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To Your Message LibraryYOUTH MINISTRY CURRICULUM & ANNUAL STRATEGY
A Comprehensive System To Grow Your Students and Your Ministry
GROW YOUR YOUTH MINISTRY
In youth ministry, we all want to grow. We want to grow in numbers, sure. But we want to grow in depth and effectiveness, too. It’s not easy to grow a ministry, though — especially when you’re trying to grow both deep and wide.
Grow Curriculum works online and in person!
*Includes a FREE 4-Week Teaching Series + More
3 THINGS THAT KILL GROWTH IN YOUTH MINISTRY
For the last thirteen years, we’ve been…
leading youth ministries.
volunteering in youth ministries.
studying youth ministries.
serving, resourcing, and coaching youth ministries.
Some of those ministries were HEALTHY and GROWING. But others were STRUGGLING AND SHRINKING. And do you know what we’ve learned?
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HEALTHY AND STRUGGLING YOUTH MINISTRIES HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH…
big budgets.
talented communicators.
fancy youth ministry spaces.
The three things that keep youth ministries from growing are actually…
1. MISPLACED PRIORITIES.
Sometimes, when we’re trying to grow our ministries, we go about it in all the wrong ways. Sometimes, the very things we thought would help us grow actually end up sabotaging our growth. Usually, that’s because we’ve chosen to focus on the wrong things. Maybe those things seemed important in the short-term. Maybe they even led to growth in the short-term. But if long-term growth is your goal, prioritizing quick-fixes will eventually kill your ability to grow in the long-term. MISPLACED PRIORITIES KILL GROWTH.
2. A LACK OF STRATEGY.
Or maybe misplaced priorities aren’t your problem. Maybe you know what you’d like to prioritize, but your ministry structure doesn’t really reflect those priorities. That’s where strategy comes in. If we want to grow in depth, or in numbers, or in effectiveness (but hopefully all three), we need to think in long-term strategies, not short-term fixes.
You may have a solid strategy for certain aspects of your ministry but, chances are, you probably don’t have a solid strategy for every area of your ministry. Here are six areas where, if you want to grow, you absolutely need a strategy: DISCIPLESHIP. TEACHING. WEEKLY PROGRAMMING. EVENTS. VOLUNTEERS. PARENTS.
Without a clear strategy in all six of these areas, your ministry can never be as healthy as it should be. And without a healthy ministry, you’ll never be able to grow in a healthy way.
3. A LACK OF SYSTEMS.
Even if we’re on track with our priorities and our strategies, without a system to keep us on track, it’s easy to lose focus or get distracted. Without specific systems in place, our strategies will never become a reality. And if our strategies never become a reality, the priorities those strategies reflect will never truly be our priorities.
WE KNOW GROWTH IS DIFFICULT.
In fact, we led a ministry where we said our priorities were to help students grow, to help our volunteers grow, and to help parents grow, but . . . well, we didn’t actually have the right strategies or systems in place to ensure that any of those things were happening. As a result, our students weren’t growing, our volunteer base was shrinking, and parents were not happy with us. It wasn’t until we started putting systems and strategies in place that we began to grow, sustainably, year after year.
So . . . THERE’S GOOD NEWS.
No matter the current size or state of your youth ministry, you really can grow – both deep and wide. And we want to help.
We’ve taken the best of what we learned (and are still learning), and put it into a youth ministry CURRICULUM AND STRATEGY that’s flexible enough to fit any context.
INTRODUCING…
It’s Everything you need for your students, volunteers, and parents
(Grow Curriculum is 100% digital – no physical products are shipped to you, but everything is designed to be printed if you want hard copies!)
*Includes a FREE 4-Week Teaching Series + More
What's Included
9 minutes
How to plan your year
39 minutes
1 Minute Sermon
included in every week
*Includes a FREE 4-Week Teaching Series + More
SQUAD UP
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON FRIENDSHIP
(Recommended For August)
STRETCH
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON SPIRITUAL HABITS
(Recommended For September)
TRUE STORY
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON IDENTITY
(Recommended For October)
CANCELED
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON LOVING OTHERS
(Recommended For November)
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON CHRISTMAS
(Recommended For December)
GOALS
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON WISDOM
(Recommended For January)
FREE PEOPLE
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON AUTHORITY
(Recommended For February)
LOST AND FOUND
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON JESUS
(Recommended For March)
FOREVER
A 2-WEEK SERIES ON EASTER
(Recommended For Easter)
WAITLISTED
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON DOUBTS & QUESTIONS
(Recommended For April)
ANTHEM
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON WORSHIP
(Recommended For May)
BACK TO THE FUTURE
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON JUSTICE
(Recommended For June)
LOOK & SEE
A 4-WEEK SERIES ON EVANGELISM
(Recommended For July)
What youth pastors are saying:
One of the most challenging tasks in student ministry is finding the time to plan, let alone, plan far ahead! Between pizza-eating contests and impromptu sleepovers, there is literally never enough time! The team at Grow have done all the work for you! Grow is an amazing, time-resurrecting, comprehensive strategy for great ministry success.
This is a game changer! Imagine having a whole year of editable content in front of you that you can tweak for your context. No more wondering what’s next, no more waiting for the next email, it’s all there. Oh wait, Grow just made that dream a reality! Pumped for Grow!
What I love about Grow is it’s created by youth pastors for youth pastors. It doesn’t just get you ready for Sunday, but equips you for a purpose-driven year of ministry.
As a student pastor I’m always looking for tools to help me excel in my strengths and assist me in my weaknesses. Grow is a game-changing resource that provides a strategy to every aspect of my ministry!
Included in grow curriculum: the first ever drag & drop message builder
FOR SMALL CHURCHES
We Love Small Churches!
When we created Grow we placed helping small churches at the top of our priority list – that’s why we invited dozens of small church leaders to contribute to our strategy and resources. One of the most important resources we created with small churches in mind was our “Hybrid Teaching Guide”. This guide combines the traditional sermon outline and traditional small group questions, to create a brand new discussion based teaching tool perfect for youth groups under 15 students. Try it for free:
*Includes a FREE 4-Week Teaching Series + More
ONLINE, IN-PERSON, OR BOTH
Grow Curriculum is as easy to use online as it is in person! We even created an Online Guide to Youth Ministry, that’ll show you how to adapt every aspect of Grow for an online environment: the planning resources, teaching resources, games, discipleship activities, volunteer and parent resources, and even the events. In each area of ministry, we’ve given you three options to help you choose how much time and energy you want to invest.
On top of our online guide to youth ministry, every single series and resource inside of Grow come with “Online Hacks” to help you use Grow online, in-person, or both!
*Includes a FREE 4-Week Teaching Series + More
DIVERSITY = STRENGTH
Our amazing team of contributors and writers come from churches of all sizes, cultures, contexts, denominations, and locations. Our goal is to try and capture the fullest representation of the body of Christ as we can every year. Each member of the Grow team is uniquely experienced in teaching and discipling students, training and celebrating volunteers, and ministering to families. We’re excited to get every drop of Grow Curriculum & Strategy into your hands, because it comes from all of these hands and more…
200% Money Back Guarantee
We’re so sure you’ll love Grow Curriculum and Strategy, we’ll let you try it for 90 days. If you’re not 100% satisfied, we’ll refund your entire purchase and let you keep the entire year’s worth of curriculum, resources, and tools.
Frequently asked questions:
CAN I CUSTOMIZE GROW TO FIT MY CONTEXT?
Absolutely! That’s kind of our #1 goal, actually. We want Grow to work for you, no matter your size, your format, or your calendar. To make it super flexible for you, we . . .
- Give you editable files in Photoshop and Microsoft Word.
- Leave space for your logo on any resources you’ll give to students, parents, or volunteers.
- Provide an entire year of content up-front so you have plenty of time to plan ahead, see what’s coming, and switch up our suggested calendar to fit your needs.
IS GROW FOR MIDDLE SCHOOLERS OR HIGH SCHOOLERS?
Every resource included in Grow is designed for both middle schoolers and high schoolers. But since we know middle schoolers and high schoolers are kind of different, every teaching series (and select additional resources) comes with a full page of helpful Middle School Hacks and High School Hacks to help you better contextualize Grow to work for your unique audience.
Oh, and pssst . . . we’re also working on developing some Special Needs Hacks to help you better engage, and understand, the teenagers in your ministry with special needs.
DOES GROW WORK FOR ONLINE MINISTRY?
Yes! We know that your ministry may consist of online gatherings as well as in-person gatherings, and we’ve developed Grow to easily transition between the two. We’ve even created an “Online Guide” to help you use each series and resource online.
HOW IS GROW DIFFERENT FROM OTHER CURRICULUM?
Well, for starters, Grow isn’t just a youth ministry curriculum. It’s actually a strategy for your entire ministry. The sermons and small group conversations are just one part of that strategy. With Grow, you’ll get a complete annual TEACHING strategy, but you’ll also get a whole year’s worth of resources for DISCIPLESHIP, GAMES, EVENTS, VOLUNTEERS, and PARENTS.
But if you want a little more information on how Grow compares to other resources, check out the samples we’ve provided by clicking here!
WILL GROW ACTUALLY WORK IN MY CONTEXT?
We sure think so, and we are working hard to make sure it will! That’s why we’ve assembled an incredibly diverse team of writers and contributors to help us create a resource that is truly flexible enough to work in your context . . . and that actually represents the full Body of Christ. Our team is filled with real youth workers doing real ministry in a variety of contexts. Rural, urban, and suburban churches. Small churches, medium-sized churches, and big churches. They represent a variety of denominations, cultures, and ministry styles. Thanks to their help and feedback (and yours!) we think Grow really is flexible enough to fit in your context.
SHOULD I DITCH MY CURRICULUM AND USE GROW INSTEAD?
Well, sure, you can if you want. But if you love your current curriculum, stick with it. We’ve tried to make Grow affordable enough that, even if you do use another curriculum for your sermons or small groups, Grow could still be a valuable addition to your youth ministry resource arsenal.
Now, since some of you know Kenny and I spent a couple of years working with the folks at Orange, we specifically get asked this question a ton: “Should I leave Orange and switch to Grow?” Good question. Here’s our answer. Nope. We love Orange. We love the resources and we really love the people. (And no, they didn’t ask us to say that. It’s just true.) Orange is a great option if you’re looking for a curriculum that offers options for all age groups, if you’re looking for separate middle school and high school curriculum, or if you’re looking to attend an annual conference for your entire family ministry team. If that’s you, Orange is probably the best fit for you. So stick with them!
Obviously, we really love what we’re putting together with Grow. And we hope you like it, too. But if you’ve already found a teaching curriculum you love, stick with it. We’re big believers that the Church is big enough for a whole bunch of voices and a whole bunch of approaches to ministry, and we want you to choose the curriculum that’s the best fit for you.
We’re not interested in trying to convince you to choose us over another curriculum or resource. We’re just trying to meet some needs that youth pastors have told us haven’t quite been met yet.
So if you already have a curriculum you love, cool! We hope Grow can help meet any needs you still have outside of your teaching strategy. But if you don’t already have a curriculum you love, we hope you fall in love with Grow!
WHAT IS YOUR STATEMENT OF FAITH?
We believe the Bible is the inspired, authoritative Word of God.
We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His death on the cross, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return.
We believe people receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Jesus.
