stanzas? Or stanzas one, two and four? Try the whole song some time and stress the message that is incomplete without all four stanzas. Then, too, for further variety, you might ask the fellows to sing one, the girls another, a soloist the third, and the entire group the fourth. Scripture Reading. What about your Scripture reading? Always done in the same way? Nothing wrong with the way it’s done, perhaps, but wouldn’t a little variation be most welcome by now? Instead of one reader for the entire passage, why not have a “ read-around” with several up front taking part? What aboiit a responsive reading — leader and group, or fellows and girls? Suppose you were to ask one young person to memorize a Scripture pas sage for next week’s meeting? What blessing to the one who does it — and to the entire group, as well! Announcements. Even here variety is possible. Some announcement periods can be brightened up considerably even by en couraging the one who makes them to speak up loudly TWELVE RULES FOR TRA IN ING HAPPY TEENAGE YOUNG PEOPLE 1— Begin with infancy to teach the child he cannot have everything he wants. many other things for himself as he can. 6— Be careful what you let him read. 7— Keep the home atmosphere pleasant and warm. 8— Make him earn his spending money. 9— See that sensual desires and cravings for food, drink and comfort are satisfied only in moderation. 10— Back him only when he's right and let him know you won't back him when he's wrong. 11— Accept your responsibility for his actions until he's of age to accept them himself. 12— Prepare for a life of satisfaction with your child. You are likely to have it. enough so he can be heard. To accomplish this, try publicity playlets (one-minute dialogues that announce coming activities in a clever way); interviews; an nouncements coming out of nowhere at an unexpected time by way of public address system; newscast; pan tomimes. These are but a few ideas for injecting new life into your announcement period. You and your young people can originate many more. Similar treatment might well be applied to all parts of your youth meetings — special music, prayer time, “message,” and even the offering. Devote a little special effort to making the individual features different, from week to week, and watch interest mount. Of course, it goes without saying that variety should not become an end in itself. All that’s done in prepara tion for your meetings in a determined effort to make them more appealing, should be done with your main purposes in view: to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ through the salvation, blessing, edification and training of your young people. Such purposes can be more effectively accomplished through meetings that are alive and appealing enough to keep young people coming and to hold their individual interest. And one of the best ways to assure such interest is through a studied, prayerful, and ingenious introduc tion of variety into your meetings. 2— When he picks up bad words, correct him. 3— Give him spiritual training early in life. 4 — Make frequent use of the word "wrong" in cor recting bad acts. 5— Make him pick up his own things and do as
number, in case someone got around to asking someone else to provide one. And finally the “message.” Late comers could, simply by taking note of the time, predict with amazing accuracy just what would be taking place when they entered the room. An exaggerated picture? Hardly. This is all too accur ate a portrayal of the proceedings in hundreds of youth groups all over America today. But it need not be so! Certainly there are only a dozen, or so, basic elements that make up a youth meeting. But even this cannot ex cuse the woeful monotony characterizing so many youth groups. We offer one guiding principle, easy to follow, that will add new life and sparkle to any youth meeting, no matter how drab it may presently be. It is this: for meetings that will have new and exciting appeal for your young people, concentrate for one full month on: Introducing Variety into Them. We suggest two ways in which this can be done: 1. By varying the order of your meeting every week. 2. By varying the nature of the individual features of your program. A successful youth worker, who inspired us more than any other, to find a life-long ministry among youth, said frequently (and reverently) that “ every meeting doesn’t have to begin with a hymn and a prayer.” How true! And how simple a first step it suggests to improvement of youth meetings. Vary the Order. And that from the very start. How refreshing it would be for young people to walk into a meeting some time where the individual features are re-arranged in new and original sequence. Consider the possibilities for starting the meeting. Here are some suggestions that will provide variety: Open your meeting with any of the following: . . . an unan nounced vocal solo; . . . an unannounced reading; . . . a number provided by a trumpet trio or any other in strumental ensemble your group may have or can de velop; . . . an unannounced Scripture reading; . . . a dialogue; . . . a surprise feature — something entirely new to your group; perhaps a brief talk, gospel magic feature, ventriloquist; . . . lively announcements of com ing activities; . . . a surprise interview with some out standing Christian, missionary, or Christian worker in your town. Spend some time in conference with your fellow youth workers and your young people in conscious effort to make the opening of your meetings different, and you’ll find the results most gratifying. Then, give serious thought, too, to the variations that can be achieved in the line-up of your features that will provide a welcome change of sequence. List the basic elements of your meetings — song service, special music, Scripture reading, prayer, an nouncements, offering, quiz, Bible drill, discussion, or “message.” See how many purposeful combinations are possible. Frequent change just in the order of the various features of your meetings will, in itself, excite rewarding renewal of interest on the part of young people and spon sors alike. First, the Song Service. How can you vary your song service? Well, let’s consider it for a moment, as it is today. Do you use one song leader all the time? Why not try some others? If you don’t have them, train them. This will furnish needed change of pace in your sing-times. Do you have all your singing at one time during the meeting? (Why?) Try to use all types. Do you sing only the first .and last
OCTOBER, 1963
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