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THE BEST IDEAS FOR WELCOMING NEW TEENAGERS INTO YOUR GROUP, FROM YOUTH LEADERS ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES

A few years ago, we asked more than 10,000 Christian kids to tell us what makes them commit, and stay committed, to a church.1 Their #1 response, even outpacing "quality relationships with teenagers," was "a welcoming atmosphere where you can be yourself." That means almost three-quarters of churchgoing teenagers (73 percent) said a warm, welcoming environment is the most important "hook" a church can have. In the spirit of that truth, we asked youth leaders all over the United States to send us their best welcoming ideas.

1. Plan a Parent/Student Open House (Patricia Knutson)-A month before new kids merge into our middle school group in the fall, we hold an open house for all kids who'll be joining us for the first time. We invite their parents, our senior pastor, and other church leaders. We have parents and our church leaders participate in a typical group meeting along with the kids. We first play an icebreaker game that requires you to remember the name and a few bizarre facts about each person. We sing songs that are either familiar to most or require "mingling." We play a game that pits the middle schoolers against the "old folks."

Our open house is very successful-kids get to know each other, and they learn what to expect when they start attending the group. The kids also spread the word about the group, especially how our senior pastor accidentally drooled on one of our youth leaders during the game.

2. Kick Off the Fall With a Cowboy Hoedown (Tracy Geglein)-We send out postcards that picture a western theme to all incoming teenagers, inviting them to our Cowboy Hoedown. We hold it in the church's backyard, and recruit parents to grill hot dogs and burgers. We also serve baked beans, potato salad, chips, and brownies-typical cookout fare. We stack hay bales around a bonfire area, and we all dress in our "cowboy best."

As new students arrive, kids from our group hand them badges and holsters with toy pistols (we get these from Big Lots!). We have a karaoke machine set up, and we encourage everyone to take their shot at singing along with classic western music ("Home on the Range" and so on). We teach kids how to line dance (to country and Christian songs). Later in the evening, we gather around the bonfire to sing a song (I hand out a lyrics sheet so they can join in), and I lead a short devotion on the song's theme (I've used Steven Curtis Chapman's "The Great Adventure" and Michael W. Smith's "Go West Young Man"). Everyone has a foot-stompin' good time!

3. Organize a Greeter Ministry (Bert Dockery)-We choose the most outgoing, naturally welcoming young people and train them for this ministry. The first thing kids see when they arrive is our greeter station. All teenagers sign in there and receive a blue handstamp to show that they've checked in-first-time visitors get a red handstamp so regular attendees can be sure to make the new person feel welcome. We also give first-time visitors a contact card they fill out and drop in our offering plate. Then a same-sex greeter takes personal responsibility for the visitor. The greeter introduces the visitor to regulars and continues to give one-on-one attention until the visitor begins to blend in with others.

The next day we send the visitor a letter and a coupon worth $3 in goodies from our snack bar on their next visit. Our visitor retention rate has grown from 10 percent to 40 percent since we started our greeter ministry.

4. Invite Kids to a Promotion Sleepover (Cris Price)-I work with young girls, so every year I plan a Saturday sleepover party at my house where the new teenagers are the guests of honor and we graduate the girls who are moving up to a new grade level. Each time I vary what we do. Sometimes we go out to dinner, sometimes we eat at my house. In the morning we all get up and go to church together-that way no one has to walk in alone, feeling awkward.

5. Build Connections With an M&M's Icebreaker (Carl Fuglein)-I fill a big bowl full of M&M's candy, then have everyone grab a handful. I ask kids to each secretly choose their favorite M&M's color. Then they mingle and trade M&Ms color-for-color until kids have only their favorite color in their hand. For example, "I'll give you three greens if you give me five browns." This takes a few minutes, produces lot of laughs, and, yes, some people cheat by eating their "unpreferred" colors.

Then we ask kids to form small groups based on either the number of M&M's they have left or by colors. (If you have a savvy bunch who figures you're going to group by colors, they might collect the same colors as their friends-grouping by numbers throws them off.) Then have kids in each small group answer questions about themselves. Questions include: favorite pizza, best day ever, worst day ever, scariest moment, greatest accomplishment, and so on. Later we have kids each share their answers in the large group.

6. Plan a Survival Training Campout (Brian Jenkins)-We welcome our incoming students in June by planning a fun weekend campout. We find a site somewhere in the woods, clear it, set up tents, and prepare bathroom facilities. The theme is "survival training"-we teach them how to survive in the wilderness, life, and our youth group. That means we plan a little wilderness training, offer life-skills instruction, and our veteran kids give them the lowdown on what our youth group is all about. Team activities help build a community spirit. It's a low-cost, high-impact event. Our young people look forward to it every year-they use it as a time to have fun, fellowship, and time with each other. Some even count it as a highlight of their year.