Happy New (School) Year [Youth Ministry & Getting My Middle School Education Degree]

It’s August, and here in Maryland that means teachers and students are on their final few weeks of summer vacation before heading back to school. There’s just something about this time of the year that I LOVE. It’s a fresh start. For students and teachers, everything feels new. A new routine, a new schedule, new people, new classes, new teachers, and yes, new school supplies. I already ordered my new Paper Mate Flair pens on Amazon (if you know, you know). 

At the same time, the new youth ministry year is about to (or already has) kicked off as well! If you’re a youth leader, maybe you’re kicking off a new program, a new service structure, or new small groups. Maybe you are introducing new small group leaders or volunteers to your students! Or maybe you’re not making any changes right now because what you have going is working for you and your students really well. 

Whatever the case may be, this season is a time to reset. Along with that, though, whether you are a teacher or a youth leader, comes an insane amount of busyness and literal chaos. It brings late nights working to get everything planned. It brings hours and hours of planning and brainstorming. It involves TONS of meetings (and #meetingsthatshouldhavebeenemails). It means setting up your classroom or your youth ministry environment so that it is a place where students feel welcome. And the truth is these things only scratch the surface of the never-ending to-do list that is back to school season. 

Here’s what I know though: whether it’s youth ministry or the classroom, after making your way through that extensive list, you are going to be exhausted before the year even starts. Chances are, you might not even check everything off your list before the first day or before your youth ministry kicks off.

The room might not be set up exactly the way you want yet. 

You probably have a million emails in your inbox to respond to. 

Your lessons or your teaching calendar may not be planned as far out as you’d like. 

You are still looking for a few small group leaders to recruit.  

You still have lamination that needs to be cut, copies that need to be made, supplies that need to be organized… 

The list goes on. 

But in the midst of all the lists and everything that needs to get done this season, remember this: your ultimate goal is to know your students. Yes, your classroom environment or your youth group environment matters. Having your lessons and teaching calendars planned and ready to go when students arrive is really important. But at the end of the day, as your new students step into your classroom or environment on that first day, the goal is to focus on building the relationships and the culture among your students that will set the tempo for the rest of the year. 

Your students need to know that really knowing them is a top priority to you.

What does that look like? 

In my experience in both the classroom and in youth ministry, it starts with learning and knowing their names. When you take the time to learn their name and use it consistently, it communicates to them that you see them, and it tells them they are safe here.

And what more does a middle schooler need than knowing they are seen and they are safe? 

In fact, what more does anyone need than to know they are seen and they are safe?


I want to challenge you with this. Learn your students’ names this week. Write them down. Practice them. Make a flashcard for each of your students with their name and picture on it. I promise you that learning their names early on (and quickly) will make them feel seen and allow them to feel safer than they did before they walked into your classroom or your youth ministry environment.  

I’m starting my part-time student teaching this semester, and I will be teaching in two different classrooms over the next school year. As excited as I am to be teaching and observing and writing lesson plans, I am even more excited to meet the middle schoolers I’ll be working with all year, and really get to know who they are and where they’re at. I am expectant of what this year will bring and I’m so excited to share along the way.

Here’s to making 2019-2020 the best year yet! You’ve got this. Let’s do this.