What every youth worker needs to know about high school students

I've been a youth pastor for a little over seven years now. Last summer, my family and I moved to Utah, where I was hired as the high school pastor at a church. I've always loved working with both junior and senior high students, but my strengths seem to make me better suited for older students. So, I was excited to be able to focus primarily on high school ministry.

There's definitely a difference between junior high and senior high students. This is why even smaller churches find the need to separate the two age groups at least occasionally. It's not just that some topics that are discussed in high school youth group aren't always appropriate for junior high students. There's a very pointed developmental difference between the two age groups. I'm thankful that I work with an amazing junior high pastor who knows what it takes to work with and reach junior high students, and I get to focus on high school students. Although I do enjoy visiting the junior high large group gathering to eat a cheese and bacon flavored cricket every now and again.

So, what's different about working with high school students? I'm glad you asked. Here are a few things youth workers should know about working with high school students:

High school students live in two worlds: a kid world and an adult world. And it's tough sometimes for them to know which one they're in. This is one of the issues of adolescence in general, but it becomes especially heightened during the later high school years. High school juniors and seniors have some seriously adult decisions to make--or at least prepare for--but they are still...kids. Some have jobs, some are enlisting in the armed forces, and all too many are primary caregivers for younger siblings. They can go from throwing food in the lunch room to working a job with adult responsibilities in a matter of minutes. It's no surprise they aren't always sure where to find their identity.

High school students need to be loved and need to know God loves them. Obvious for youth ministry? Maybe. But some high school students are growing up so fast and want to be seen as self-sufficient that we might forget that there's probably a lot going on beneath the surface. It's good to take a few extra minutes to say, "How are you really doing?"

High school students still love to play games...in the right context. Sometimes high school students can give off the vibe that they're a bit too grown up for Fluffy Bunny or throwing water balloons filled with shaving cream at each other. But they do love to play and need to be given the opportunity to play. I've found that games that encourage interaction between students work best for high school students. But this doesn't mean that you can't still break out the pantyhose and chocolate pudding every now and again!

High school students need space to work out their faith. This is true for adolescents in general, but I think especially for high school students. They are at the point where they can--and need to--make the connection between an abstract truth and real life, so provide lots of "labs" for them to experiment in, whether it's a week-long mission trip or challenging them in a specific way to act on their faith during the week.

High school students are amazing people. If you don't believe this, you shouldn't be working with high school students. Sure they're not exactly great at the whole filling out and using a daytimer thing yet, but when given the opportunity, they will blow you away with what they can do with their God-given gifts.

Note: This post was inspired by Tim Schmoyer's "63 youth ministry topics YOU should cover" (the original list was posted here).

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