old policy), and never friend a preteen on Facebook!

*Geek is a perfectly awesome tribe. They pretty much make all the money (Thanks Steve Jobs and Bill Gates).

Related posts:

N&B – Disci-What-Pline

N&B – Leadership

Preteen Purity

N&B – We Are Family